Daily NK has learned that North Korean
laborers dispatched to work in Russia are handing over almost the entirety of
their official wages to attain approval for work outside of their jobs with
state enterprises in order to send more money back home to their families.
A source who has recently visited Russia
reported the news on June 9th, saying, βNorth Korean laborers recently mobilized
for major construction projects in Russia are earning money primarily by doing
side business over their jobs with state-run enterprises.β
Another source close to this issue
confirmed the same trend, but for his safety and that of his family his
location must remain undisclosed.
Approval for additional profits, unsurprisingly, comes at a cost:
roughly the entirety of a workerβs paycheck, in fact. Paying 800-1,000 USD is
the running fee to gain approbation to engage in side jobs during a given
workerβs stint abroad in Russia.
The technical expertise required in
construction bumps up salaries for the job considerably, particularly compared
to logging, the other main industry for which North Korean workers are
dispatched to the region. Construction jobs usually pay over 1,000 USD monthly,
but depending on the enterprise this number can dip closer to 800 USD for the
same time period.
The small portion these workers keep from
their official paycheck goes to living expenses and almost all of their side
business money is sent back to their families in North Korea, according to the
source. These remittances, sent back into North Korea via brokers, come to roughly 2-3,000 USD annually per worker.
Moreover, the source said that side jobs
afford laborers the opportunity to avoid strict surveillance, and βearn a relatively
good salary to boot.β
Across the board, North Korean laborers
dispatched abroad are under constant surveillance from State Security
Department [SSD] agents and Party officials affiliated with the
enterprises’ outposts. Now, however, handing over oneβs paycheck is an automatic
pass to sidestepping the stateβs watchful eyes, allowing workers to work on
weeknights following their official work and on the weekends–free from
inspection.
Naturally, laborers express mixed feelings
on the matter. While seeing the fruits of their labor expropriated in an
instant by the authorities is infuriating, working side jobs free from minders
and the prying eyes of security agents is liberating, the source asserted.
βThere is always the chance for some inter-worker
surveillance to be at play, but still… theyβve got to be happy to be free
from the upper authorities,β he pointed out.
*The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group.
