MIGRANT LABOURS

• According to the International Organization of Migration (IOM)'s World Migration Report 2022, there were 281 million international migrants globally in 2020, with nearly two-thirds being labour migrants.
• While there were 169 million labour migrants in 2019, the figure touched 164 million in 2020.
• In the larger pool of migrants, South Asia's share is nearly 40 per cent.
• Further, the South Asia-Gulf Migratory corridor is the world's largest migrant corridor.

2.1 Kerala Government data

• Some 1.7 million Keralites returned from abroad during the pandemic between June 2020 and June 2021.
• 1.5 million had suffered job losses.
• None of them had a proper plan to survive and was staring at no jobs or self-employment opportunities in Kerala.

3. Migration policy

• Unfortunately, despite India being the largest migrant-sending and remittance-receiving country, the welfare of Indian Migrants abroad is hardly a priority for the Government and policymakers.
• It is a matter of serious concern that India has yet to have a tangible and comprehensive migration policy to ensure decent living and safe movement of migrants.
• India manages or governs Indians migrating abroad using the Emigration Act, of 1983.
• In the last 40 years, migration has witnessed sea changes.
• However, the Indian government has been silent on the issue of updating the Act.
• The authorities have still to initiate discussions for the smooth passage of a robust Emigration Bill in Parliament.
• In the winter session of Parliament, a document tabled shows that around nine million Indian migrants are working in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) countries.
• Though some of the GCC states have passed reforms to safeguard the rights of migrants and to protect them from discrimination, the situation at the grass-roots level is a different story.

4. Kafala system

4.3  An Asian-led campaign 

• Presently, South Asian Countries, including their civil society organisations, scholars and migrant activists are leading a "justice for wage theft" campaign for the disbursement of the pending salary benefits and other related dues of labour.
• The pandemic has resulted in unemployment, under-employment, a reduction in salaries and more importantly, in the non-payment of salaries, compensation and residual dues.
• It must be noted that rich employers in GCC nations who violate basic labour laws and refuse regular salaries and dues are from different nationalities including Indians.

• Attention needs to be focussed on the women migrant workforce, largely limited to GCC countries and also to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries to some extent.
• Interestingly, Indian nurses and caregivers have been working in the most volatile countries such as Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Israel and even remote Papua New Guinea.
• Women workers venture to these countries using the services of recruiting agencies on account of major domestic problems.
• Therefore, the government should comprehensively assess the situation of migrant women and create women-centric, rights-based policies.

6. The way forward

• Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has rerouted global migration patterns, restructured migratory corridors and exposed the untold vulnerabilities and miseries of international migrant labour.
• The United Nations, through its non-binding resolution, "Global Compact for Safe, Orderly Migration and Regular Migration", recognises the challenges migrant labour 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 bypassing the Emigration Bill 2021.

For Prelims & Mains