Labour shortage could force Belarusians to "work for three", president warns

Belarus must increase its labour productivity by up to five times if it hopes to compete effectively with the European Union, President Alexander Lukashenko has said.

Speaking during a meeting with the governor of Russia’s Kaliningrad region, Alexey Besprozvannykh, Lukashenko acknowledged that Belarus has lessons to learn from its western neighbours, Caliber.Az reports per Belarusian media.

“Let’s be honest — the Europeans are doing well in this regard,” the Belarusian leader was quoted as saying by state news agency BelTA.

He stressed that if Belarus does not bring in foreign labour, then boosting productivity is essential.

“I’ve said it before — if we’re not inviting anyone in, and we’re strictly controlling that, then our labour productivity needs to be three to five times higher, like in the EU,” he stated.

“If we can’t compete with the European Union, we have no business engaging with them, especially Kaliningrad and Belarus, whose economies are structurally similar to the EU. So we must compete — and that begins with the workforce.”

In April, Lukashenko said Belarus and Pakistan were working on an intergovernmental agreement to bring Pakistani migrant workers to the country. He added that some parties were trying to stir public unease around the issue, though he downplayed the concerns.

At present, Lukashenko noted, around 20 Pakistani nationals are employed in Belarus and are “working diligently without destabilising the situation”.

“In the absence of foreign workers, Belarusians will simply have to work for three — or at least for two,” he added.

By Aghakazim Guliyev