The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (ЛДПР) has called for reducing the construction industry’s reliance on migrant labor. Party leader Leonid Slutsky stated that priority in hiring should be given to Russian citizens. As of the publication date, this is a political initiative: there is no information about an adopted law, new quotas, bans, or obligations for employers.
What has changed for construction companies
A proposal has been publicly announced to establish priority for Russian citizens in construction hiring. It is addressed to an industry where foreign personnel are widely used at the sites of general contractors, subcontractors, and developers.
The statement itself does not change the current procedure for employing foreign nationals. The source information contains no details of a submitted draft law, the date of its consideration, the effective dates of the provisions, or the parameters of possible restrictions.
Therefore, an employer should not stop processing employment paperwork for or dismiss foreign employees solely because this initiative has emerged. The current rules for employment and migration registration remain in effect until regulatory changes are made.
What HR risks should be assessed
The initiative may increase attention to the extent to which construction projects depend on foreign workers. To manage this risk, it is useful to see not the total headcount, but the dependence of specific sites, occupations, and work areas on particular personnel groups.
If the rules for employing migrants are tightened in the future, a company without a staffing reserve and replacement plan may face labor shortages, construction delays, and increased recruitment and training costs. These are not announced consequences of the initiative, but a risk if it develops further.
It is also important not to conflate workforce planning with migration compliance: while scenarios are being prepared, the company must continue monitoring valid documents and mandatory procedures for foreign workers already employed.
Practical solution: a site-by-site staffing map
A practical tool may be a site-by-site staffing map: the number of employees, their status, critical specialties, available reserve, and replacement options. Such a map makes it possible to understand where the search for Russian candidates and training should begin first.
For shortage occupations, it is worth considering in advance a plan for recruiting and training Russian workers, as well as adjusting the reserve and schedules. The announcement contains no specific requirements for such plans: this is a management measure, not a new obligation.
It is the legal formalization of the initiative that should be monitored. Until specific provisions are published, it is impossible to determine whom they will affect and which actions will become mandatory.
What to check
- Prepare a site-by-site personnel list broken down into Russian citizens, citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union (ЕАЭС), visa-required and visa-free foreign nationals.
- Identify the occupations, crews, and stages of work most dependent on foreign personnel.
- Check compliance with current requirements for patents, work permits, notifications to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (МВД), Russia’s migration authority, and migration registration.
- Prepare options for recruiting, training, and retaining Russian workers for shortage construction occupations.
- Update the staffing reserve and work schedules in case the availability of foreign personnel declines.
- Monitor the further formalization of the initiative: no information on a draft law, its consideration, or specific measures has yet been provided.