Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, reported on January 7 that Tajik labor migrants working in logging in the Republic of Korea say they earn up to US$100 a day.
According to them, working conditions in Kore are better than in the Russian Federation. They say their working day lasts from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. At this site, their job is to cut dead trees and collect them. At the same time, they say that it is quite possible that the next day they can be involved in some construction work or in work in another sector.
They reportedly get paid on time and they don't get chased by police on the street. If they work beyond the statutory time, they get overtime.
Special companies find jobs for them and every morning migrants are attracted to different jobs, at the discretion of the employer.
The migrants say they came to Korea for work a long time ago: some of them came two years ago and some others five or six years ago.
The Republic of Korea has reportedly become a new destination country for Tajik labor migrants over the past three years. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, South Korea became the object of close attention of thousands of Tajik labor migrants.
Some Tajik experts consider that Russia’s labor market will gradually lose its influence within the next five-seven years.
Meanwhile, experts note that Korea still remains difficult to enter. It is reportedly difficult for Tajik migrants to obtain a visa to enter the Republic of Korea. Mostly, they are given a work visa for the period of six months, and therefore, many Tajik labor migrants are living and working in this country illegally.
It is noted that so far Tajikistan and South Korea have not signed any government-to-government agreement on labor migration cooperation.
Radio Ozodi says that according to various estimates, more than 5,000 Tajik nationals are currently working in South Korea officially.
