Information on Safe Migration
We promote the role of women in society,
revealing her personal potential, professionally
assisting in the realization of civil and social rights
revealing her personal potential, professionally
assisting in the realization of civil and social rights
I got so "paid" that I had to hitchhike home and pay off the debt from my wife's maternity leave benefits.
For a man who wants to achieve success in life, self-realization comes first. However, even if he is not a status seeker, a wonderful family man who adores his household, he still needs to earn money and provide for his family. We live in a material world where everyone needs money. And if it's not possible to find decent earnings within one's own country, many people go in search of work in other countries.
That's exactly what a 30-year-old Belarusian did, leaving his young wife, who is on maternity leave, at home. The man found an advertisement on the Internet in early November, where for 1000-1400 USD, a young person was promised the job of a reinforcement worker – concrete worker in Russia. They offered to draw up a contract as soon as he arrived at the construction site. In addition to the basic salary, the employers promised to give 1,5 thousand Russian rubles every week for food. Other details were also discussed:
- accommodation in a workers' hostel for 4 people,
- fresh bed linen once a week,
- 12-hour working day,
- weekends on Saturday and Sunday,
- shift work from a direct employer, payment for the work done every month.
What was your first day in Russia like?
I didn't have any money, I borrowed 100 USD to get to Moscow by train and buy food for the trip (just in case). Some man met me near the Rechnoy Vokzal metro station and took me to the construction site by car.
There were no places in the hostel, so they placed me in a trailer, I was indignant because the agreements had already been violated. I was the eighth person in the trailer, everyone else arrived the night before.
The beds were in two tiers, the aisle between the beds was about 70 cm, at the beginning of the trailer there was a table and an electric stove. It was very cold in the trailer, it was heated by a heater, the workers slept in their clothes on mattresses, covered with blankets. The bed linen that my wife put in my bag (just in case) came in handy. We cooked food from what we brought from home and ate here. I demanded that a labor contract be drawn up, the foreman promised it any day now, he said that we should work, no one is being deceived here. He himself is a father and his children are the same age as us.
As for the schedule, were the agreements respected?
We worked from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. without days off, worked a lot, the faster we complete this volume of work, the faster we will get the money and be able to go home and see our families. My job was to lay and spread concrete in the foundation, the work is very physically demanding, constantly outdoors, air temperature down to minus 10 degrees, then we lifted expanded clay to the roof on foot to the 5th floor, a bag weighing up to 20 kg. Fatigue accumulated, I was constantly hungry.
Did you receive your promised 1,5 thousand rubles for food?
We worked for a week, did not receive money for food, the foreman (representative of the contractor) explained that there were problems with cashing out money, that it was necessary to be patient, said that the money would be given out any day.
Food and money taken from home ran out by the middle of the second week. Money for the purchase of food was never given. More construction trailers were brought from another site, probably planning to recruit new teams. We went to explore the contents of the trailers, found a box of packaged rice in one, cooked soups and porridge from it, and lasted a little longer.
By the beginning of the third week of work, it got much colder, we began to demand relocation to a hostel, our passports were taken away for registration, conclusion of an employment contract and check-in to the hostel.
And where were your documents while you were working?
For more than 10 days, the passport was with the contractor. We began to complain and demand the return of documents, otherwise we threatened to go to the police with a complaint. The passports were returned, but the registration was not done, the contract was not concluded and we were not checked into the hostel, they explained that there were no places yet.
How long did you work under such conditions?
After working for a month, we started to go on strike, did not go to work, demanded money to leave home faster. The contractor himself arrived and said that if the situation continues, we will not receive anything at all, he began to threaten with physical violence. Out of the eight of us, three left a week ago, and I waited until the last moment. I have three children at home, my wife is on maternity leave, I could not come back empty-handed, and also with a debt of 100 dollars that I borrowed for the ticket and food, and according to my calculations, I should have received 1450 dollars for the work done.
After five weeks of work, my faith was completely exhausted. Late in the evening, I packed up and left on foot towards the metro, walking for two and a half hours. It was very cold, with a strong wind. Near one of the metro stations, I sold my old mobile phone for 700 Russian rubles, bought something to eat, got to Belorussky Station, then took a train, which only had enough money to get to Gagarin station. I went to Vyazma as a stowaway, walked from Vyazma to the highway, and then planned to get to Belarus by hitchhiking. Drivers didn't want to stop, I looked untidy, my face was overgrown, and I had lost 12 kg. Only after three hours, a truck driver with Belarusian plates stopped. I also got sick on the way, with a cough and high fever, and spent a week at home drinking antibiotics. The money borrowed for the trip to Moscow could be repaid only when my wife received child benefit, and there were also expenses for medicines.
The story, similar to the tragic plot of some Russian low-budget TV series, turned out to be life itself. In this story, the main characters are ordinary people who fell prey to another unscrupulous employer.
Our hotline of the Public Association "Club of Business Women" for safe departure and stay abroad and combating human trafficking 8-801-201-5555 and 113 has existed for 17 years precisely to ensure that there are as few such stories as possible.
And if you decide to find a job abroad, it is better and safer to do it through legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in employment activities outside the Republic of Belarus. In this case, the contract is concluded on the territory of Belarus, and the terms of the contract are observed, and there will be no need to get home by hitchhiking, lose weight to the point of being unrecognizable, risk your health and the well-being of your family.
By calling our hotline, you can get full advice on the following issues:
- employment in different countries of the world,
- checking the legality of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in employment activities outside the Republic of Belarus,
- conclusion of labor contracts and civil contracts by migrant workers,
- procedure for obtaining a work visa,
- preventing situations of illegal employment,
- payment of taxes on income received abroad,
- violations of the rights of migrants and countering labor exploitation abroad, etc.
Calls and written inquiries are temporarily not accepted.
Calls and written inquiries are temporarily not accepted. Use the information posted on our website!
