The Estonian government wants to increase the number of foreign workers, but the opposition has called the plan irresponsible; meanwhile, employers believe that valuable specialists should be allowed to come, writes ERR News.
Currently, about 6% of the working-age population in Estonia is unemployed – more than 40 thousand people have registered as job seekers. Together with those who have given up looking for work, the number of unemployed reaches 60,000.
Hando Sutter, executive director of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation, said on the program Esimene stuudio that you would have to be blind not to notice the labor shortage. He pointed out that it is the worst in Estonian history: “We must certainly address unemployment and I’m particularly concerned about two groups. The first is young people under 25, where unemployment is among the highest in the European Union — 25 percent. Figuring out how to get young people into the labor market or into work is one of our greatest challenges.” He added that the other group is people with limited work capacity.
Sutter pointed out that everyone is needed in the labour market at the moment, and no one can be left out. The low birth rate, which is currently at its lowest level in the last hundred years, is also worrying.
Meanwhile,
opposition parties are worried that the influx of workers from third countries could lead to the replacement of Estonians.
Sutter responded by pointing out that the largest labour migration takes place within the EU, and it is about attracting talent, and there is also competition with neighbouring countries. Denmark is also thinking about how to attract strong specialists from other EU countries. “We must see this more as an opportunity than a threat,” Sutter said.
Speaking about public concerns about the import of labor from countries that are not part of the EU, Sutter said that for Estonia it could be only 0.1% of the population, so about 1,300 third-country nationals. He added that parliament is currently discussing increasing this number to 3,600 potential employees, but only if there is rapid economic growth: “Under normal circumstances, it would remain 0.1 percent, with exceptions made only for fields that are demonstrably the most labor-deficient. These are very specific sectors, with clear criteria. It is a limited activity — not mass migration.”
Sutter said that there are sectors that are currently experiencing a severe shortage of workers. For example, there is a severe shortage of engineers. The employer representative gave the example of a company that might need 200 employees, ten of whom would be talented engineers.
If the company were to attract ten specialists from other countries, the remaining 190 employees would be local residents.
The opposition fears that such a system would allow an uncontrolled influx of people from third countries, but Sutter stressed that only those positions that Estonians cannot fill are being discussed, and they will not be low-wage workers. He said he could not understand how xenophobia could have become so strong when Estonians themselves go to work elsewhere so much and expect a warm welcome. “And in fact, many Estonians have already worked abroad for shorter or longer periods. I’ve also worked abroad and was well received, evaluated for my results and knowledge, not judged for not being local or for not speaking the local language,” Sutter added.
According to Sutter, labor migration for Estonia would mean people who come with knowledge and skills, pay taxes and create value. He noted that the draft law currently before parliament already includes restrictions and is a compromise between fear and opportunity.
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