INTRODUCTION

The economic literature has frequently emphasized the significance of migration research that
focuses on the links between labor migration and the economic development of migrant-sending
regions and a growing number of researchers and policy makers are joining the debate on the
economic consequences of migration.
The movement of heterogeneously skilled workers between distinct labor markets, both
internally and internationally, is intrinsically linked to the global flow of capital and goods as this
flow of factors determines the returns to labor in an economy. This dissertation seeks to explore
and quantify those links. Taking into account the savings behavior of workers who migrate
temporarily, a model derives the optimal migration length from the point of view of the host
country, and the possible migration length that could pass a majority vote.
There has been considerable debate about the effect of increased labour migration from
developing countries to developed nations. Many commentators have argued that such increase
in migration is informed by economic factors and that those who migrate from developing
countries drain the human capital resources of sending nations which in the long run, negatively
affects their economy. On the other hand, other scholars believe that migration helps the
economy of developing countries as the incomes they receive by way of remittances contribute
significantly to reducing poverty and their gross domestic product [GDP].
Although migration has expanded less rapidly than either trade or direct investment, migration
has become increasingly contentious. The immediate labor market impacts on host countries
appear small and dynamic gains from induced technical progress remain undocumented. Circular
migration from low-income countries offers a key safety valve where the home state fails to
provide employment and security, but there are dangers from over-dependence on the migration
remittance nexus.

DEFINITION & MEANING

Migration is usually defined as the movement of a person or group of persons from one
geographical unit to another across an administrative or political border, and wishing to settle
permanently or temporarily in a place other than their place of origin. Since the movement
between two geographical units does not have to occur directly, one can further differentiate
between the place of origin or sending region, transit regions, and the place of destination or
receiving region. Movements within a country are usually defined as internal migration and,
accordingly, movements across international borders are called international migration.
Henceforth, we exclusively focus on international migration. The broad concept of migration
comprises many different forms of migration flows and distinct types of migrants.
According to International Organization for Migration, international labour migration is defined
as the movement of people from one country to another for the purpose of employment.
International migration occurs when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for
some minimum length of time. Migration occurs for many reasons. Many people leave their
home countries in order to look for economic opportunities in another country. Others migrate to
be with family members who have migrated or because of political conditions in their countries.
Education is another reason for international migration, as students pursue their studies abroad.
While there are several different potential systems for categorizing international migrants, one
system organizes them into nine groups: temporary labour migrants; irregular, illegal, or
undocumented migrants; highly skilled and business migrants; refugees; asylum seekers; forced
migration; family members; return migrants; and long-term, low-skilled migrants. These
migrants can also be divided into two large groups, permanent and temporary. Permanent
migrants intend to establish their permanent residence in a new country and possibly obtain that
countrys citizenship. Temporary migrants intend only to stay for a limited periods of time;
perhaps until the end of a particular program of study or for the duration of a work contract or a
certain work season. Both types of migrants have a significant effect on the economies and
societies of the chosen destination country and the country of origin.

Today, an estimated 105 million persons are working in a country other than their country of
birth. Labour mobility has become a key feature of globalization and the global economy with
migrant workers earning US$ 440 billion in 2011, and the World Bank estimating that more than
$350 billion of that total was transferred to developing countries in the form of remittances.
However, despite the efforts made to ensure the protection of migrant workers, many remain
vulnerable and assume significant risks during the migration process.
When properly managed, labour migration has far-reaching potential for the migrants, their
communities, the countries of origin and destination, and for employers. While job creation in
the home country is the preferred option, demographic, social and economic factors are
increasingly the drivers of migration. As a result, a growing number of both sending and
receiving countries view international labour migration as an integral part of their national
development and employment strategies. On one hand, countries of origin benefit from labour
migration because it relieves unemployment pressures and contributes to development through
remittances, knowledge transfer, and the creation of business and trade networks. On the other
hand, for destination countries facing labour shortages, orderly and well-managed labour
migration can lighten labour scarcity and facilitate mobility.

EFFECTS OF LABOUR MIGRATION

The general beliefs that labour migration between certain countries was as a direct economic
relationship between such countries has lately been proven wrong, in view of the latest resultant
effect of Globalization, Trade liberalization and the Information Technology growth that has
elicited a massive need for skilled labour especially in the developed countries with labour
deficiencies. In relation to this, fast paced development & economic growth as well as other
liberalization policies in these developed countries has resulted in high economic wage
differentials, high social welfare conditions, and high income packages which have become a
major attraction for skilled labour.

POSITIVE EFFECTS
Supply of labour
Developed countries like Canada, Australia, some European countries and USA have
experienced scarcity of skilled as well as unskilled labour. Many Asian doctors and engineers,
nurses and teachers are employed in developed countries. Unskilled labour migrated from
developing countries, provided labour to those areas where the native people would not wish to
take up the jobs. This is more evident in the so called dirty jobs. In USA such jobs are taken up
by labourers from Mexico, South American, Africa and Asia.

Wage Rate
Labourers usually migrate from low wage counties to higher wage nations. Unless prevented or
guarded by law, wages will change in both countries. Such an effect on wages is brought out in
Home country and foreign. It is also possible that over a period of time real wages may increase
both in host countries and native countries. A case study by Jeffery G. Williams, of eight

countries, host countries Argentina, Australia, Canada and United States of America and native
(home) countries Ireland, Italy, Norway and Sweden between the period 1870 and 1913 has
come to the conclusion that real wages during this period had increased in all the countries, but
substantially in the home countries.

Employment
Migration takes place primarily in search of employment, to earn, more income and to enjoy
better quality of life. While enjoying these benefits in the host countries the migrants at the
disguised unemployment. In the early stages of large scale migration from Europe to North
America, it helped in mitigating population problem of European countries.

Remittance
Emigrants remit a part of their income back to their families in their native country. Many of the
European countries, Mexico and Asian countries have benefited from the remittance of their

emigrants. At present china and India receive a substantial amount of remittance. It helps the
home countries reduce their balance of payment problem or increase investment at home; import
capital goods thus promote development of their economies.
Remittance would reduce over a period of time as the emigrants settle in the migrated country
along with their families. The size of the remittance depends on the number of emigrants from a
country and the nature and duration of employment. Many countries including India, offer
additional incentives to the emigrants to remit and keep the money back in their home country.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS
Brain Drain
Emigrants comprise people educated and trained at different levels. Majority of the emigrants are
of low education and unskilled. Emigrants also include highly educated professionals such as
doctors, engineers, professors and other technically and professionally trained people. A good
number of medical, engineering and management students from India migrate to countries like
USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France and to some rich gulf countries. These
students take the advantage of subsidised education financed by tax payer money and leave the
country when they become productive agents or labourers. Ts is also argued that educated
emigrants help the home countries when these countries rare not in a position to employ them.
Beside it also reduces the claim on goods and service of the home country when labourers
migrate.

