The stories of exploitation and labour violations faced by Indian staff in the Gulf countries – based on reports and editorials published in The Indian Express on deaths in Qatar in recent days – will have to be tested, remembering five decades of history of migration to the region. The exploitation of immigrants led Parliament to enact the Emigration Act of 1983. Overall, India ranks first in terms of foreign immigrants and remittances, with only six Gulf countries accounting for only about 50% of Indian immigrants. According to the most recent Kerala Migration Survey (2018), only about two million Keralites live in the Gulf. More than anything, lawmakers talk about the evils of the notorious “Kafala,” or sponsorship formula in the Gulf, that allows employers to exert significant force on the lives of migrant staff.
Over the past three decades, stakeholders at the international, regional and national levels have discussed violations of hard work rights in destination countries, i. e. in the Gulf. However, the vulnerabilities of migrant staff, especially those in low-skilled jobs, remain the same. One of us (Irudaya Rajan) discovered that this was his first interaction with migrant workers in the UAE in 2001 as part of the first study funded by the Keralite Non-Resident Affairs Disintegration (NORKA), the Kerala government. More recently, there has been a widespread media policy of hard work rights abuses on three occasions: Expo Dubai, World Cup stadium structure in Qatar, and the Covid pandemic.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been accused of failing to provide fitness, employment and social coverage facilities to Covid-19 staff. Large-scale repatriations of the pandemic. The crusade led by the Asia Migrants Forum and its partners, such as the International Institute for Migration and Development, shows the scale of wage theft in the GCC-South Asia region. Irudaya Rajan’s retrospective migration survey of 2,000 Vande Bharat go backees in Kerala found that of the 47% who lost their job, 39% reported non-payment of wages and reduced wages. Similarly, at Expo Dubai 2020, several cases of non-payment of wages, contract violations and staff intimidation were reported.
Perhaps the most prominent example of violations of personnel rights in the GCC is the structure of the stadiums for the FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar. Concerns about rights violations and deaths of the migrant staff structure continue to be widely debated. According to reports published by The Guardian, 6,500 migrant workers from South Asia have died in Qatar in the last 10 years, at the latest after construction projects began in 2010 for the upcoming World Cup. The highest number of deaths was recorded among Indians (2,711 employees), followed by immigrants from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Of those who died, 69% did so due to herbal causes. Although the figures exaggerate the real number of deaths in the sites of structures, the testimonies of the returnees point to deaths that occur due to the lack of protection measures and occupational aptitude. A repatriated migrant employee from the Gulf told us: “Covid-19 was an opportunity for us to show globally how bad things are for a low-skilled employee in the Gulf, especially in hard labor camps. But I’m sure our messes will be forgotten once the lockdown restrictions are lifted. »
Due to large reports of violations of hard work rights and complaints from the Kafala system, GCC countries are seeking to reform hard work laws. Much of this is symbolic and attempts to assign the region as a sympathizer of migrant workers. At the same time, countries are also implementing nationalization policies, which can lead to forced dismissals. However, the adjustments are seen as a positive sign on the road to the abolition of Kafala and other anti-union laws.
Signs of progress are visible in processes such as the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, a regional forum for cooperation among Asian countries that are the origin and destination of the workforce. Internal laws.
As much as the country of destination, the country of origin is to blame for the existing situation. Civil society and governments only respond to such disorder when a large-scale violation of labour rights is reported. As a key player in the South Asian-GCC migration corridor, India deserves to serve as a style for South Asia. However, our efforts for the well-being of migrants are limited to “repatriation exercises” during the crisis. 2019) indicates the technique towards migrant workers, especially low-skilled workers.
Existing memoranda with GCC countries on hiring domestic workers and preventing abnormal recruitment have had very little impact. Historically, India’s reaction to migrant staff complaints has been poor. However, in recent years, the government portal “Madad” has allowed migrant staff in the country to register their complaints. According to the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs, approximately 95% of registered court cases have been resolved.
Bottlenecks in countries of destination and origin mean the need for a concerted effort to address migrant disruptions rather than playing a blame game in conditions such as the pandemic and migrant deaths. Review Forum indicates that governments are far from creating a collective awareness of global labour mobility. India deserves to play a leading role in building regional alliances in the South Asia-GCC corridor. Recruiters and civil society can make a significant difference.
Irudaya Rajan and Akhil are, respectively, president and researcher at the International Institute for Migration and Development, Kerala.
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