Industry associations issue statement supporting Aliens Act amendments
April 6, 2022Several employer, industry and commerce associations on Monday issued a joint statement in support of amendments to the Aliens Act proposed by Estonia's interior and entrepreneurship ministers and urging lawmakers to pass them quickly.
The bill includes changes that would affect the short-time employment of both Ukrainians who had already been working in Estonia as well as arriving war refugees.
“The Estonian Employers’ Confederation (ETK), Estonian Founders Society, Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL), Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EKT) and Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce (EPKK) are expressing support for the amendments to the Aliens Act proposed by Minister of the Interior Kristian Jaani (Center) and Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Andres Sutt (Reform),” the joint statement issued by the ETK read.
“Considering the rapid growth of global labor shortages, it is crucial to increase the competitiveness of the Estonian economy and to make Estonia as attractive as possible to global talents,” Estonian Founder Society president Kaidi Ruusalepp and ITL president Juhan-Madis Pukk said. “We commend the ministers’ proposals to increase the flexibility of recruiting foreign labor by reducing the requirement to pay top specialists twice the Estonian average gross salary to 1.5 times the Estonian average. Likewise by allowing the extension of temporary employment up to two years outside of immigration quotas, or the so-called 1+2 system.”
The signee associations expressed hope that the bill of amendments to the Aliens Act will justifiably be supported by both members of the Constitutional Committee and thereafter the entire Riigikogu and that it will be passed by the Riigikogu without delay.
The statement was signed by Arto Aas of the ETK, Mait Palts of the EKT, Kaidi Ruusalepp of the Estonian Founders Society, Juhan-Madis Pukk of the ITL, and Roomet Sõrmus of the EPKK.
Read the whole text at ERR News 04.04.2022