Problem of social Integration

Immigrants in a country belong to different countries, race, religion and culture. They form their
own groups based on the above factors. In the initial stages these groups live in ghettoes. Social
assimilation with the people of the host country becomes difficult. In USA, Canada and Australia
or in countries dominated by white coloured people, social integration becomes difficult due to
6

colour complex. Religion is another factor which makes immigrants identify with the host
country where the majority belong to another religion. Cultural differences also deter the process
of integration specially when each group develops a complex of cultural superiority. At times
ethnic and religious differences create a problem for the host country as it happens in UK and
India.

Illegal Immigrants
It is a serious problem for many countries. USA has a large number of illegal immigrants from
Mexico. Similar problems are faced by Canada, Australia and some of the European countries.
Illegal migration to a neighbouring country is a common occurrence due to political, economic,
social and religious factors. India is facing such a problem with illegal immigrants from
Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Immigration Sign

Cheap Labour
Developed countries, specially organise labour through their Trade Union oppose the liberal
migration policy. They argue that the migrant labourers who are willing to work at lower
workers. However this argument does not merit serious consideration wage rate in such
economies is determined by market forces, Exploitation can be prevented through minimum
wage law, which also safeguards the interest of migrant labourers.

Fiscal Imbalance
Immigrants positively contribute to the growth of the host country. When immigrants constitute
in large numbers, the host country requires spending a huge amount of capital to provide the
required economic and social infrastructure. As they settle down permanently, the government
requires spending for providing social security benefits. Expenditure on all these counts may
create fiscal imbalance in the form of increased budgetary deficit.

CAUSES OF LABOUR MIGRATION

It is estimated that the world labor force stands at about 3.2 billion, 85% of this population size
reside in developing countries. Out of this, 200 million does exist as migrants of which 90% of
them are in the labour force and which 60% have relocated to developed countries. The labour
work force composition in the developed countries stands at the service industries taking a larger
chunk of 72% whilst the industry and agricultural sectors sharing 25% and 3% respectively.
A reason that is obvious is that labour migration can be stopped in entirety even when there is
development. 'Development does not reduce the impetus for migration it increases it' (Massey
1988). So long as opportunity does exist, migrants will be attracted to such opportunities in order
to enhance their living condition, avoid poverty as well as insecurity. Paradoxically, these remain
the main hydra-headed difficulties the developing countries don't have solutions for. The reasons
for labour migration could be summarized as follows: Growing urbanization & linkages through
globalization, economic vulnerability of developing countries policies, and migrants' quest for
enhanced personal economies of scale, poverty, political conflicts, famine, relative cheap
transportation, population pressure, and strong ties to former colonial masters, fallout of wrong
economic or political decisions by former colonial masters leading to war. We shall consider first
the economic reasons.

WAGE DIFFERENTIALS
In most developing countries, there exists a high significant wage differential arising from
growing urbanization thereby giving rise to 'economic inequalities'. An intended migrant worker
will obviously juxtapose the expected earnings abroad vis--vis the associated relocation cost.
Where the former is higher, the rationale to relocate becomes highly justified.

UNEMPLOYMENT
Unemployment and displacement arising from a wrongly timed industrial revolutionary
transformation scheme through embracing trade liberalization could cause rise to a massive
concentration of displaced workers who in turn search for better opportunities elsewhere
especially abroad where the system is more dynamic. For example, Tajikistan break-out from the
USSR in 1995 and its sudden transition from a controlled economy to a market economy left a
lot of its workers unemployed and this led to a large scale migration outflow.

PURCHASING POWER PARITY

A stimulated analysis in the workings with particular reference to the 'purchasing power parity'
and the associated income differentials, makes relocation becomes apparent and the motives
highly visible for workers in the developing countries.

WELFARE PACKAGES
Welfare packages which are linked to the direct relationship between income and post tax
adjustment system have been motivating factor behind a massive pull in into the developing

10

countries. In the developed countries, a worker is entitled to basic mortgage facility aside from
other ancillary benefits derivable from basic employment where such structure fail to exist in
developing countries.
LACK OF SOCIAL AMENITIES & INFRASTRUCTURES
The non-availability of basic social amenities as well as infrastructures in the developing
countries has been a high reason for labour force migration. The developing countries leaders'
non attention to these provisions as a priority makes it rather disheartening. Whilst the cost of
migration at times may create a challenge for the migrant in terms of migrant expenses,
culturally realignment, learning a new language and adjusting to a new weather condition, the
incentives derivable from expectations from an improved life condition, such as acquisition of
better skills through education, exposure, training as well as better living standard may become
dominating in the decision making.

POOR PLANNING POLICIES & COLONIAL TIES

The developing countries poor demographic policies and non compliance with policy issue on
planning, as well as often leads to exert pressure on the available scarce resources and thus
causes great distortion in the efficient allocation of such resources. This pressure may often have
been caused as fallout of wrong economic or political decision taken by former colonial masters
of these developing countries. Mostly at times, the resultant effects leads to political conflicts,
war and eventually poverty which forces both the skilled and unskilled labour force out of such
countries in search of a place of rest. An apparent example was the Rwanda genocide of 1994
arising from a wrong decision earlier taken by Belgium (colonial master) politically.

PROXIMITY & CHEAP TRANSPORTATION

Cheap transportation and proximity in terms of geographic distance between countries often play
a great factor in labour migration especially where the developed countries shares a border line
with the developing countries. A typical example is Mexico and the United States as well as
Paraguay and Argentina.
11

NATURAL DISASTER
Natural disaster such as drought and famine could be recognized as another factor responsible for
labour migration between developing countries and the developed countries. Poor scientific
research depth makes it difficult for developing countries to make adequate preparation in terms
of preventing or limiting the effects of future natural disasters and the aftermath effects which
leaves the country with food shortages and majority of the population impoverished thereby
'pushing out' its citizenry for quest of survival.

12

IMPACT OF LABOUR MIGRATION

The developing countries have been worst-hit by its highly productive work force that has
constantly been depleted to fill this gap. Lately, the pattern of labour migration has also become
broad beyond the historical notion of the influence of industrialization as it cut across all facet of
human endeavours. Let us get acquainted with the impact of labour migration on the migrants
and their families as well as the social impacts.

IMPACT ON MIGRANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

Poorer migrant workers, crowded into the lower ends of the labour market, have few entitlements
vis a vis their employers or the public authorities in the destination areas. They have meagre
personal assets and suffer a range of deprivations in the destination areas. In the source areas,
migration has both negative and positive consequences for migrants and their families.

Living conditions
Migrant labourers, whether agricultural or non-agricultural, live in deplorable conditions. There
is no provision of safe drinking water or hygienic sanitation. Most live in open spaces or
makeshift shelters in spite of the Contract Labour Act which stipulates that the contractor or
employer should provide suitable accommodation. Apart from seasonal workers, workers who
migrate to the cities for job live in parks and pavements. Slum dwellers, who are mostly
migrants, stay in deplorable conditions, with inadequate water and bad drainage. Food costs
more for migrant workers who are not able to obtain temporary ration cards.

