Ain Käpp: myths and reality in the debate on foreign workers

If foreign workers are necessary for business and society, then we must organise labour migration in such a way that people with the necessary skills and who are suitable for the cultural area are accepted, explains Ain Käpp, member of the council of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation and head of the labour market working group, in the opinion columns of the newspaper Eesti Päevaleht.

Facts and figures should help to cool emotions and dispel lies and myths in the debate about foreign workers. The recently published OSKA survey on the inclusion of foreign workers provides a good opportunity to do this. It says unequivocally that Estonia’s labour crisis cannot be solved without foreign workers.

This shortage of skilled workers is fuelled by a number of megatrends – Estonia’s fertility rate has fallen to very low levels, the population is ageing in line with other developed countries, education does not meet labour market expectations and, as welfare grows, a number of people no longer want to do, for example, routine, shift and away-from-home jobs. So there are jobs, but no takers. As the economy recovers, this will again become a sharp brake on development.

While the state can help through various measures such as education policy, reducing unemployment, upgrading the skills and qualifications of local workers, internal capacity is still limited, according to OSKA.

Maybe we can’t do it without foreign workers.

Avoiding mistakes made by other countries

But we can avoid the mistakes made by some European countries on migration, which have led to problems in societies. It is up to us to organise immigration to Estonia in such a way as to welcome people who have the necessary skills, who are willing to contribute to our economy, who fit into our culture, and who are interested in the language and customs of their own society. This is the kind of person employers are looking for.

This is where the picture of working life comes in. It’s temporary, so when the permit or job ends, the person leaves. Labour migration is not mass immigration or the indiscriminate granting of citizenship and voting rights to all, which irresponsibly scares people, but a controlled and managed movement of people. So far, however, Estonian society has managed well to integrate and integrate foreign workers. In addition, every worker has helped local businesses to develop and grow, and has filled the treasury with the taxes paid on their wages.

2600 new jobs, 50 million tax revenue

Our small labour market and the tougher rules in the developed world on recruiting foreign workers have already eroded the competitiveness of our economy. It has also seen units of multinationals that need engineers leave, or high-paying jobs go uncreated, simply because there are no people with the right skills. As each engineering job loss means less demand for, say, trades and services, it in turn hits other, simpler occupations.

This is why businesses welcome the government’s plan to provide an extra 0.1% (around 1,300 people) of the population with the necessary skills to recruit foreign workers, which would rise to 0.2% of the population in times of economic growth. This means up to 2,600 additional taxpayer workers. This is not a magic wand given the size of the labour market as a whole – around 700 000 people – but it is a much-needed cushion against the crisis.

Assuming that each employed person paid on average €20 000 in taxes last year, the addition of 2600 people will generate more than €50 million in tax revenue. So, the fewer taxpayers, the higher the tax burden on everyone to pay the salaries of doctors, teachers and people who defend the country. Therefore, solving the shortage of workers is not just a question of the economy, but of sustaining society.

The article was published in the opinion columns of the newspaper Eesti Päevaleht.