3.1 Intermediaries and the Role They Play in Exploitation

The majority of migrant construction workers interviewed by Human Rights Watch had come into contact with an individual or organization acting as an intermediary. There are both formal and informal intermediaries engaged in the recruitment, travel, employment, document processing and other aspects of a migrant worker's experience. According to Galina Vitkovskaia, research program coordinator at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Office in Russia, 90 percent of intermediaries are informal. [77] In many, although not all, cases intermediaries themselves abuse migrants, knowingly or unknowingly arrange employment for workers with abusive employers, or provide migrant workers with false or improper documentation, rendering their clients' stay illegal and making them more vulnerable to abuse.

Intermediaries include brigade leaders or others who recruit individuals-often their own family members or neighbors-for work in Russia; individual employment recruiters; private or state employment agencies; diaspora groups; and agencies assisting in obtaining residency registration and work permits. Because of the personal relationships underpinning much of migrant workers' engagement with intermediaries, workers may be especially unwilling to challenge the employment conditions or terms as set, and often changed, by the intermediary or be reluctant or unable leave an abusive situation.

Intermediaries operate in both Russia and in migrants' home countries and are subject to little regulation. Inadequate regulation and minimal government oversight mean that the outcome of the migrant's engagement with intermediaries is largely determined by the good or ill will, or, in some cases, the competency of the individuals or agencies providing services. The Russian government and some labor-sender country governments, including Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, are discussing proposals for increasing regulation and control of employment agencies, as described below in Labor-Sending Countries' Governments Response. There are regional initiatives attempting to address this problem, such as a draft model law developed by the Eurasian Economic Community, a regional body for promoting economic cooperation and integration. [78]

Brigadiers

A common informal method by which migrant workers find employment in construction in Russia is through a brigade leader, or brigadier. A brigadier may informally organize a number of men from his home town or village into a construction brigade that then travels to Russia and works together with them on construction sites. Brigadiers may also recruit people already in Russia, also often of the same nationality and from the same region, to work on construction brigades. A brigade may consist of a just few workers or up to several dozen. The brigadier is usually a person with more work experience who ensures that the brigade fulfills its tasks on time and that the work is of the necessary quality. Very often, the brigadier will be the only member of a brigade to have any direct contact with the construction company, individual contractor, or subcontractor hiring the brigade and will be responsible for receiving wages and then distributing them to the members of his brigade.

Human Rights Watch has obtained evidence of numerous cases of brigadiers cheating people of salaries or deceiving them about employment or other conditions during the recruitment process. As brigadiers are very often relatives or friends of those whom they recruit, workers may feel resigned to accept the work under the brigadier's terms, even if the situation is abusive. Human Rights Watch documented several cases of brigadiers abusing migrants, as described in relevant sections below. The most common violation involving brigadiers is non-payment of salaries. In some cases documented by Human Rights Watch, brigadiers claimed that employers, such as contractors, had refused to pay them the salaries owed to the workers in the brigade, and the brigadiers were then unable to fulfill their commitments to their workers. 

Individual Employment Recruiters

Private individuals also engage in informal recruitment for construction work, recruiting migrant workers in their home countries or in Russia. They may act in ways similar to brigadiers, but do not themselves perform work. As described below, Human Rights Watch documented many cases of individual recruiters deceiving and abusing clients, including by traveling with them to Russia and then confiscating their passports and forcing them to work, by cheating them of full wages or deceiving them about employment or other conditions.

Registered Employment Agencies

Private and state employment agencies operate in Russia and in migrant workers' home countries. A small percentage of migrant workers use the services of these agencies, although the numbers of these organizations appears to be increasing, particularly in Russia. In both Russia and in the home countries of many migrants, employment agencies providing services to migrant workers are subject to little regulation. Regulatory practices in Russia and in certain sending countries are described below in Protection Failures and Obstacles to Redress.  

In the absence of effective regulation, Human Rights Watch has found that even officially registered agencies may knowingly or unknowingly place migrant workers in abusive employment situations.

