“Ýêîíîìè÷åñêèå íàóêè”, 5. Óïðàâëåíèå òðóäîâûìè ðåñóðñàìè

Abreu Bastos, Oksana

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

abreubastos.oksana@gmail.com

Makazan, Evgenia

Ph. D. in Economics, Associate Professor

Zaporozhye National University, Ukraine

jain.mak@mail.ru

Koshulko, Vladyslav

Student of Karol Adamiecki University of Economics in Katowice, Poland

koshulllko@mail.ru

Contribution of Ukrainian Labor Migrants in the Development of Europe's Economies: Ukraine's Loss, the Worldwide Benefit

Introduction. From the end of the last century, the fourth wave of Ukrainian migration began, which drove a significant flow of Ukrainian migrant workers to the European Union. The labor migrants have played a special role in the modern history and the economies of Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, etc. Today the Ukrainian labor migrants, very diligent and educated, continue to play a significant role in building these countries' economies. Very often Ukrainian women, the labor migrants, leave their families and their young children to search for work in other countries. In Ukraine, this phenomenon is called "the social orphan of children with living parents". The main reasons that motivate Ukrainian women to leave for work abroad are low wages in Ukraine (52.8%), the high level of unemployment (31.7%), and financial debts (29.7%). Ukrainian women take away their children and their families from Ukraine to their new homeland that gives them protection, stability, confidence in the future, and retirement pensions. Although they are working as caretakers, cleaners, and employees in markets and supermarkets, etc., their role in the economies of these countries can’t be overemphasized. Experts have called this phenomenon "the phenomenon of female migration". Unfortunately, very often the Ukrainian labor migrants are victims of the criminal gangs of illegal Human Trafficking: facing human rights violations, social insecurity, violence, discrimination, and gender inequality. Nevertheless, they continue their very difficult journey in search of a better life in Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, etc.

What are Ukraine's losses?

Accordingly, the total absence of support from the Ukrainian government for the migrant workers and their families means that the Ukrainian migrant workers make all efforts to start their new life abroad, and do not return to Ukraine. In some countries of Europe they are using their right for family reunions.

What do other countries receive – those recipients of the Ukrainian labor migrants?

The recipient country receives the educated, hardworking people, who are able to the quickly learn the different professions and language.

Moreover, the migration is not limited only to specialists with workers qualifications. Very often the recipient country receives the highly qualified specialists – Ph.D.’s, doctors, physicians, teachers, and lawyers. This is a great success for the recipient country - getting the ready professionals from a country that doesn’t want to take care of them. Otherwise, how can we explain the tenfold difference in pay of an Associate Professor with a Ph.D. between Ukraine and other countries of Europe? We can explain this situation only by the lack of desire of Ukraine to take care of its citizens, both inside the country and abroad. It means that Ukraine is losing, very often permanently, the working-age population, young people "the golden gene pool", and seeing a “Brain Drain” of the country.

Conclusions. Ukraine, as the state, doesn't care about the economically active population: the men and women who can't find work inside the country and need to look for work abroad, nor about their children, who are "the social orphans with living parents" when their parents leave for work abroad. Very often the Ukrainian state does not want to see the problems of the Ukrainian labor migrants abroad, and does not help or support them in any way during very difficult situations in their lives abroad.

Sometimes it is the cause of irreparable harm for the life and the health of the Ukrainian labor migrants, the especially the illegal migrants.

Often they can be in inhuman conditions of existence in their work abroad.

The most-affected people are women and children. Unfortunately, very often the illegal migrants are victims of the criminal gangs of Human Trafficking, facing human rights violations, social insecurity, violence, discrimination, and gender inequality.

So, if Ukraine will not change its relations to the Ukrainian labor migrants and their problems, if the state will not address "the phenomenon of female migration" and Brain Drain of Ukraine as national threats, then in the near future this country will await a very negative shift in demographics and economic processes that will become irreversible.

References:

1.       Koshulko, Oksana; Koshulko, Vladyslav, (2012), Human Capital in Ukraine: How We Do Not Value What We Have. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 180.

2.       Makazan, Evgenia. (2013). Gender Issues of Human Capital in Ukraine. “Gender” International Student Congress of Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Maltepe University, p. 34.

3.       Koshulko, Oksana; Koshulko, Vladyslav, 2013, “Regression of Human Capital in Ukrainian Science and Education: International Experience in Overcoming”, National Interests Priorities and Safety, 8(197), pp. 29-35.

4.       Koshulko, Vladyslav, 2013, “Gender and Media in Different Countries of the World: Comparative Characteristics”, “Gender” International Student Congress of Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Maltepe University, p. 68.

5.       Koshulko, Oksana, 2012, “The Study of the Minimum Wage in Ukraine and its Impact on the Development of Human Capital”, Economic Analysis in Theory and Practice, 7(262), pp. 58-63.

URL: http://www.fin-izdat.ru/journal/analiz/detail.php?ID=48399