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Proposals to ban use of cheap foreign labor unrealistic - opinion

"Noone has ever been able fully to control migration, and there will always be some movement. Migration is development," Romodanovsky said
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, December 11 (Itar-Tass) —— Konstantin Romodanovsky, the director of the Federal Migration Service of Russia, described as unrealistic the proposals of head of Superjob.ru portal Alexei Zakharov for a total ban on the use of cheap labor from abroad.

In an open letter to the President, Zakharov expressed the opinion that a total ban on the use of cheap labor from abroad will lead to positive changes in the Russian labor market. “The Russian labor market must be closed completely to unskilled labor from abroad. There should be no quotas for migrants. When cheap labor cannot be used, business will have to invest into innovations, into the growth of labor productivity and create work places. There is no other way,” Zakharov holds.

The head of the Federal Migration Service regards these proposals as unrealistic. “I have no illusions. We live in realities of the CIS, we live in realities of the common economic space, there is a need in a work force, and checking this situation is, perhaps, impossible,” Romodanovsky told reporters.

“Noone has ever been able fully to control migration, and there will always be some movement. Migration is development,” Romodanovsky said.

He believes If Russia refuses to admit migrants, then, by the same logic, Russian citizens will not be admitted to other places either, Romodanovsky referred to the Soviet times as an example.