Although infrequent, there are cases in which migrant workers have filed a complaint against an agency operating in their home country, after the agency or the particular employer in Russia identified by the agency violated the terms of the agreement with the worker. These cases are described in more detail, below (see Labor-Sending Countries' Government Response).

Diaspora Groups

In every major city of Russia with even small populations of national minorities, there are organized national diaspora groups, and, in larger cities, often more than one for any particular nationality. The leadership typically has lived in Russia for many years and has obtained Russian citizenship. Diasporas often provide cultural and other support to migrants, and in the past most such groups have been registered as non-profit, non-governmental organizations. However, many diaspora groups are increasingly engaged as intermediaries, assisting migrant workers with residency registration, work permits, and job placement, often arranging employment with friends or associates. Some diaspora leaders own or manage companies, including in construction and therefore are also employers. Migrants may also access diaspora groups or diaspora leaders when attempting to rectify abuses by employers (see below Russian Government Protection Measures and Gaps). Human Rights Watch documented cases of diaspora groups abusing migrants, as described in relevant sections below.

Agencies and Individuals Providing Other Services

Some intermediary organizations in Russia are dedicated exclusively to obtaining residency registrations and work permits for migrant workers, for a fee. Individuals may also provide these services on a regular or ad hoc basis. Some of these intermediaries provide false residency permits or work permits to migrant workers and charge excessive fees. 

Case study: Tajikistan

Human Rights Watch was able to examine the work of state and private employment agencies in Tajikistan in some detail. The practices of employment agencies in other countries and the outcomes of migrants' experiences with these agencies warrant additional research. A small number of Tajik labor migrants use the services of agencies that are licensed in Tajikistan to facilitate employment abroad. Officially there are 24 licensed agencies. [79] The largest agency, the state-run Tojikkhorichakor, assisted approximately 800 citizens of Tajikistan in obtaining employment in Russia in 2007. There are currently no laws or regulations that regulate the activities of the agencies, as described below in Labor-Sending Countries' Government Response.

All agencies in Tajikistan work the same way: they sign agreements with Russian employers, including private companies and Russian government agencies, to place a certain number of employees in specified positions. The agencies identify potential workers and sign agreements with each. The agreement generally specifies the terms of the employment with the Russian employer as well as the services to be provided by the agency. The Russian employer pays a fee to the agency in Tajikistan. Job-seekers also pay fees to the agencies, although some agencies claimed to offer sliding scale rates or to provide services for free to some individuals. According to the director of one employment agency in Tajikistan, agencies may or may not make travel arrangements for the employee, most likely doing so in cases when the employer pays for the travel and then will deduct the sum of the travel costs from the worker's salary. [80]

A 2008 ILO study on private employment agencies in Tajikistan examined contracts at 15 licensed employment agencies. The study found widespread violations of contract legislation, such as a failure to specify whether the agency is acting in the capacity of a service provider on behalf of the worker or as an employer of the worker and placing obligations on third parties (such as parents) not party to the contract between the agency and the worker. In addition, the contracts are often written only in Russian, while many of the clients of these agencies may not speak or read Russian fluently. The study also found irregularities in agreements between agencies and employers in Russia, including the obligation of the agency "to expel a worker found in serious violation of labor regulations or the social order, or for disciplinary infractions." [81]

Human Rights Watch interviewed three men from Tajikistan who sought employment through the Youth Labor Exchange employment agency in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. All three men confirmed that they signed contracts with the agency, which agreed to organize well-paid construction jobs for them in Sochi, starting in early 2008. The agency promised that the men, together with 50 others, would receive three meals a day, housing, and a salary of 18,000-25,000 rubles (US$760-$1,056) per month. However, the Youth Labor Exchange failed to arrange any kind of work in Russia for the men, and one of the agency's lawyers, who traveled with the workers, subjected them to extortion and some to physical abuse during their journey to Russia. [82] One of the men, Anvarjon A., age 22, recounted:

They promised to send us to Sochi to work on construction sites. We gave them money for the train tickets. … For this reason I agreed and left a construction job in Tajikistan … earning US$250 a month to come here. But here, there's nothing. They tricked us. I even have a signed contract with this employment agency that they were going to organize work, salary, and housing for me for six months, that everything had been agreed with a Russian firm, and that I would sign a contract with the firm when I arrived. It was all a trick![83]

We left on May 7, [2008]. The agency's lawyer went on the train with us. … He took 600 rubles from each of us [in order to bribe] the customs officials. And another 100 rubles for us to get our migration cards, but they are in fact free. There was that kind of trick. Two people refused to hand over the 600 rubles and two guys from the customs or border guards beat them up with truncheons. They beat them horribly. We traveled four days and they gave us only water, no food, nothing.[84]

Upon their arrival in Krasnodar, Anvarjon A. and the others learned that there was no work for them either in Sochi or in Krasnodar, and the employment agency lawyer essentially abandoned the group. Having no money to return home, Anvarjon A. and many of the others were stuck in Krasnodar. A local Tajik diaspora leader in Krasnodar assumed responsibility for Anvarjon A. and many of the others, giving them food and housing, and promising to find work for them. At the time of the interview with Human Rights Watch in June 2008, Anvarjon A. and many of the others had been waiting in Krasnodar for over a month without employment. [85]  

Eight of the workers who traveled with Anvarjon A. with the same employment agency found work through a Russian employment agency run by a Tajik by the last name of Zaripov. Zaripov promised the group housing, three meals a day and a salary of 15,000 rubles (US$633) per month for casual laboring at a local construction site. However, after the men agreed to these terms, Zaripov confiscated the men's passports and, according to the victims, sold them for 35,000 rubles (US$1,478) to the director of a sunflower seed processing factory, who forced the men to work long hours doing heavy physical work, as described below (see Trafficking and Forced Labor). The men eventually were set free, had their passports returned to them, and joined other workers from Tajikistan who had been deceived by intermediaries and were now depending on a local Tajik diaspora leader to assist them. [86]    

In a separate incident, Kholmurad Kh., 38, and Nozim N., 57, told Human Rights Watch that in early 2008 a Tajik employment agency promised to arrange work for them in Moscow that would pay 25,000 rubles (US$1056) per month. They each paid a US$150 fee and signed a contract with the agency. In May 2008 the agency told Kholmurad Kh. and Nozim N. that they would instead be going to Krasnodar to work as casual laborers earning US$1,000 per month. Kholmurad Kh. and Nozim N. each took US$800 in credit from a local bank, which they paid to the agency, who said it would be used for tickets and other expenses. When the men arrived in Krasnodar on June 1, however, there was no employment organized for them and a representative of the employment agency instead brought Kholmurad Kh. and Nozim N. to a local Tajik diaspora leader who promised to arrange employment. [87]

A Human Rights Watch researcher examined a copy of Kholmurad Kh.'s contract with the employment agency, which appeared to be a form contract, without the client's name included in the text. The contract was signed by the employment agency "Vostok-Farm" and the client, defined as "a person in possession of a work permit on the territory of the Russian Federation." Neither Kholmurad Kh. nor Nozim N. had Russian work permits at the time they signed the contract. The contract obliges the employment agency to consult with the client about securing the necessary documents to allow them to stay and work in the Moscow region; to cooperate with the client in securing employment, housing, and food; including, for those in the construction, three meals per day provided by the employer; and to assist the client in obtaining tickets for travel. The client is obligated to provide accurate information and necessary documents and, in the case of premature departure from the place of employment, to reimburse the cost of the air tickets. The salary is not specified, but would be determined "based on qualifications." [88] Vostok Farm officials refused to comment on this case to Human Rights Watch. [89]

Human Rights Watch documented a second case involving Vostok Farm, in which the agency  was involved in trafficking 34 citizens of Tajikistan into forced labor in Russia, as described below (see Trafficking and Forced Labor).

Two organizations in Tajikistan have represented migrant workers in lawsuits against agencies for alleged trafficking into forced labor, as described in more detail below (See Labor-sending countries' government response).