Labour Migration and the Host Country: Russian case

Abstract

Labour migration is discussed here in the context of the transformation of the Russian market and labour migrants’ communication with their host society. Of central importance is the analysis of changes in the labour market and how these changes affect the structure of employment for migrant workers, their inclusion in local labour markets and labour mobility, the prevalence of illegal and informal employment. It is concluded that the functioning of the Russian labour market and its institutional design and the rules that restrict migrants’ access to decent work exacerbate social inequalities and con-tribute to the marginalization of migrant workers. Particular attention is paid to: migrants’ interaction with social institutions and the population of the host country; factors that contribute to the breaking of ties with the send-ing society; the social exclusion of migrants in the host community; as well as problems of the social exclusion of certain vulnerable groups of migrants. The interaction of labour migrants with internal migrants is discussed, prevailing rela-tions (competition, complementarity) in the labour market are described.