13

Health and Education

Labourers working in harsh circumstances and living in unhygienic conditions suffer from
serious occupational health problems and are vulnerable to disease. Those working in quarries,
construction sites and mines suffer from various health hazards, mostly lung diseases. As the
employer does not follow safety measures, accidents are quite frequent. Migrants cannot access
various health and family care programmes due to their temporary status. Free public health care
facilities and programmes are not accessible to them. For women workers, there is no provision
of maternity leave, forcing them to resume work almost immediately after childbirth. Workers,
particularly those working in tile factories and brick kilns suffer from occupational health
hazards such as body ache, sunstroke and skin irritation.

Changes in migrants attitudes

Exposure to a different environment, including the stresses that it carries, has a deep impact on
the attitudes, habits and awareness levels of migrant workers, depending upon the length of
migration and the place to which it occurs. Changes are more dramatic in the case of urban
migrants. Migrant workers develop greater awareness regarding conditions of work (Srivastava,
1999). Life style and changes in awareness may lead to a mixed impact on family members. The
increased awareness which migrants, especially in urban areas, gain often helps them realise the
importance of their childrens education.

IMPACT ON SOURCE AREAS

The major impacts of migration on source areas occur through changes in the labour market,
income and assets, changes in the pattern of expenditure and investment.
Although seasonal outmigration potentially has the effect of smoothing out employment over the
annual cycle, rural outmigration could cause a tightening of the labour market in some
circumstances. However, empirical evidence from out-migrant areas does not often attest to this.
This may be because outmigration often takes place in labour surplus situations. There is also

14

evidence of the replacement of out-migrant male labour by female and even child labour. Study
of seven villages in Uttar Pradesh showed some variation over regions. While the situation in the
study villages in Eastern and central Uttar Pradesh conformed to a situation of labour surplus,
this was not the case in Western Uttar Pradesh where seasonal migration coincided with the
agricultural peak season (Rabi) and employers complained of labour shortages. Significantly in
all the regions studied, labourers on their part gave uncertainty of employment along with
employment conditions and poor relations with their agricultural employers as the major reasons
for outmigration.
Even if labour tightening is not an outcome, outmigration may still speed up qualitative changes
in existing labour relationships in rural areas, and thereby affect the pace of change. This may
occur in several ways. First, there is the well-documented impact of migration on attitudes and
awareness as migrant labourers and return migrants are more reluctant to accept adverse
employment conditions and low wages. Secondly, outmigration leads to a more diversified
livelihood strategy. Combined with some increase in the income and employment portfolio of
poor households, this may tend to push up acceptable level of wages (reservation wages) in rural
areas and may make certain forms of abour relationships (as for example, those involving
personalised dependency) less acceptable.
Outmigration as a result of debt at home, or debt-interlocking (i.e. the repayment of debts
through advance labour commitment) involving employers in the destination areas or their
middlemen, is quite common. Such outmigration may or may not eliminate the causes of debt.
The reduction of personalised dependencies or interlocked relationships may also accelerate
labour mobility and migration as labourers seek out alternative sources of cash income.

IMPACT ON DESTINATION AREAS

There are clearly multiple rationales for the use of migrant labour in destination areas. While
shortage of local labour provides one important rationale recruitment of immigrants is as much
motivated by strategies of labour control and wage cost reduction. Numerous cases have been
documented where the same areas export and import labour to identical sectors.3 Migrants are
preferred because their labour is easier to control and it is easier to extract labour from them
15

under arduous conditions. Moreover, the supply of labour can be easily increased or decreased
with little cost to employers and migrants can work for long and flexible hours. Flexibility of the
migrant workforce is reinforced because of the role of contractors and middlemen in recruitment
and supervision. The segmentation of the labour market, which also leads to greater control over
both migrant and local labour, is another outcome of the process. Finally, the wage payment
systems which grow around industries based predominantly on migrant labour are eminently
suited to side-stepping minimum wage legislation. Thus migration reduces labour cost to
employers.
The labour market outcomes generated by labour immigration facilitate a certain kind of growth
and accumulation in the destination areas, although this is via what can be described as a low
road to capitalism. Labour immigration is one of the strategies favoured by entrepreneurs to shift
both risk and cost of production on to workers. Another reason for continued informalisation is to
keep businesses away from state surveillance. Thus most enterprises in the informal sector
escape regulation of any kind.
Furthermore, in such destination areas, employers rarely provide anything other than wage
subsistence requirements. Migrant labourers have to fend for themselves to meet their health,
shelter and other basic requirements. Although the poor condition in which labourers subsist is a
result of employers not internalising the legitimate costs of hiring labour to society the resulting
urban congestion appears to be result of unplanned mobility. The costs of population mobility
have been, as a result, considered in theory in the context of large costs imposed by population
concentration in large cities. The social, political and other consequences of immigration,
especially where such migration is by linguistically, ethnically or regionally distinct groups, has
not been considered in the growing economic literature on internal migration, but figures
prominently in the corpus of sociological and political literature.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LABOUR MIGRATION

At the aggregate level, labour emigration affects the sending countrys economy through its
impact on the labour market, on macro-economic variables (savings, balance of payments and so
on), and social relations. These impacts are summarised below.
16

Impact on labour markets

The labour market impact of international migration depends on factors such as size of outflow,
employment status before migration, skill composition of migrants and, in the case of temporary
migration, on the size of the return flow. Even though a large proportion of those who migrate to
industrialised countries are fairly highly educated, the absolute number of migrants is small and
their proportion of the total educated population of graduates is insignificant. However, it is
important to mention that such migration has given rise to considerable debates on costs and
benefits of emigration of certain categories of highly skilled workers through brain drain. Thus
the labour market effects of migration are reported to be significant in relation to major sending
regions within the country. Research studies on international migration in India in 1970s and 80s
have shown that migration acted as a safety valve in countering growing unemployment in states
like Kerala and in districts like Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

Impact through financial flows

The most widely recognised immediate benefit from the international labour migration remains
the flow of remittances, which not only augments scarce foreign exchange but also provides a
potential source of additional savings and capital formation. Remittances have direct bearing on
the balance of payments accounts as they meet a substantial part of the import bill. A certain
proportion of remittances is channeled through informal means and thereby is undocumented in
the official data. Here again, lack of reliable estimates makes meaningful inferences difficult.
However, based on the findings of certain micro level studies, it could be ascertained that such
undocumented remittances were fairly prominent in the late 1970s and 1980s. In terms of the
macro level impact, the impact of remittances is most significant in the context of balance of
payments. Remittance flows during the past three decades have financed a large proportion of the
balance of trade deficit and thus reduced the current account deficit. Remittances, however, have
had a considerable impact on regional economies within India.

