BWI CONNECT. Migrant Workers Guide for Russia

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Loraine Barnett
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1 BWI CONNECT Migrant Workers Guide for Russia

2 BWI CONNECT Migrant Workers Guide for Russia What is BWI? The Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) is a Global Union representing workers in the building, building materials, wood, furniture production, and forestry sectors. The BWI groups 326 trade unions representing 12 million members in 128 countries. What is BWI CONNECT? In 2010 the BWI World Council approved the BWI Global Campaign on Migrant Workers Rights, otherwise known as BWI Connect which was designed to consolidate and coordinate BWI s global work and policy on labour migration. The crux of BWI Connect is to organize migrant workers into trade unions and to ensure the rights of migrant workers under the three pillars of organizing, policy advocacy and provision of essential services and communication. BWI CONNECT: CONNECTs migrant workers and trade unions to organize migrant workers. CONNECTs unions is countries of origin to unions in countries of destination to facilitate joint collaborations to organize migrant workers. CONNECTs trade unions to governments to develop and implement rights-based policies and legislation on labour migration CONNECTs trade unions to employers to negotiate collective bargaining agreement that is based on equal work for equal pay. CONNECTs trade unions with civil society organizations to build and strengthen alliances to promote migrant workers rights nationally, regionally, and globally. What to Do Before You Leave Home: 1. If you already know where you are going to work in Russia, try to find out as much as possible about your employer. You can obtain some information on the internet by typing the name of the company or the name of the person recruiting workers. You can also seek assistance from the BWI affiliate in your home country. 2. Check the latest updates on migration regulations in Russia, for example at the website of the Federal Migration Service: 3. Seek advice: from a trade union, for example the BWI affiliate or the national union (confederation) from the relevant government office dealing with work from people you know who have worked in Russia from migrants organizations and other Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) 4. Make copies of all of your documents such as: passport visa letters of introduction contact details of your potential employer in Russia 5. Leave copies of these documents with: your family BWI affiliate or the national union (confederation) keep a set yourself 6. Take a pre-departure training operated by a trade union, migrant rights organization or NGO.

3 What to Do Upon Arrival 1. Visit the local BWI affiliate (see enclosed list with contact details) to: seek information about your rights join the union leave copies of all documents and local details request them to send a copy of the local details to the BWI affiliate in your home country 2. Make a copy of all local details such as: the address of your employer information about your work site hostel or local address 3. Send a copy of the local details to your family. 4. Visit your embassy or consulate. 5. Keep your documents in a safe place. 6. Tell your friends and co-workers about your rights and share the information given in this guide. It is always easier to claim your rights if you are many. What Not To Do at All Times 1. Enter a country without proper documentation, such as a valid passport, work via, and entry visa. 2. Use brokers or recruiting agents that require you to pay recruitment fees or other charges for a job. 3. Surrender any documentation, especially passport, work permit or patent to anyone. 4. Sign any documents without translation into a language you understand. YOur rights IN russia 1. You have the right to join a trade union. Regardless of your immigration status you also have the right to ask a trade union or other organization for help if you are abused, find yourself in trouble or just want to find out more about your rights. 2. You have the right to be paid your full salary on time and be paid for all work that you have completed. It is always illegal for your employer to withhold your salary. 3. Your employer cannot confiscate your passport, migration card, work permit or patent. This is against the law. You should always keep your passport and other personal documents with yourself. 4. You have the right to free emergency health care. 5. You have the right to collective bargaining and to all the benefits written in the collective bargaining agreement if there is one at your work place. 6. Your employer cannot make unlawful deductions from your salary. 7. You have the right not to be physically, mentally or sexually harassed. 8. You have the right to a written employment contract, which can be either a labour contract or a civil contract. A labour contract is preferred as it gives you much better protection. 9. If you work under a labour contract, you are protected by the Russian Labour Code and have the right to: Not to be paid less than the national minimum wage of 5,865 RUB a month (for 2015) or the minimum wage level in the region where you are working. Many regions have a higher minimum wage, for example the minimum wage level for 2014 was 12,850 RUB in Moscow and 8,868 RUB in Saint Petersburg.

