Why Ukraine needs hundreds of thousands of migrant workers / Unsplash
The topic of migrant workers in Ukraine is increasingly causing heated debate. But while society is debating, economists and employers are warning: without foreign workers after the war, the country could face a large-scale personnel collapse.
Does Ukraine really need migrant workers?
Economist Oleg Pendzin, in a comment for Channel 24 , said that the issue of labor migration is considered as an issue of restoring the economic situation of Ukraine.
According to him, Ukraine needs about 4.5 million additional workers to at least return to the economic indicators of 2021.
Oleg Pendzin,
Executive Director of the Economic Discussion Club
We must understand that approximately 8.5 million people left Ukraine. This is the official statistics of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Of these, 5 million people are workers. In the best case scenario, 10-15% of all people who left at the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022 will return to Ukraine. That is, the longer the war lasts, the smaller the percentage of those who will return.
Director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research Ella Libanova previously also emphasized that after the war, Ukraine will be forced to attract foreign workers due to a critical shortage of personnel.
It is clear that people are afraid: if they come, I won’t be able to find a job. But you can. In Ukraine, employers are already complaining about the shortage of labor, and after the war it will definitely be even greater. We will not go anywhere. But developing and maintaining a very balanced, very calm migration policy is the truth,
– says Libanova.
According to Pendzin, this is primarily a matter of low-skilled labor. The greatest shortage of workers is in construction, the agricultural sector, and industry. In general, to ensure the domestic labor market , it will be necessary to import labor migrants in the amount of 400 to 450 thousand people per year.
Is Ukraine ready for an influx of migrants?
At the same time, Ukraine already has experience working with labor migrants. Even before the full-scale war, there were about 300,000 foreign workers in the country.
The head of the law firm, Anna Daniel, explained that the procedure for employing foreigners is determined by the Law “On Employment of the Population.”
Anna Daniel,
Candidate of Law, Head of the Law Office “Anna Daniel”
Accordingly, to obtain a permit, the employer submits an application in the form established by the Cabinet of Ministers, copies of the foreigner's passport documents with a translation, a photo, a draft employment contract or gig contract, as well as other documents depending on the category of the employee, in particular for seconded employees, intra-corporate assignees, or foreign students.
Lawyer Igor Tarasenko adds for Channel 24 that official registration, an employment contract, and legal grounds for staying in Ukraine are not a formality, but rather protection for the employer himself from fines and claims to control bodies.
Igor Tarasenko,
Lawyer
In Ukraine, foreigners who have arrived for employment for a specified period are hired on the basis of an appropriate permit, which is issued through the employment center.
Meanwhile, the National Bank predicts that a mass return of Ukrainians from abroad should not be expected until at least 2027. Therefore, the issue of labor migrants for the Ukrainian economy may become one of the key ones in the coming years.
What else is known about the labor market in Ukraine?
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Demand for remote work in Ukraine exceeds supply, while only 7% of vacancies are remote. Remote work is popular due to war, relocation, the desire for flexible schedules, and restrictions for certain groups of the population.
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The Ukrainian freelance market is increasingly moving towards narrow expertise. Therefore, today, specialists who have deep specialization in their niche can receive 2-3 thousand dollars per month or more. In fact, the market is increasingly moving from universality to expertise.