17

SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACTS OF MIGRATION

Let us study about the above mentioned impact by taking an example of our very own India.
Empirical evidence to assess the demographic consequences of international migration from
India is limited. Migration has had a direct effect in reducing the population growth in the state
since the 1950s. Migration has reduced the working age population in the state and consequently
increased the proportion of children and the elderly. Migration has contributed to the prevalence
of large numbers of very small families in the state. Single member households and two member
households increased as a result of migration. Migration has had significant consequences on
poverty levels as well. Another prominent impact, which migration, especially, male migration
has had, is in relation to the effects on women left behind. This is especially so in the case of
those who are married. One of the major problems encountered by wives of emigrants is
loneliness. The extent of such loneliness is reported to be more severe among younger wives
whose husbands migrated immediately after the marriage. Such solitude had given rise to mental
tension in the wives of those migrated during the 1970s and 80s. Such mental tensions seem to
have been reduced in the 1990s. This could mainly be attributed to the availability of quicker
means of communication, new responsibilities, roles, and leisure activities for women.

African Immigrants

18

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY MIGRANTS

Problems encountered by the migrant workers may be examined at two levels; first in relation to
recruitment violations and the second in relation to working and living conditions in destination
countries. Commonly reported violations are delayed deployment or non-deployment of workers,
overcharging or collection of fees far in excess of authorised placement fees and illegal
recruitment. Delayed deployments are often caused by factors beyond the control of the
recruitment agency, such as visa delays or when the employer requests a postponement. Nondeployment is however a serious case and the magnitude of its implications are amplified if an
excessive placement fee is collected from the worker. Overcharging is a serious offence and is
prevalent in all labour-sending countries in Asia. What makes overcharging doubly serious is that
the workers end up paying huge amounts equivalent to many months salary. Minimising, if not
totally eliminating, overcharging poses a serious challenge to overseas employment
administrators. Illegal recruitment is another serious violation of the rules as workers get
recruited and deployed overseas without the government knowing about them. Being unlicensed,
illegal recruiters are beyond the reach of the normal regulatory machinery of the national
overseas employment policy. They are and should be the concern of police and other
enforcement agencies. Some major problems encountered by the migrants in their countries of
employment include:

Premature termination of job contracts

Changing the clauses of contract to the disadvantage of the workers
Delay in payment of salary
Violation of minimum wage standards
Freezing of fringe benefits and other perks
Forced over-time work without returns
Denial of permission to keep ones own passport.

Migrant labourers seldom lodge any complaint against the erring employers for the fear of losing
their jobs. In cases where migrant workers decide to complain against the erring employer, they
have two options. First, the employee may inform the home embassy in the country of
employment. This is mainly done by people lacking the means to return home. Embassy officials

19

sometimes seek the help and assistance of the local government to take actions against the erring
employers. Apart from that, the Embassy also passes information about the complaints made to it
to the Protector of Emigrants (POE) offices. Secondly, the employee registers the complaint after
he/she reaches his/her respective country. Employers against whom the complaints have been
made, if found guilty through preliminary investigations, are blacklisted and this information is
passed on to embassies and registered agents in order to ensure that in future labourers are not
supplied to these employers. Apart from this, generally no action can be taken against foreign
employers as they are governed by laws of another nation state.

20

SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Some specific suggestions relating to international labour migration are as follows:

DEVELOPING MIGRATION INFORMATION SYSTEMS

One of the areas requiring immediate policy intervention is the creation of an appropriate
information system on international emigration. This would enable closer surveillance and better
management of emigration. The status of out-migrant data can be improved by making the
registration of entry by migrant workers mandatory in the missions operating in labour receiving
countries. The nature of outflow data at home can be strengthened by a fuller utilisation of the
data already available with government departments and recruitment agencies. A chief
requirement in this connection would be the strengthening of the statistical wings of the
concerned government departments. There is also a need to use border control records for more
accurate measurement of international labour migration. International experience suggests that it
is possible to extract labour outflow and return flow data on key variables from embarkation/
disembarkation cards. An essential first step to make use of this source is to redesign the existing
arrival/departure cards to yield required information. To obtain further information, periodic
airport surveys could be resorted to. Data on migration are as much essential at the state level as
they are at the national level.

MANAGING AND DIRECTING MIGRATION FLOWS

It is important that labour markets of the major labour importing countries are closely monitored.
This may be done through the establishment of a labour market monitoring authority. The
authority has to carry out negotiations on various labour contracts and also study the nature of
emerging skill requirements. The activities of the labour market monitoring mechanism should
be linked with a comprehensive system of labour market information for all types of employment
seekers.

21

WELFARE FUNDS
Although the issue of welfare of families of workers left behind in the home country has come to
be recognised as potentially important, there are hardly any policies in this area. It may be
worthwhile to consider the constitution of a welfare fund for workers abroad. Such a fund can be
utilised for a wide range of welfare measures concerned with both the migrant workers and their
families. Incentives such as attractive insurance schemes and tax relief should be offered to the
migrants contributing towards such a fund.

PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION PROGRAMMES

One of the most neglected aspects of overseas employment policy is the absence of any form of
pre departure orientation to the intending emigrants. It is important to recognise adaptability of
the workers to changed working conditions and to new socio-cultural environment. It can also
influence their productivity levels. The orientation programme can include topics such as
religion, the socio-cultural and political conditions of the country of employment, the dos and
donts, the contract of employment, description of the jobsite, the duties and responsibilities of

22

the workers, travel tips, procedure on how the workers may handle their problems at the
worksite, and advice on remittance procedures. The government, registered recruitment agencies,
returnee associations and non-governmental organisations working among the migrant workers
can participate in providing pre-departure training to the potential emigrants.

RESPONDING TO TRANSFORMATIONS IN LABOUR MARKETS

Any policy intended to streamline the overseas labour recruitment system has to recognise, as a
pre-condition, the important transformation that has occurred with respect to expatriate labour
market in most of the labour importing countries, i.e. a transformation of expatriate labour
market from being a sellers to a buyers market. Under the transformed expatriate labour market
conditions, the expenditure incurred by the recruiting agents for the promotion and maintenance
of their business has risen significantly. In order to match such a rise in expenditure, most private
recruiting agents sidestep the law and charge a fee much higher than the legally prescribed limit.
It is also true that most emigrants are willing to pay an amount higher than the ones prescribed
by the law as the earnings can easily abate losses due to extra payment. In such a context, the
government may take a more flexible position and reconsider the amount of maximum
chargeable fee.

FINANCING OUTMIGRATION
It would also be worth establishing a government system of offering low interest loans to less
well-off emigrants to finance outmigration. Such a system of financing outmigration may also
ensure that those emigrants availing the low interest loans would resort to formal banking
channels to transfer their remittances back home. This would further augment the foreign
exchange resources, which are vital for a developing country.