4 Not work more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. Overtime pay: If you work more than this you must be compensated either with additional time off or increased salary of at least 1.5 times the standard wage rate for the first 2 hours and at least 2 times the standard wage for the subsequent hours of overtime. Your employer cannot force you to work overtime. Compensation for harmful and hazardous work. Compensation for work related illness and injuries. Insurance and paid maternity leave. 28 paid vacation days. What you need to know in order to receive legal employment status in Russia NOTE! Migration regulations are always changing in Russia. Before you go to Russia check what the recent updates are. The information provided below was updated in January For all citizens unless specified below: 1. If you come to Russia from countries with a visa regime you can work in the country only if you have a work visa. Work visas can be issued upon personal invitation from your Russian employer. For Citizens of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina 1. Citizens from these countries can visit Russia for 30 days without a visa for tourism purposes. If you come from one of these countries you need to have a work visa. To receive a work visa you have to: a) receive an official invitation from a Russian employer, b) apply for a 90 day work visa at the Russian Embassy in your home country, c) sign an employment contract with your employer, d) obtain migration registration documents from your employer within 7 working days after arriving in Russia. e) obtain documents for a work visa extension and work permit for the period of your employment contract from your employer, but for no longer than one year. WARNING: If any intermediate (recruitment agency, private employment agency etc.) promises that you can travel from one of the Balkan countries to Russia without a work visa and that the employer will then provide a work permit in 30 days THIS IS A FRAUD. Most likely after 30 days of your stay in Russia, the employer will not pay you anything, but take you to the immigration custody from where you will be deported from the country. For citizens from CIS countries (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Ukraine) 1. Citizens from these countries can enter Russia without a visa and stay for 90 days within a period of 180 days. At the Russian border you have to fill in a migration card and confirm that the purpose of your trip to Russia is for WORK. You must submit this migration card when you apply for a patent. A patent is an official document that allows foreign workers from non visa countries to be employed by employers legal persons, or to work for a private person Russian citizen (for example as domestic workers, or as a construction worker who works in the construction of private houses). Workers from CIS countries have 90 days to obtain legal employment status upon their arrival in Russia: Within 7 days upon arrival in Russia you must register (using

5 the migration registration form) at the territorial office of the Federal Migration Service (FMS). Within 30 days upon arrival in Russia you must apply for a patent. You can apply to the territorial office of the Federal Migration Service where they have migration registration. Within 2 months after obtaining a patent, you must find a job and send a notification letter with a copy of their employment contract to the territorial office of Federal Migration Service. NOTE! Since 1st of January 2015 work permits for workers from non visa countries are cancelled. Work permits issued before 1st of January 2015 remain valid for the whole period they were issued. NOTE! From 1st of January 2015 employers or private persons cannot hire foreign workers from non visa countries without a patent. Therefore you have to first obtain a patent and then look for a job. 2. To apply for a patent it is necessary to submit the following documents: Application form Passport Migration card Migration registration Medical insurance certificate HIV health certificate, general health certificate for Russia Certificates of education or exams that justify knowledge of Russian language, history of Russia and basic legal knowledge NOTE! Russian authorities also take finger prints when workers apply for a patent. 3. Russian authorities are obliged to issue a patent within 10 working days after a foreign worker has submitted all documents. 4. The Patent duration is from 1 to 12 months. You can initially apply for a patent for 1 month and then extend it monthly by paying a patent fee up to 12 months. After 12 months you can apply for a new patent if you have an employment contract and a letter from your employer with the request to state authorities to issue a new patent. NOTE! From 1st of January 2015 each region in Russia has the right to set its own patent fee amount. You should check the fee amount and account details at the territorial office of the Federal Migration Service, then go to the bank and pay the fee. 5. It is not possible for migrant workers to move to another geographical region for work after they have received a patent. If you want to move to another region to work you need to apply for another patent. If you want to change employer in the same geographical region you need to notify the territorial office of the Federal Migration Service by sending a copy of the new employment contract. From 1st of January 2015 regional governments have the right to decide whether to include professional occupation in the patent. If professional occupation is noted in the patent workers are not allowed to change their profession. For citizens from Kazakhstan or Belarus Citizens from these countries can enter Russia without a visa and stay for 90 days within a period of 180 days. At the Russian border workers from Kazakhstan have to fill in a migration card and identify that the purpose of their trip to Russia is to WORK. Citizens from Kazakhstan and Belarus should obtain migration registration within 30 days after they arrive. Unlike citizens of other CIS countries, citizens of Kazakhstan and Belarus do not need a patent to work in Russia.

