Ombudswoman reports to Verkhovna Rada on the millions of Ukrainians who work abroad (04/13/03)

Ombudswoman reports to Verkhovna Rada on the millions of Ukrainians who work abroad

by Jan Maksymiuk
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report

PRAGUE - Ukrainian ombudswoman Nina Karpachova on April 2 reported to the Verkhovna Rada that the problem of illegal migration of Ukrainians in search of work and earnings has become of "state importance." She stressed that Ukrainians abroad belong to "the most-discriminated-against and least-protected category" of citizens. Ms. Karpachova noted that, according to various estimates, between 2 million and 7 million Ukrainians are working abroad, as a result of poverty and unemployment in Ukraine. She said she believes than no fewer than 5 million Ukrainians - or one in five employable citizens - may work seasonally abroad, and almost all of them illegally.

Official data about Ukrainians abroad exist only with regard to those citizens who work there legally, under official contracts. Thus, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, 20,000 Ukrainians worked temporarily abroad in 2002, primarily in Greece, Cyprus, Liberia and Great Britain. At the same time, the Foreign Affairs Ministry estimated that from 1 million to 3 million worked in Russia, 300,000 in Poland, 200,000 to 500,000 in Italy, 200,000 in the Czech Republic, 150,000 in Portugal, 100,000 in Spain, 35,000 in Turkey, and 20,000 in the United States.

Ms. Karpachova said that, according to official data, 27 percent of Ukrainians live below the poverty line. The most difficult economic situation is in the Zakarpattia Oblast, where 47 percent of people live below the poverty line, as well as in Crimea and the Khmelnytskyi, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Volyn and Luhansk regions (32 to 37 percent below the poverty line).

According to the International Labor Organization, unemployment in Ukraine in 2002 stood at 11 percent of the employable population, which translates into 2.5 million jobless people. Ms. Karpachova cited the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy as saying that the number of unemployed Ukrainians may now exceed 3 million people.

Furthermore, Ms. Karpachova said the labor migration, along with the decreasing birth and increasing mortality rates within the country, deteriorates Ukraine's demographic situation. According to estimates by Ukrainian experts, if the current demographic trends are not reversed, Ukraine's population may decrease to 42 million in 2026.

The ombudswoman noted that the labor migration also has positive consequences, including an inflow of hard currency which not only improves the economic situation of particular families but also boosts the Ukrainian economy in general. She said Ukrainians abroad earn nearly $400 million per month, adding that most of this sum is transferred to Ukraine, although it is not known how much is sent through the banking system and how much is carried in pockets by people returning home.

Ms. Karpachova also told lawmakers that, since most Ukrainians work abroad illegally and avoid contacts with Ukrainian consular missions, the Ukrainian state has only limited possibilities to help its citizens protect their civil and human rights. According to Ms. Karpachova, the most common discrimination against Ukrainians abroad refers to their labor conditions - they are often forced to work 10 to 18 hours per day and are poorly paid or even not paid at all.

The ombudswoman reported that 10,000 Ukrainian citizens currently are under arrest abroad and another 2,500 are serving their terms in foreign prisons. She also reported that 23,620 Ukrainians have been deported in the past two years, primarily from Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Italy.

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