July 16, Pozirk. Workers from Uzbekistan must comply with Belarusian law, and the interior ministry will ensure that they do, Interior Minister Ivan Kubrakoŭ said during a meeting with police officials in Viciebsk, as the region prepares for the arrival of thousands of migrant workers.
“Our task is to provide our guests with all the assistance they need, from registration to full integration into Belarusian society,” Kubrakoŭ said. “After all, these people have come to a different country with a different mentality.”
The minister made the comments after some Uzbek workers complained about their living conditions and wages in a video that circulated on social media yesterday. Today, however, a group of Uzbek workers released a new video saying they had been offered different jobs, higher wages, free housing and meals.
Kubrakoŭ said law enforcement agencies had implemented measures to prevent crimes and other offenses involving migrants, adding that the situation was under control and posed no threat to public safety or the country’s sociopolitical stability.
Belarus remains an attractive destination for migrants, including labor migrants, he added.
Last week, Alaksandar Łukašenka said he had invited migrant workers from Uzbekistan to come to Belarus with their families. He made the statement after talks in Minsk with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
A few days later, the Belarusian ruler defended the decision in televised remarks recorded during his recent trips to economically depressed districts in the Mahiloŭ and Viciebsk regions.
The move is intended to address severe labor shortages in the country. “We cannot get by without hiring workers from outside,” the politician argued.
Around 5,000 Uzbek workers are expected to arrive in Belarus’ Viciebsk region to fill jobs in agriculture, construction, industry and the services sector, with some also set to work as nurses.
Łukašenka turned to Uzbekistan after a similar effort to recruit workers from Pakistan failed.
