Labour Migration in the Case of Estonia and Kyrgyzstan: Disillusionment with Lack of Opportunity in the Homeland

Abstract

This paper examines the both the conditions of Estonian migrant workers within the labour market of Estonia and Finland and the situation of Kyrgyz migrant workers within the Kyrgyz-Russian labour market. There are many parallels between these two cases. Kyrgyzstan is in the process of entering the Eurasian Union, of which Russia is already a member. Similarly, Estonia has entered the European Union (EU), of which Finland is a member state. The difference in average wages between the home and host country is significant in both cases. There is also a certain lack of employee "voice" in the home country workplaces, making "exit" an easier option and undermining "loyalty" to the home country. Moreover, domestic politics in both Estonia and Kyrgyzstan tend to treat labour migrants as pragmatic agents seeking to maximise their own economic gains and downplay the social nature of labour migration. In doing this, governments are only encouraging their citizens to look for work outside of the country. The mechanism by which this occurs varies from country to country; much depends on the specific variations of each home country. The outcome, however, is the same: long-term plans to work abroad or emigrate on a permanent basis due to disillusionment with one’s life prospects in the home country.