Željko Rajić, Deputy Director of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a member of the BiH negotiating team for conclusion of the Agreement on Employment of Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Russian Federation and Citizens of the Russian Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, met with Oleg Artmanov, Head of Administration for International Relations of the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation, and his associates in Moscow on 24 November 2014. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the BiH Embassy to Moscow.
Deputy Director, Mr. Rajić, informed the representatives of the Russian Federation of the necessity to resume the negotiations and speed up the procedure for opening a new round of talks due to the fact that large number of BiH citizens are already working in the Russian Federation without a signed interstate agreement which provides for realisation of all their rights and obligations, as well as their utmost legal protection. It was also stressed that the number of work permits issued to the citizens of the Russian Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been on a rise owing to the Russian investment in BiH.
The Russian side expressed its willingness to resume and speed up further negotiations with BiH.
Representatives of the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation said that the legislation pertaining to labour migration has been modified, stressing the fact that the Eurasian Economic Union, consisted of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which will be in future enlarged to include Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, will go into effect on 01 January 2015, which will, inter alia, remove the barriers to the movement of labour within the Union and that new provisions should be incorporated in the future Agreement on Employment between BiH and the Russian Federation. This would be an open door for workers from BiH to take employment in these countries.
It was mutually agreed that the preparation of a new Draft Agreement, which should be adjusted to new developments in the labour market, should be accelerated. In this respect, Mr. Artmanov suggested that the meetings on adjustment of provisions be held more often. The Russian side expressed its willingness for a closer cooperation with employers from BiH who are living, working and hiring BiH workers in the Russian Federation. Proposals and practical experiences of BiH employers could be of use in defining of future provisions of the Agreement on Employment.
In addition to the above, the Deputy Director, Mr. Rajić, met with employers who employ workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina who informed him of the problems they encounter when hiring BiH workers and suggested possible solutions. Mr. Rajić informed employers of the conclusions of the meeting held in the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation and asked them to contribute to the drafting of the Agreement with their suggestions which would provide for protection of the interests and realisation of all rights of BiH citizens working in the Russian Federation. According to employers, the largest problem is the issuance of work permits due to the limited and reduced work permit quota.
The Deputy Director, Mr. Rajić, also met with representatives of the Embassy of BiH to Moscow. It was agreed that the Embassy would monitor and encourage timely submission of proposals which could be incorporated in a new Draft Agreement and submitted for consideration to the Russian side.
(Source: ekapija)
