Legal regulations of employment of migrant workers

The topic of labor migration and its regulation is of current interest both at the international level and at the level of national states. According to the United Nations, the number of external migrants in the world has reached 272 million. According to the International Labour Organization, the number of migrant workers worldwide is 164 million. According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2019, 19.5 million foreign citizens and stateless persons were registered in Russia. The thesis focuses on various issues related to the legal regulation of migrant workers through the lens of key international and regional treaties and existing international labor standards, as well as by analysis of regulation provided by the Russian legislation. The purpose of this work is to identify existing international labor standards related to migrant workers, to analyse Russian legislation in the light of existing international treaties of the Russian Federation and to identify the main problems in this field. The objectives of this work are: 1. Analysis of existing international labor standards and approaches to their implementation. 2. Analysis of the provisions of treaties concluded within regional organizations with the participation of the Russian Federation. 3. Study of international treaties of the Russian Federation and the implementation of their provisions in the Russian law and in judicial practice. 4. Analysis of the judicial practice of the Russian courts in cases related to migrant workers. 5. Identification of practical issues in the application of legislation related to migrant workers. As a result of the study, it can be concluded that at the international level, a number of special treaties have been adopted establishing the rights of migrant workers. One of the significant developments in international law in this area has been the extension of certain guarantees also to illegal or undocumented migrant workers. Russia has not ratified these international treaties. At the same time, the provisions of these international legal instruments constitute international labor standards and can influence Russian legislation. Russia is a member of a number of regional organizations. Some of their treaties establish the non-application of national restrictions on migrant workers from these countries. The Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes the equal rights of foreign citizens with Russians, except for restrictions provided by federal laws and international treaties of the Russian Federation. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes that labor relations between a foreign worker and a Russian employer are subject to the rules established by Russian labor legislation and other acts that contain labor law provisions with certain exceptions. A number of restrictions exist aimed at protecting the national labor market, and the priority of citizens in employment. They apply to all migrant workers to a certain extent. As the judicial practice shows, the courts interpretation of the obligations of migrant workers and their employers is not unified. The thesis makes recommendations on the development of Russian legislation and highlights approaches to the most problematic issues in the field of labor of migrant workers.