Indian migrant workers and the issue of migrant welfare in India
- This year, International Migrants Day (observed annually on December 18) must be seen in the backdrop of unprecedented volatility that began in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Besides this outbreak, there were events such as Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, worsening poverty in the sub-Saharan region, & climate change, resulting in large-scale migration.
World Migration Report 2022
- Published by: International Organization of Migration (IOM)
- International migrants: 281 million international migrants globally in 2020, with nearly two-thirds being labour migrants.
- South Asia’s share: ~ 40%
- South Asia-Gulf Migratory corridor: world’s largest migrant corridor.
Problems that migrant laborers face
- Irregular payment and non-payment of wages
- Poor working conditions
- Negation of labor rights
- Absence of a proper grievance redress mechanisms
- Access to a transparent judicial system
- Abuse at the workplace
‘Justice for wage theft’ campaign
- Led by: South Asian countries
- Aim: disbursement of pending salary benefits & other related dues of labour in the wake of pandemic.
Issue of migrant welfare in India
- No comprehensive migration policy: despite India being the largest migrant-sending & remittance-receiving country.
- Old and redundant Emigration Act, 1983: as in the last 40 years, migration has witnessed sea changes but govt is silent on the issue of updation.
- Draconian Kafala system: exposed in wake of COVID-19 pandemic (a ‘sponsorship system regulating relationship between employers & migrant workers’).
Women migrant workers
- Concentration of women migrant workforce: limited to GCC and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
- Harsh & remote working conditions: Indian nurses have been working in most volatile countries - Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Israel, and even remote Papua New Guinea.
- Comprehensive assessment of the situation of migrant women: women- centric, rights-based policies must be created.
Conclusion
- The United Nations, through its non-binding resolution, “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly Migration and Regular Migration”, recognises the challenges migrant labor faces across the world.
- In this context, the Government of India has to revisit its policies in the post-pandemic migratory scenario by engaging all stakeholders and by passing the Emigration Bill 2021.
Prelims Takeaway
- International Migrants Day
- World Migration Report 2022
- ‘Justice for wage theft’ campaign
- “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly Migration and Regular Migration”