Atabekova: It is necessary to tighten penalties for poaching foreign workers by companies

At the meeting of the "Ala-Too" deputy group on January 16, Asel Atabekova raised the issue of the need to change the legislation regarding the attraction of foreign labor.

During the discussion of the problems in the garment industry, she noted that, according to unofficial data, more than 70% of garment enterprises in Kyrgyzstan employ foreign workers without the necessary documents.

Atabekova insists on introducing stricter measures against the use of foreign labor in violation of the law.

“Enterprises have the opportunity to legally attract labor, but many of them poach workers who have already been hired by other companies. This creates competition based on price dumping and leads to a gray economy, which in turn results in the loss of qualified employees. It is necessary to amend the existing legislation. A fine of 650 calculation indicators (about 65,000 soms) for poaching employees and using illegal labor is a very small amount. This allows violators to continue their activities without fear. In Russia, for example, legal entities can be fined up to 1 million rubles for each illegally hired worker and may also face suspension of activities for up to 90 days. Increasing fines in our country could help address this issue,” emphasized Atabekova.

Photo on the main page: limon.kg.