Ensuring welfare of Indian migrants abroad

(MainsGS2:Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.)

Context:

• International Migrants Day is observed annually on December 18 and this year it must be seen in the backdrop of unprecedented volatility that began in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Other events such as the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, worsening poverty in the sub-Saharan region, and also climate change, resulting in large-scale migration.

Migration is not uniform :

• 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%; further, the South Asia-Gulf Migratory corridor is the world’s largest migrant corridor.
• Long-term data on international migration show that “migration is not uniform across the world and is shaped by economic, geographic, demographic and other factors, resulting in distinct migration patterns, such as migration corridors developed over many years”.

Serious concerns:

• 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, 1983 despite migration has witnessed sea changes and the government has been silent on the issue of updating the Act.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the existing exploitative nature of the Kafala system which has invariably resulted in the mass retrenchment of the labour force.

Plight of workers:

• 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 recurring problems that migrant labourers face are: irregular payment, poor working conditions, negation of labour rights, the absence of a proper grievance redress mechanism, and access to a transparent judicial system. 
• Irregular payment and non-payment of wages, and abuse at the workplace have been a long-term problem in the GCC countries. 
• Countries such as the Philippines which have recorded the wage theft of their migrants are taking up the issue legally.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has rerouted global migration patterns, restructured migratory corridors, and exposed the untold vulnerabilities and miseries of international migrant labour.

Conclusion:

• 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. 
• Thus, 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.