23

UTILISING RESOURCE FLOWS AND HUMAN CAPITAL OF EMIGRANTS TO

STRENGTHEN DEVELOPMENT
There is an absence of any policy framework regarding the effective utilisation of financial
inflows from emigrants to strengthen the development process at national or state levels.
Similarly, the existing policy regime in some countries hardly addresses any concerns related to
the migration of persons with technical or professional expertise, many of whom are willing to
make a contribution to the development process, either in their non-resident status or as
returnees. These issues need close consideration at national and regional levels and effective
policies need to be formulated which can integrate development concerns with the migration
process.

24

25

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO)

The International
with labour issues,

Labour

Organization (ILO)

particularly international

is

labour

a United

Nations agency

standards,

social

dealing

protection,

and

work opportunities for all. The ILO has 186 member states: 185 of the 193 UN member states
plus the Cook Islands are members of the ILO. In 1969, the organization received the Nobel
Peace Prize for improving peace among classes, pursuing decent work and justice for workers,
and providing technical assistance to other developing nations. In this era of globalization,
almost all countries in the world are involved in migration as countries of origin, destination, or
transitor all three. Of the several millions of people living outside their countries of birth, the
ILO estimates that almost 90 per cent are migrant workers and their families. While international
migration can be a positive experience for migrant workers, many suffer poor working and living
conditions, including low wages, unsafe work environments, a virtual absence of the social
safety net, denial of freedom of association and workers rights, discrimination and xenophobia.
Therefore, the ILO approaches international labour migrationinternational migration
undertaken for workfrom a labour market and rights-based perspective with the intent to
promote decent working conditions for migrants as well as migrants labour and human rights.
As the UN specialized agency on labour issues, the ILO has been dealing with labour migration
since its foundation in 1919. The very Constitution of the ILO specifically mandates the
organization in its Preamble to give attention to the "protection of the interests of workers when
employed in countries other than their own". The International Migration Branch (migrant) is the
main unit responsible for labour migration issues in the ILO. Migrant promotes the ratification
and implementation of international standards; facilitates the participation of ILO's tripartite
constituents in formulating and implementing migration policy; provides advisory services and a
forum for consultations; serves as a global knowledge base on international labour migration;
and conducts or coordinates various projects to strengthen the capacity of ILO's tripartite
constituents and other relevant partners such as non-governmental organizations and migrants'
associations, to deal with a wide range of labour migration issues.
ORIGIN & HISTORY

26

The ILO was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, to
reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social
justice. The driving forces for ILO's creation arose from security, humanitarian, political and
economic considerations. Summarizing them, the ILO Constitution's Preamble says the High
Contracting Parties were 'moved by sentiments of justice and humanity as well as by the desire
to secure the permanent peace of the world.'
There was keen appreciation of the importance of social justice in securing peace, against a
background of exploitation of workers in the industrializing nations of that time. There was also
increasing understanding of the world's economic interdependence and the need for cooperation
to obtain similarity of working conditions in countries competing for markets.
The ILO has made signal contributions to the world of work from its early days. The first
International Labour Conference held in Washington in October 1919 adopted six International
Labour Conventions, which dealt with hours of work in industry, unemployment, maternity
protection, night work for women, minimum age and night work for young persons in industry.
The ILO was located in Geneva in the summer of 1920 with France's Albert Thomas as the first
Director of the International Labour Office, which is the Organization's permanent Secretariat.
Under his strong impetus, 16 International Labour Conventions and 18 Recommendations were
adopted in less than two years.
This early zeal was quickly toned down because some governments felt there were too many
Conventions, the budget too high and the reports too critical. Yet, the International Court of
Justice declared that the ILO's domain extended also to international regulation of conditions of
work in the agricultural sector. A Committee of Experts was set up in 1926 as a supervisory
system on the application of ILO standards. The Committee, which exists today, is composed of
independent jurists responsible for examining government reports and presenting its own report
each year to the Conference.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is devoted to promoting social justice and
internationally recognized human and labour rights, pursuing its founding mission that social
justice is essential to universal and lasting peace. Today, the ILO's Decent Work agenda helps

27

advance the economic and working conditions that give working people and business people a
stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress. Its tripartite structure provides a unique platform
for promoting decent work for all women and men. Its main aims are to promote rights at work,
encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue
on work-related issues.

MISSION AND OBJECTIVES

The ILO has four strategic objectives

Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work
Create greater opportunities for women and men to decent employment and income
Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all
Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue

In support of its goals, the ILO offers unmatched expertise and knowledge about the world of
work & acquired over more than 90 years of responding to the needs of people everywhere for
decent work, livelihoods and dignity. It serves its tripartite constituents - and society as a whole in a variety of ways, including:

Formulation of international policies and programmes to promote basic human rights,

improve working and living conditions, and enhance employment opportunities

Creation of international labour standards backed by a unique system to supervise their

application
An extensive programme of international technical cooperation formulated and implemented
in an active partnership with constituents, to help countries put these policies into practice in

an effective manner
Training, education and research activities to help advance all of these efforts

PRINCIPAL BENEFICIARIES

28

IOM implements various labour migration programs in 70 countries. The beneficiaries of these
programs include:

Migrants, their families and their communities;

Local and national governments;
Private sector entities such as employers and industry representatives; and
Regional organizations.

IOMS APPROACH
Through its global network of more than 440 offices, IOM is able to bring together governments,
civil society and the private sector to establish labour migration programs and mechanisms that
balance their various interests, and address migrants needs. The IOM approach to international
labour migration is to foster the synergies between labour migration and development, and to
promote legal avenues of labour migration as an alternative to irregular migration. Moreover,
IOM aims to facilitate the development of policies and programs that are in the interest of
migrants and society, providing effective protection and assistance to labour migrants and their
families.

HOW THE ILO WORKS

Underlying the ILOs work is the importance of cooperation between governments and
employers and workers organizations in fostering social and economic progress.
The ILO aims to ensure that it serves the needs of working women and men by bringing together
governments, employers and workers to set labour standards, develop policies and devise
programmes. The very structure of the ILO, where workers and employers together have an
equal voice with governments in its deliberations, shows social dialogue in action. It ensures that
the views of the social partners are closely reflected in ILO labour standards, policies and
programmes.
The ILO encourages this tripartism within its constituents and member States by promoting a

29

social dialogue between trade unions and employers in formulating, and where appropriate,
implementing national policy on social, economic, and many other issues.

The ILO accomplishes its work through three main bodies (The International labour Conference,
the Governing body and the Office) which comprise governments', employers' and workers'
representatives.
The work of the Governing Body and of the Office is aided by tripartite committees covering
major industries. It is also supported by committees of experts on such matters as vocational
training, management development, occupational safety and health, industrial relations, workers
education, and special problems of women and young workers.

