The migrant worker underclass in Russia

There are as many as 12 million migrant laborers in Russia. Only 2 million work in the country legally.

Bek Takhirov, a 38-year-old ethnic Uzbek, knows all too well the problems that migrant workers face. In 2004, he came to Russia and worked illegally, stacking cargo in a warehouse for alcoholic beverages. Takhirov completed a lengthy application for Russian citizenship in order to step out of the shadows, two years ago. He now works legally in St. Petersburg as a translator by day and moonlights as a security guard by night.

 

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China’s Migrant Workers Will Hit 350 Million by 2050

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Migrant workers in China

China’s population of floating migrant workers reached a record 211 million by 2009 and will hit 350 million by 2050 if government policies remain unchanged, according to a report released on Saturday.   The number, however, could increase at a slower rate if the number of new workers joining the migrant population continues to fall each year.

 

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China Facing Major Labor Shortages as Migrant Workers Fail to Return to Work

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A recruiter from a clothing factory holds up a poster with a list of job vacancies.

Companies in the Pearl River Delta, the country’s manufacturing heartland, are facing major labor shortages after workers are failing to return after the Spring Festival holiday.   Nearly one in 12 migrant workers is not expected to show up after the break in Guangdong province, home to some of the country’s leading exporters, according to survey of leading employers.

 

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China’s Rural Population Could Drop from 900M to 400M Within 30 Years

elderly man in china

An elderly man from the countryside walks in a street in the Sichuan province, with his granddaughter on his back

China’s rural population may drop to 400 million from the current 900 million in the next three decades because of rising urbanization, a senior official has forecast.  The rural population currently stands at 720 million, the latest population figures have shown. But the number does not include the 180 million rural residents who have left their hometowns to live in cities for more than half a year, Han Jun, a senior official at the State Council Development Research Center, was quoted as saying by Beijing News.

 

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Migrant Workers In Persian Gulf Headed Back To India As Jobs Dry Up

migrant workers

Migrant workers wait for a bus to return them to the labor camps outside Dubai, but many of the jobs have dried up.

When his overnight flight landed, Abdul Wahib walked out of Kochi’s palm-fringed airport and hugged his family. After 24 years of working in the United Arab Emirates, he was home. He carried a suitcase and a layoff notice: His well-paid job as a forklift operator at Dubai’s once-bustling port was terminated.

 

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