{"id":195769,"date":"2026-07-15T12:40:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T09:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/195769\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T12:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T09:40:06","slug":"uzbek-workers-unlikely-to-solve-belarus-labor-crisis","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/195769\/","title":{"rendered":"Uzbek workers unlikely to solve Belarus’ labor crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Around 5,000 Uzbek workers will arrive in Belarus’ Viciebsk region to fill jobs in agriculture, construction, industry and the services sector, with some also set to work as nurses, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka’s press office reported this week.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n (Pozirk, Belarusian leader's website, Bernard Gagnon (Wikimedia Commons) \/ Pozirk's collage)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The move is intended to address severe labor shortages in the country, \u0141uka\u0161enka said during his tour of the \u0160k\u0142o\u016d district in the Mahilo\u016d region on July 13. “We cannot get by without hiring workers from outside,” he argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka turned to Uzbekistan after a similar effort to recruit workers from Pakistan failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deal with Pakistan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just five days earlier, after talks in Minsk with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, \u0141uka\u0161enka said he had invited migrant workers from Uzbekistan to come to Belarus with their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 200 workers have already arrived, according to state media reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We like Uzbeks here, so I would like to see more of your people come here with their families, even more than Pakistanis,” \u0141uka\u0161enka said. “In the agricultural sector, we provide housing, free education and healthcare, the same conditions we offer Belarusians. In cities, you may need to wait a little longer, but housing will become available.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year ago, \u0141uka\u0161enka and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed a mechanism to bring up to 150,000 Pakistani workers to address labor shortages exacerbated by emigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in March, Pakistan’s Emigration and Employment Office removed all Belarus-related construction jobs from its website after no applications had been submitted for four months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the interior ministry, just 561 Pakistani nationals arrived in Belarus for work in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, Interior Minister Ivan Kubrako\u016d said that 324 Pakistanis remained in Belarus. This suggests that several hundred had already left the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first six months of 2026, Belarus reported the arrival of 13,555 workers from Turkmenistan and 2,547 from Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka promises selection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian leader promised that workers would be selected based on their skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There must be order. We must not invite workers indiscriminately,” he said in televised comments, seeking to reassure the public that his government strictly controls the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uzbeks have a reputation for being hardworking. Based on shared Soviet-era experience, Belarusians are more likely to view them favorably. Some Uzbeks also speak fluent Russian, one of Belarus’ official languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uzbekistan, a densely populated country, does not have enough jobs to meet labor supply, while Belarus’ population has been shrinking and the country faces a severe labor shortage. In theory, both countries could benefit from such an arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National elite cannot be replaced<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Political opponents have criticized the Belarusian government for forcing hundreds of thousands of skilled workers out of the country through its crackdown on dissent, which has continued since the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exodus is not the only reason for the country’s labor shortage. Many democratic countries in Europe face similar demographic challenges, with low birth rates and long-standing reliance on migrant labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the political crackdown has driven skilled professionals\u2014including doctors, IT engineers, entrepreneurs and prominent cultural figures\u2014into exile, while Uzbek workers are being recruited primarily for vacancies on farms, construction sites and in factories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are unlikely to offset the consequences of the government’s campaign against the country’s professional and intellectual elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EU, Russia more competitive than Belarus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Uzbekistan’s average monthly salary of $530 in the first quarter was considerably lower than Belarus’ average monthly pay of $1,058 in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Russia appears to hold a competitive advantage over Belarus, with an average monthly wage of $1,450 in April. As a result, jobs in Russia may be more attractive to Uzbek workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Uzbeks may also prefer to work in neighboring Kazakhstan or in Turkey, both of which are closer to their home country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithuania, Latvia and other EU countries are also seeking to attract workers from Uzbekistan. Wages in those countries are significantly higher than in Belarus, and the gap has been widening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By forcing dissidents out of the country, \u0141uka\u0161enka may have reduced internal political pressure. At the same time, many Belarusians have emigrated for economic reasons, further exacerbating labor shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the root cause of the shortage is the Belarusian government’s failure to generate stronger economic growth and create conditions that encourage people to remain in the country. Recruiting Uzbek workers is unlikely to solve that underlying problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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