ILO IN INDIA

India, a Founding Member of the ILO, has been a permanent member of the ILO Governing
Body since 1922. The first ILO Office in India started in 1928. The decades of productive
partnership between the ILO and its constituents has mutual trust and respect as underlying
principles and is grounded in building sustained institutional capacities and strengthening
capacities of partners. It has a two-directional focus for socio-economic development: overall
strategies and ground-level approaches. The Decent Work (DW) concept is translated into
Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs), prepared and adopted by the tripartite constituents
and ILO, at country levels. The DWCP-India (2007-12), aligned to the 11th Plan and the United
Nations Development Assistance Framework, focuses on 3 priorities.

Priority 1: Opportunities enhanced for productive work for women and men, particularly
for youth and vulnerable groups, especially through skills development;
30

Priority 2: Social protection progressively extended, particularly in the context of

informalization;
Priority 3: Unacceptable forms of work progressively eliminated. The cross-cutting issues
are special focus while implementing the DWCP under the three priority areas are as follows:

Social dialogue and strengthening of partners

Informal economy
Gender equality

ILO's current portfolio in India centers around child labour, preventing family indebtedness
employment, skills, integrated approaches for local socio-economic development and livelihoods
promotion, green jobs, value-addition into national programmes, micro and small enterprises,
social security, HIV/AIDS, migration, industrial relations, dealing with the effects of
globalization, productivity and competitiveness, etc.
The Decent Work Technical Support Team (DWT) for South Asia stationed in New Delhi,
through its team of Specialists, provides technical support at policy and operational levels to
member States in the sub-region.

31

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION FROM INDEPENDENT INDIA

In India, the migration of its labour force within and across its national boundaries is nothing
new. Indias geographical position has ensured contact with the Persian Gulf region and South
East Asian countries for trade in goods and movement of people, a contact which goes back to
several centuries. The migration of workers on a significant scale was, however, to come much
later. It began in the colonial era and continues now to independent India.
Migratory flow during the period of colonial domination was very much tied to the investment
interests of the colonial rulers and took place under their aegis. For instance a great part of the
nineteenth century and the early twentieth century witnessed a regular migration of Indian
workers as indentured labour for plantations or mines in the British colonies; this migration was
to faraway places such as Guyana, Jamaica and Fiji, to not so-distant lands such as Malaysia and
Singapore and even to neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Burma.
Since Independence, two distinct types of labour migration have been taking place from India.
The first is characterized by a movement of persons with technical skills and professional
expertise to the industrialized countries like the United States, Britain and Canada which began
to proliferate in the early 1950s. The second type of migration pertains to the flow of labour to
the oil exporting countries of the Middle East which acquired substantial dimensions after the
dramatic oil price increases of 1973-74 and 1979. The nature of this recent wave of migration is
strikingly different, as an overwhelming proportion of these migrants are in the category of
unskilled workers and semi-skilled workers skilled in manual or clerical occupations.
In some parts of India, three out of four households include a migrant. However despite the large
scale of migration in absolute numbers of people involved and Indias long history of population
and labour mobility, labour migration has rarely been reliably studied. Labour migration is
complex. Streams differ in duration, origin, destination and migrant characteristics. Economic
and social impacts on migrants and their families are variable.
Migration often involves longer working hours, poor living and working conditions, social
isolation and poor access to basic amenities. International migration, though involving a small
proportion of the workforce, has important local impacts. Since independence, two distinct

32

streams of migration have left India: people with professional expertise or technical
qualifications emigrating to industrialised countries, and semi-skilled and skilled workers
immigrating to the Middle East. Data on these labour flows are limited, but estimates and trends
can be discerned. In the midto late 1980s, however, the number of Indian workers migrating to
the Middle East fell sharply. Labour migration increased substantially again during the 1990s.

Early Punjabi Immigrants to America

Today, some 3 million Indian migrants live in Gulf countries. Most migrants come from Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. The current number of Indian migrants overseas
accounts for less than 1% of the total workforce in India, so has little direct impact on the
national labour market. However, the effects of migration are significant in major sending

33

regions. In Kerala, for example, emigration has recently led to a considerable reduction in
unemployment. Remittances are the main benefit of external migration, providing scarce foreign
exchange and scope for higher levels of savings and investments. Remittances over the past 30
years have financed much of Indias balance of trade deficit and have thus reduced the current
account deficit. Remittances have had a considerable impact on regional economies. The most
striking case is that of Kerala, where remittances made up 21% of state income in the 1990s. This
flow appears to have increased wealth: although the average per capita consumption in Kerala
was below the national average until 197879, by 19992000 consumer expenditure in Kerala
exceeded the national average by around 41%.

TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MIGRATION BETWEEN INDIA AND THE

MIDDLE EAST
Let us review the trends in international labour migration with respect to India and the Middle
East. Formal labour mobility from India to the Middle East can be traced to the period when the
British East India Company began to invest there. These investments gave rise to a sudden spurt
in demand for workers in clerical as well as skilled and semi-skilled manual occupations. The
post-independence period has also seen large government and private investments in the Middle
East and the transport of workers from India to work in these projects. India was one of the first
countries (along with Pakistan) to respond to the demand for unskilled labour in the Gulf States
that emerged as a result of the oil price rises of the early 1970s.
The majority of Indian labour migrants to the Middle East belonged to the unskilled and semiskilled categories. The increasing trend was seen to reverse (or not be recorded in official
figures) in the late 1990s. This reflected in part a shift in the patterns of labour demand from
several categories of unskilled and semi skilled towards service, operations and maintenance
work. Migration originates mostly from a few states, the most important being Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The unprecedented high rates of return of Kerala migrants from the Gulf states during the late
1990s is seen as being due to the imposition of unskilled labour import restrictions, deterioration
of wage rates for unskilled and skilled categories and competition from other labour exporting
34

countries accelerated this return trend. Apparently, new legislation in 1983 sought to regulate
private recruitment agencies through a licensing system and establish public sector recruiting
agencies. The new legislation was meant to promote labour migration and protect migrants but
India is best characterised as having a 'laissez faire' (lenient) policy with regard to migration: its
policies have removed restrictions to emigration but do relatively little to support and protect
migrants once they leave the country. The protection of migrant workers' rights in both
recruitment and employment is minimal.

SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES

Labour mobility is a key feature of the development process in India. Because much of it is
poorly measured and undocumented, it remains largely invisible in the strategising of policies.
International worker emigration from India has been closely linked to phases of immigration

35

policies in other countries. Since the oil boom, the emigration of low-skilled workers to the
Middle East has been the major source of employment and inward remittances. Inward
remittances have significant macroeconomic implications in especially regions of high
outmigration. Both internal and external migration have potentially growth producing and
poverty reducing impacts, which can be increased through suitable policies and supportive
interventions by civil society and other national/international actors. International migration is
also driven by unemployment, lack of suitable opportunities, and mismatches between skills and
opportunities, but the requirement of sizeable financial costs make it accessible only to those
who possess appropriate skills and can raise the necessary financial resources to undertake
migration.

