01.07.07

Employers have paid approximately 150 million rubles to the the Federal Migration Service (FMS) since the beggining of this year; most of this sum was paid by construction companies.

New fines for using illegal immigrant labor were introduced on January 15, 2007. Fines run from 300,000 to 800,000 rubles for each worker employed without an official labor contract.

Since the beginning of the year, Moscow construction companies have paid seventy million rubles in fines, merchandising companies have paid twenty million rubles, housing and public utilities companies have paid ten million rubles, open-air markets-five million rubles. Forty five million rubles have been paid by other companies, according to FMS.

When charging a penalty it is taken into consideration whether the company has had similar incidents in the past, how many illegal workers are employed, and whether or not the employer is willing to cooperate with FMS inspectors. In cases of repeat offenses, the court decision may not only charge a maximum fine amount, but also has the power to suspend a company’s license for 30 days.

If every company charged has been given the minimal possible fine of 300,000 rubles this means that during the past six months only 500 illegal immigrants have been found working in Moscow.

According to the Institute of Socio-Political Problems of Population of RAS now in Moscow, 1-2 million illegal immigrants live in moscow, with the population increasing during the summers, and this number will not decrease in the near future.

Although more workers are becoming legalized, it is still presently cheaper for companies to hire illegal immigrants, states an expert of Independent Institute of Social Policy.

These penalties are forcing employers to be more careful. Legal hiring, however, remains less profitable.

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