Estonia needs several times more foreign workers than are currently entering the country, Toomas Luman, president of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and chairman of the supervisory board of listed construction company Nordecon, told daily Postimees.

"Currently we have problems with unregistered Ukrainian construction workers on construction sites," Luman told the paper. "We predicted a long time ago that if we do not allow foreign workforce to enter officially, then they will come unofficially and uncontrollably."

According to the chamber president, this has turned out to be the case.

"It is a demographic trend," he continued. "In the past few years, the population hasn't declined, but it is aging. Therefore, the regulated immigration of workers is unavoidable. It is an uncomfortable topic for politicians, but it is inevitable. We need several times more foreign workers than are currently coming here."