Synergising Migration and Development

A major policy focus has to be on a more vigorous pro-poor development strategy in the
backward areas. Depending upon the availability of financial resources, the provision of an
employment safety net can be dovetailed with the development programmes. Evolving suitable
development policies in order to maximise the positive impact of inward remittances and to
reduce its negative impact remains a priority even with external migration. Thus in all cases, the
synergy between migration and development requires to be strengthened.

Improving Labour Market Outcomes

The main problem is that poor migrants lack bargaining strength. Hence steps taken to organise
them, improve their negotiating strength and level of awareness are necessary. At the workplace,
stricter enforcement of labour legislations is a prerequisite for improved outcomes. An improved
information base, orientation and skills are also important requirement in the case of
international migration. Labour markets of the major labour importing countries need to be
closely monitored. This could be done through the establishment of a labour market monitoring
authority which could also carry out negotiations on various labour contracts and also study the
nature of emerging skill requirements. Another important area in which the government could

36

take the lead is in providing predeparture training through registered recruitment agencies;
returnee associations and non-governmental organisations working among the migrant workers.

Ensure Basic Entitlements to Migrants and their Families

A focused approach is required to ensure that the basic entitlements of the poor to food,
elementary education, basic health are fulfilled, as also their entitlement to other government
programmes and subsidies. It may be worthwhile considering the constitution of a welfare Fund
for employees working abroad. Such a fund can be utilised for a wide range of welfare measures
concerned with both the migrant workers and their families. The fund could be supported mainly
by contributions received from Indians working in the Middle East. Incentives such as attractive
insurance schemes and tax reliefs should be offered to migrants contributing.

Improvement in the Economic, Social and Political Environment in Favour of Migration

Disadvantages faced by poor migrants are accentuated because of their low political voice in
source and destination areas; because they often comprise a distinct ethnic, social or cultural
group, and are seen to be threatening to the livelihoods of workers in the destination areas. As a
consequence, they can be victims of strong prejudices. There is, thus a role for advocacy to
remove stereotypes and misapprehensions and for a campaign to buttress the voices of poor
migrants. In the case of Indian emigrants and people of Indian origin, it is critical to address how
they can participate in selected but specific developmental activities. Another significant issue is
the identification of possible ways in which human capital can return to India and, having
returned, can contribute to the development process.

37

CASE STUDIES

THE CHANGING FACE OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION: FLOWS ARE

INCREASINGLY FLUID, DIVERSE, AND UNCONVENTIONAL
By Meghan Benton

Migration flows are gaining in diversitynot just in origins, but also in the composition of labor
flows and destinations.

After the lull of migration flows during the Great Recession, the engine of labor mobility has
restartedmore slowly, but also more smartly. Southern European countries are seemingly
reverting to their more traditional role as countries of emigration, as workers leave these crisishit areas for the more prosperous north; blossoming markets and emerging economies are pulling
in skilled workers from both high-income and other middle-income countries, as well as

38

attracting low-skilled workers from their own neighborhood; and increasing numbers of
countries are experimenting with creative methods to woo foreign students and investors. Many
of the beneficiaries of these new immigration opportunities have been the growing middle class
from China and other emerging economies.
Among the traditional countries of immigration, inflows of permanent immigrants are still
strong. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States have not slowed their intake of
permanent immigrants, and the first three countries in this list have actually accelerated these
flows.
Meanwhile, political unrest, symbolized by the protracted conflict in Syria and the plight of its
citizens, continues to drive movements of people worldwide.
Recent years have also seen a proliferation of nontraditional migration pathways. Several
countries have launched investor visas, which grant residence or even citizenship in return for a
financial injection into the local economy. At times, these visas also require the investor to create
or save a certain number of jobs. Intra-company transfers have reached a record high, furnishing
multinationals with opportunities to meet their human-capital needs that are light on red tape.
New Migration Corridors
Although well-trodden migration pathways still shape global immigration trends, new markets
and migration corridors are blooming.
Flows from developed to developing countries and emerging economies have risen, blurring the
distinction between countries of origin and destination. For example, Brazil now receives a large
volume of migrants from the United States, attracted by investment and business opportunities,
including in the burgeoning tech industry. Many of these movers are Brazilian immigrants to the
United States, or the children of these immigrants. And although economic growth has slowed in
2013, immigration to Brazillargely from the Iberian peninsula, Latin America, and the
Caribbeanhas endured, due in part to large-scale construction and preparations to host the
2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

39

Other emerging economies have also seen a transformation from emigration to immigration.
Sustained economic growth and a rising middle class have drawn Turks from abroad, as well as
Germans, back to Turkey. Solid growth in Latin America, although slowing, is providing a
magnet for some of Europe's new emigrants.
A Foot in More Than One Country
While labor migration is on the increase again, many of these workers may not move
permanently. High-skilled workers and entrepreneurs often keep one foot in each country, fueling
transnational links and partnerships. And the growth in return migration that occurred following
the economic crisis showed that migration flows can be highly responsive to economic cycles.
As the world's largest laboratory on free mobility regimes, the European Union is facing a
number of milestones, not least of which is large-scale movement from southern to northern
Europe, especially to Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom. As the continent sees more
population churn and economic upheaval, EU mobility is facing challenges such as mitigating
the negative effects of emigration and improving public confidence in the freedom of movement
system. These may hint at challenges ahead for mobility more broadly. Yet the European Union
is also making progress on difficult issues, like the recognition of foreign qualifications and the
portability of social security benefits, which may set the standards beyond the region.

ILO: LARGE GENDER GAPS REMAIN ACROSS BROAD SPECTRUM OF GLOBAL

LABOUR MARKET

Despite some modest gains in some regions in the world, millions of women are losing ground in
their quest for equality in the world of work, according to a new report prepared by the
International Labour Organization (ILO). The report, Women at Work: Trends 2016 examined
data for up to 178 countries and concludes that inequality between women and men persists
across a wide spectrum of the global labour market. Whats more, the report shows that over the
last two decades, significant progress made by women in education hasnt translated into

40

comparable improvements in their position at work. The report also provides new data for up to
100 countries on paid and unpaid working hours and access to maternity protection and
pensions.

