In the Värska region alone, more than 30 people commute from Petseri every day to work, and their work schedules do not align with the hours when the border will be open.

Several long-term employees of local health spa and hotel Värska Sanatorium live in Petseri on the Russian side of the border. They say they have now been put in a difficult position due to the government's decision to only open the road border crossing point from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from February 24.

"It is very difficult for us to get to work. The cooks basically can't get there at all; they have to arrive the night before in order to start work in the morning," said Nadezda Gavrilava, a Värska Sanatorium employee from Petseri.

"We can't get home in the evenings. We work as assistant cooks until 7 p.m. and leave here at around 8 p.m., and so, again, we can't get home. We have to stay here overnight," she added.

"The border is only open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but our working day starts at 6 a.m. and dinner here ends at 7 p.m., so we will now have to find accommodation for them," said Värska Sanatorium board member Kairi Ustav.

"We have rearranged the schedules and looked for opportunities to offer separate rooms for these employees at the hotel," Ustav added.

Värska Sanatorium is the largest employer in the region with 120 members of staff and constantly faces challenges due to the shortage of workers living in the region.

"Currently, we have a lot of people working here who are from Valga, Võru, Räpina and Vastseliina, so the whole of Southern Estonia is represented – especially in the kitchen." Ustav explained.

"It is difficult to find cooks even in Tartu, let alone in such a small place as this. We struggle with labor shortages all year round, and the situation is particularly bad in the summer when the buildings are full of people," she added.

Other companies in the region are also struggling due to labor shortages.

The Värska Südamekodu nursing home in Saatse, for example, has ten employees who travel to work from across the border. The border closures mean the home has no choice but to reorganize and make its work schedules more flexible.

A total of around 50 workers commute from Petseri to the border region, in addition to those who work for companies elsewhere in places like Võru and Põlva.

Mayor of Setomaa Raul Kudre believes this kind of impact is inevitable.

"Wages in the service sector are relatively low. If we take the wage level in Setomaa, it is €100 lower than in Võru County, so there are simply no workers to hire. We have the eastern border here. We are completely stuck because there is simply no labor force available to do these jobs," said Kudre.

The common hope of those involved is that after three months, the border opening times might return to how they were before and things can get back to normal.

---

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!