Envoy: More PH workers in Russia, but almost all undocumented

MOSCOW—The number of Filipinos working in Russia has grown by almost half in the last two years, from around 7,000 during President Duterte’s first visit to Russia in 2017 to about 10,000 today.

Nearly all of the migrants, however, are undocumented.

According to Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta, up to 95 percent of the Filipino migrants in Russia are nannies and maids who are working undocumented due to the limited work visas available in that category.

Sorreta, a career diplomat who has been serving at the post since 2015, said the number of Filipino migrants rapidly increased in the past few years since Mr. Duterte turned around the Philippines’ diplomatic relations with Russia, which had been dormant for 43 years.

Playing catch-up

The Philippine Embassy in Moscow is playing catch-up to formalize bilateral agreements with Russia on several fronts, including a labor agreement, he said.

“Every time I meet with the agency that deals with the foreigners, the numbers keep on growing. I’m almost afraid to ask how many because the last time we talked their rough estimate was about 10,000 [Filipino migrants] throughout Russia,” Sorreta said in an interview on Wednesday.

Only about a hundred visas are available for Filipino nannies and maids because there are Russians who are willing to do the work, he said.

“So the rest [of the Filipino migrants] do not have this visa to work here. But they work here. They are doing very well. We have not had a case of an employer physically hurting their Filipino employee,” Sorreta said.

“We have had one sexual assault case and we’re pursuing that, of course,” he added.

Without  documents, many of the Filipino migrants eventually have no choice but to leave, and the Philippine Embassy has to intercede to get them exit visas without penalty, which includes detention.

Visas for skilled workers

Sorreta pointed out that a few hundred visa slots are available for skilled Filipino pipefitters, carpenters, gas workers, welders and the like.

But illegal recruiters are not helping efforts to establish a good reputation for Filipino workers that will convince Russia to open up to more Filipino workers, he said.

He said the embassy was working with Russian authorities to build up cases against illegal recruiters so they could be charged in the Philippines with human trafficking.

“We have to prove to the Russian government that we follow their laws and there is a high level of trust and understanding as basis to negotiate [a labor agreement]”, Sorreta said.