Labour migration and the emergence of private employment agencies in Tajikistan: A review of current law and practice

Labour migration from Tajikistan has grown rapidly in recent years with an estimated 600,000 workers having left, mostly for seasonal work in the Russian Federation and other countries. Although the majority of these migrants leave through their own informal networks, a range of intermediaries that provide services to migrants in search of employment abroad have emerged. Some of them are legally registered Private Employment Agencies (PrEAs), others operate on a semi-legal or illegal basis.
As this study indicates, Tajik legislation already contains basic parameters for the regulation of PrEAs, and yet the industry struggles against unfair competition from informal or illegal intermediaries. Tajik enforcement authorities have also prosecuted cases of illegal and abusive recruitment but more needs to be done in this respect.