6 Contact Information of Trade Unions and other Organizations in Russia Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FNPR) 42, Leninsky Prospekt, Moscow Telephone: (for legal consulting) Fax: Profesionalnyi Sojuz Rabotnikov Stroitielstva i Promyszlennosti Stroitielnyh Matierialov Rossijskoj Federacij (Russian Building Workers Union) 42, Leninsky Prospekt, Moscow Telephone: or Fax: strop@fnpr.ru Profesionalnyi Sojuz Rabotnikov Lesnikh Otraslei Rossijskoj Federacij (Timber and Related Industries Workers Union) 11/11, Profsoyuznaya str., Moscow Telephone/Fax: roslesprof@gmail.com Civic Assistance (Гражданское содействие) , Moscow, Olympiyskiy prospect, 22 (Москва, Олимпийский проспект, д.22) Telephone: +7 (495) and +7 (495) Legal and post address (Юридический и почтовый адрес) , Moscow, Dolgoruckovskaya, 33, building 6 (Москва, ул.долгоруковская, 33, стр.6) Center of Social and Labour Rights (Центр Социально Трудовых Прав) Moscow, Glinishevskiy pereulock. 3, 3d door, 4th floor (Москва, Глинищевский переулок, д.3, 3 подъезд, 4 этаж) Telephone: +7 (495) info@trudprava.ru Website: Integration Center Migration and Law Website: Hotline phones: +7 (495) : Administrative department +7 (495) : Legal department +7 (495) : Moldova department Lawyer (volunteer): +7 (926) : Uldoshev Rifat (speaks Russian and Tadjick) Lawyer: +7 (925) : Beisheva Anara (speaks Russian and Kyrgyz) Lawyer: +7 (926) : Usupov Temirbeck (speaks Russian and Kyrgyz) Lawyers: +7 (926) : Salijanov Haet / Fashundinova Kamila (speak Russian and Uzbeck) Lawyer (Moldova department): +7 (926) : Gareeve Tatiana (assistance for children and families) Legal and informational consultations Free, confidential, 24 hours

7 Contact Information of Embassies in Russia In case you face an emergency situation or threat to your health or life you can contact your home country embassies Hotlines. Embassy of Armenia 2, Armyansky pereulok, Moscow Telephone: Fax: , or Embassy of Azerbaijan 16, Leontievsky pereulok, Moscow (closest metro station: Pushkinskaya or Tverskaya ) Telephone: or Fax: or embassy@azembassy.msk.ru consulate@azembassy.msk.ru (consular section) Embassy of Belarus 17/6, Maroseyka str., Moscow Telephone: , mail@embassybel.ru Embassy of Georgia 6, Maly Rzhevsky pereulok, Moscow Telephone: Fax: anton@hloptic.ru Embassy of Kyrgyzstan 64, Bolshaya Ordynka str., Moscow Telephone: , , Fax: info@kyrgyzembassy.ru Website: Embassy of Moldova 18/7, Kuznetsky Most str., Moscow Telephone: , Fax: moscova@mfa.md Embassy of Tajikistan 13, Granatny pereulok, Moscow Telephone: , Fax: info@tajembassy.ru Embassy of Ukraine 18, Leotievsky pereulok, Moscow Telephone: , Fax: emb_ru@mfa.gov.ua or ukremb@online.ru Website: Embassy of Uzbekistan 12, Pogorelsky pereulok, Moscow Telephone: Fax: info@uzembassy.ru

8 Migration Service 40/3, building 1, 2nd Tverskaya-Yamskaya str., Moscow Telephone: Embassy of Serbia Mosfilmovskaya street.46, , Moscow Telephone: Fax: Embassy of Montenegro Mitnaya street, 3 office 23-25, Moscow, Russia, Telephone: Fax: ambasadacg@yandex.ru Embassy of Macedonia Dmitriya Ylyanova street, 16 building 2, office 510, Moscow, Russia, Telephone: Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mosfilmovskaya street, 50, building 1, Moscow, Russia, Telephone: Fax: embassybih@mail.ru

9 BWI CONNECT Migrant Workers Guide for Russia This booklet is produced with the support of LO-TCO Biståndsnämnd of Sweden.

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