Recently arrived migrants from Uzbekistan asked to be returned from Belarus: no promised salaries
"We will not work for $500. Rather than this, you should have sent us back to Uzbekistan."
On July 9, during the visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Belarus, Minsk and Tashkent signed an intergovernmental agreement on the organized recruitment and employment of citizens of Uzbekistan for temporary work in Belarus.
Already this week, a delegation from Andijan region arrived in Belarus, led by its head (hakim) Shukhratbek Abdurakhmanov. Almost simultaneously, the first group of 255 residents of the region who expressed a desire to work in Belarus also flew to the country.
"These citizens in Belarus will be provided with high-paying jobs, appropriate working conditions, and social guarantees," the hakim's Telegram channel reported.
However, if the video address published today on social media is to be believed, the reality turned out to be different.
In the recording, likely made in Vitebsk, a large group of men addresses Shukhratbek Abdurakhmanov and complains about the conditions offered to them after their arrival.
According to them, during a meeting with the employer's representative, they were informed that the salary would be around $500 per month, and they would have to cover food and accommodation expenses themselves.
"He said: if there's work for more than $500, then go, I won't give more money. The salary is $500, food at your own expense, you pay for housing yourself," the migrants recount.
They claim that no one agreed to such terms.
"All the rest of us – no, we will not work for $500," they say.
One of the men explains that after paying for basic expenses, almost nothing would be left of the salary.
"If we work here for $500, if $200 goes to food, another $100 for soap, washing, and other household needs, then there's no point in working here for $200, wasting time and suffering," he says.
After this, the author of the appeal turns to the regional head with a request for help:
"Rather than this, you should have sent us back to Uzbekistan."
Another participant in the video claims that they can earn more in their homeland.
"We earn more than that in Uzbekistan. They tell us: 'Go.' But they promised to resolve everything by evening. So we ask you to resolve it."
As of the time of publication, the Migration Agency of Uzbekistan and other responsible departments have not officially commented on the situation.
It should be noted that the day before, Alexander Lukashenka met with the hakim of Andijan region, Shukhratbek Abdurakhmanov, and suggested that he not limit cooperation to Vitebsk region, but also consider sending migrant workers to Mogilev region.
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