The working conditions of Kyrgyz citizens in Turkey are at a high level – State Migration Service

Bishkek, Mar. 6, 2019. /Kabar/. About 8 thousand citizens of Kyrgyzstan have left for Turkey for the upcoming tourist season through private agencies, Deputy Chairman of the State Migration Service of the Kyrgyz Republic Samat Toktobolotov told at a press conference at the Kabar News Agency.

He said that in early March, a Kyrgyz delegation left for a working visit to Turkey.

“We had a meeting with heads of private agencies before the trip to hear the problems of employment of Kyrgyzstanis in Turkey. Afterwards, we also met with employees of the Turkish Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, and they agreed to solve the problems voiced by private agencies. These are a simplification of obtaining reference numbers and a work visa, as well as increasing the staff of the consular service in order to speed up the consideration of documents of migrants. In addition, the embassy agreed to secure ATM for receipt of fees for issuing visas, which is located in the street, and to consider the possibility of accepting these payments through Demir Bank,” Toktobolotov said.

He said that during the trip to Turkey, a meeting was held with head of the Directorate General of International Labour Force of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies of Turkey Akyıl Saadetin, head of the Directorate General for Migration under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkey Abdullah Ayaz.

“I myself visited about 15 hotels where Kyrgyz people are working. I was pleased that the working conditions of our citizens are at a high level. Workers live near the hotels, have the opportunity to do sports, have good conditions in the rooms where there is TV sets, air conditioning, and refrigerators. They are not the ones who clean their rooms, other employees come and clean up for them. As my compatriots told me, the salary is not too high, but good conditions and the ability to travel are a big plus. The work schedule should not exceed 8 hours and there is additional payment for every hour of overtime,” Toktobolotov said.

In addition, Toktobolotov called on citizens to find employment in Turkey only through private licensed agencies. “Also, all citizens who are going to leave the country to earn money can call 1899, 1977 and can get advice and information on whether you are legally employed,” he said.

The trip was funded by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as part of the implementation of the EU-UNODC Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants to the Kyrgyz Republic.