New ILO report highlights the enormous challenges women continue to face in finding and
keeping decent jobs around the world.
Women Work Longer Hours
Women continue to work longer hours per day than men in both paid and unpaid work. In both
high and lower income countries, on average, women carry out at least two and a half times more
unpaid household and care work than men. In developed economies, employed women (either in
self-employment or wage and salaried employment) work 8 hours and 9 minutes in paid and
unpaid work, compared to 7 hours and 36 minutes worked by men.
In developing economies, women in employment spend 9 hours and 20 minutes in paid and
unpaid work, whereas men spend 8 hours and 7 minutes in such work. The unbalanced share of
unpaid work limits womens capacity to increase their hours in paid, formal and wage and
41

salaried work. As a result, across the world, women, who represent less than 40 per cent of total
employment, make up 57 per cent of those working shorter hours and on a part-time basis.
Globally, women represent nearly 65 per cent of people above retirement age (60-65 or older
according to national legislation in the majority of countries) without any regular pension. This
means some 200 million women in old age are living without any regular income from an old
age or survivors pension, compared to 115 million men.
Other Key Highlights of the Report
There has also been further segregation in the distribution of women and men across and within
occupations, over the past two decades, as skill-biased technological work increases, notably in
developed and emerging countries. Between 1995 and 2015, employment increased most rapidly
in emerging economies; the absolute change in employment levels was twice as high for men as
for women (382 million versus 191 million respectively), regardless of the level of skills
required, indicating that progress in getting women into more and quality jobs is stagnating.
In developed countries, women spend on average 4 hours and 20 minutes on unpaid care work
per day, compared to 2 hours and 16 minutes by men. In developing countries, women spend 4
hours and 30 minutes per day on unpaid care work, compared to 1 hour 20 minutes for men.
Although this gender gap remains substantial, it has decreased in a number of countries, mostly
due to the reduction in time spent on housework by women, but not to significant reductions in
their time spent on childcare.
In terms of wages, the results in the report confirm previous ILO estimates that globally, women
still earn on average 77 per cent of what men earn. The report notes that this wage gap cannot be
explained solely by differences in education or age. This gap can be linked to the undervaluation
of the work women undertake and of the skills required in female-dominated sectors or
occupations, discrimination, and the need for women to take career breaks or reduce hours in
paid work to attend to additional care responsibilities such as child care. Though there has been
some small improvement in reducing gender wage gaps, if current trends prevail, the report
confirms estimates that it will take more than 70 years to close the gender wage gaps
completely.

42

A BETTER WAY FOR PAKISTANI MIGRANT WORKERS TO COMBAT

EXPLOITATION

An internet service will make it easier for Pakistani workers abroad to make formal complaints
in cases of alleged deception in recruitment or exploitation in employment.

Pakistan has launched a new online complaint management system for its citizens working
overseas. The service aims to lower the barriers for workers facing employment related
exploitation to access grievance mechanisms. The online complaint system, will protect
(migrant workers) from abuses and exploitation they may face during recruitment and
employment, Franois added. He also expressed his optimism that the system will see disputes
and abuses better managed and hopefully resolved in a timely and friendly manner. The online
system was developed by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource
Development (MoOPHRD) with the technical and financial assistance of the joint ILO/European
Union South Asia Labour Migration Governance (SALM) Project. This project aims to promote
the management of labour migration from India, Nepal and Pakistan to the countries of the Gulf
43

Cooperation Council (GCC), ensure effective protection of the rights of vulnerable migrant
workers, enhance the development impact of labour migration and reduce unregulated migration.

Belinda Chanda, Officer-in-Charge, ILO Pakistan congratulated the MoOPHRD on the launch of
the new online complaints mechanism. In her remarks, she noted that "the online complaint
system is targeted at a particular category of beneficiaries-migrant workers, who are key
contributors to Pakistans economy through their remittances, estimated in the billions of dollars.
The system therefore sets the Pakistani Government and key stakeholders on the course of
improving access to justice for migrant workers. The ILO urges stakeholders involved in
facilitating safe migration, to work together closely and coherently."

Significant numbers of Pakistanis emigrate in search of work. According to the Bureau of

Emigration between 1971 to 2015, more than 8 million Pakistanis have moved abroad for
employment, 94 per cent have migrated to Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) Countries, 80 per
cent of Pakistani migrant workers are located in just two countries, Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates. The vast majority of migrants from Pakistan are men; during the 200813 period,
less than 6,500 women (0.1 per cent) migrated for reasons of employment

44

CONCLUSION
Migration has become a global phenomenon. As discussed earlier people migrate to another
country for a number of reasons of which economic and political are the important ones. From
our earlier explanation it is evident that migration has positive as well as negative effects both on
the host and native countries. In a globalised world, the number of migrants is bound to increase.
However in the larger interest of nations and people (migrants) involved it is necessary to
introduce measures so that the positive effects are maximised while the negative ones are
minimised if they cannot be totally eliminated.
The suggestions in this direction are to promote labour rights to immigrants. Allow the migrant
workers to join Trade Unions. Treat immigrants on the same level as those of workers of host
country. Safety conditions should be made applicable even if they are on temporary work.
Promote ethical recruitment. Prevent exploitation and discrimination. Reform work permits
schemes to reduce powers of employers. Legislate to prevent employers from withholding
migrant workers passport. Initiate international action to regulate the activities of private
recruitment agencies. All the countries should ratify 1990 UN convention on the protection of
rights of all migrant workers and their families.
Today, migrant workers account for 150 million of the worlds approximately 232 million
international migrants. Globalization, demographic shifts, conflicts, income inequalities and
climate change will encourage ever more workers and their families to cross borders in search of
employment and security. Migrant workers contribute to growth and development in their
countries of destination, while countries of origin greatly benefit from their remittances and the
skills acquired during their migration experience. Yet, the migration process implies complex
challenges in terms of governance, migrant workers' protection, migration and development
linkages, and international cooperation. Lack of labour protection for migrant workers
undermines protection generally for all workers.
Migration from one area to another in search of improved livelihoods is a key feature of human
history. While some regions and sectors fall behind in their capacity to support populations,
others move ahead and people migrate to access these emerging opportunities. Industrialisation
45

widens the gap between rural and urban areas, inducing a shift of the workforce towards
industrialising areas. There is extensive debate on the factors that cause populations to shift, from
those that emphasise individual rationality and household behaviour to those that cite the
structural logic of capitalist development.

46

REFERENCE

http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm
http://www.academic-foresights.com/International_Labour_Migration_Regulation.html
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/india-2/4-major-causes-of-migration-in-india/19860/
http://www.oecd.org/migration/mig/2508596.pdf
http://www.prb.org/Multimedia/Infographics/2014/infographic-global-migration.aspx
http://www.careertimes.org/in/res/00-res-w-9982.php
https://geographyas.info/population/migration/
http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD326.html
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21424426
http://www.cognoise.com/index.php?topic=19716.0
http://www.ukessays.com/essays/economics/positive-and-negative-effects-of-labour-migration-

economics-essay.php
http://dl.nsf.ac.lk/bitstream/handle/1/5103/JSS

%2027_107.pdf;jsessionid=9788986E9DF78E461216FB89693A928C?sequence=1
http://www.eldis.org/vfile/upload/1/document/0903/Dhaka_CP_2.pdf
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/issue-no-1-changing-face-international-migration-flows-

are-increasingly-fluid-diverse-and
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_457267/lang--en/index.htm
http://www.ilo.org/ankara/news/WCMS_444117/lang--en/index.htm

47