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Learnings from Covid for better labour migration policy

07 Jun 2021

  • GoSL abandoned its migrant labour force amidst the pandemic, but it can learn from the mistakes

By Andrew Samuel   From times before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been living with multifaceted problems and crises in the world. Countries are living with internal political, social, and cultural conflicts, border conflicts and tensions, geopolitical tensions, economic and health concerns, and catastrophic climatic disasters. As these tensions continue, the pandemic has exacerbated the situation further. On top of this, there is the scourge of corruption and corrupt political leadership and the massive debt trap and debt burden nations are caught in, Sri Lanka included. These factors have changed the political and diplomatic landscape in our countries with geopolitics trapping and pulling nations from one side to another. With the outbreak of Covid-19, as much as nations were taken unaware, nations were not prepared to manage and deal with a pandemic of such magnitude. The dynamics of the coronavirus were changing rapidly with new variants, mutations, and sudden clusters emerging that country-level epidemiology programmes were finding it difficult to cope with and manage the constant changes. This not only affected the health sector. It began to affect the economic sector of countries.   Migrant labour The majority of Sri Lanka’s migrant workers are from villages. A majority are still in the unskilled and semi-skilled or in the elementary skill categories. A large number are female domestic workers. In this labour mix, there are a large number who have been categorised as undocumented workers whose fundamental rights are denied by the origin country and host country state authorities. At one point, authorities were unwilling to roll out a repatriation plan, fearing that there could be an exodus of infections as they reached home and that they could infect their families, communities, and the local population. They were denied their request and pleas also, as the authorities stated that they did not have local facilities to quarantine the repatriated workers. Here is a population that contributes enormously towards the national coffers by way of $ 6 billion to $ 8 billion annually, and they were denied their legitimate request to be repatriated and quarantined at the cost of the State. Instead, the State decided to place a price tag for repatriation and insisted that repatriation can be made possible only if the heavy price tag was paid. The state-sponsored and state-patronised business entities made handsome, unfair, and illegal profits at the cost of stranded and distressed migrant workers. A majority of the repatriated workers had to fork out as much as Rs. 400,000 to be repatriated and were compelled to conform to the Government’s inhumane quarantine plan which included paying for 14 days of hotel accommodation and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests that they never bargained for. Many fell into further debt as they lost all their savings to a select few of state-sponsored unscrupulous profiteers.   Governance During the height of the Covid-19 infections in destination countries and when thousands of migrant workers were laid off their jobs, their wages were not paid, and their in-service benefits were denied, the Sri Lankan Government decided to recall its consular staff from 14 popular labour-receiving countries. Since the Covid-19 breaking out in the world and in our country, for the past 12 to 15 months, civil society and trade union movements and migrant workers and their families have made many suggestions, recommendations, and representations through its weekly media blog to the Government, seeking relief and assistance for the migrant worker community. Sadly, the responsible ministries and their institutions did not even have the simplest courtesy of responding to or acknowledging the many requests and recommendations made. Such is the callous disregard that the Government continues to show towards the migrant worker population who continues to be the breadwinners of our economy, toiling in foreign lands and sending the wages back home in the form of foreign remittances. We firmly think that the Government betrayed its migrant worker population by allowing a handful of cunning and ruthless business operators to take advantage of a desperate situation for their own gains and profits. The Government failed in its governance to protect the interests of the migrant worker population.   Diplomacy About two weeks ago, we saw the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte in a phone conversation with the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia demanding that the Kafala system (visa sponsorship system where foreign workers ability to enter, live, and work legally depends on individual employers who also serve as the workers’ visa sponsors) be abolished for the good of his migrant workers. He said that he was not prepared to allow his citizens to suffer at the hands of foreign employers. He insisted that his citizens are respected and that their rights be protected by the destination countries. This is the kind of commitment we see from the Philippines Government on the labour migration discourse. Sadly, we see no such commitment or assurance from the Sri Lankan Government. The in-service reports we continue to receive from migrant workers are atrocious to say the least. We are informed that the people management skills of the consular staff are at the lowest ebb, as many have no knowledge to handle and acknowledge worker issues. Their arrogance, disrespectful behaviour, and impatience towards addressing labour issues and repatriation concerns have been appalling. Our diplomatic mission staff have failed to address the massive wage theft and the unreasonable employment layoffs and the many other contract violations with employers, agents, and government counterparts in the destination countries. Such negligence and reluctance have, it would seem, contributed to the Government supporting modern slavery of its labour force in foreign markets.   A proposed way forward The Government’s national policy framework – “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” document – spells out a fourfold outcome; namely of (a) a productive citizenry, (b) a contented family, (c) a disciplined and just society and (d) a prosperous nation. These are achieved through 10 key policies. The Government must walk its talk if it wants to raise its report card to a decent score. On the labour migration front, we propose the following: Undertake a review of migration trends in popular destination countries, including those countries where the Sri Lankan labour stock is not strong in numbers. Review the destination countries labour policies in the light of the present Covid-19 situation and collaborate with these nations to offer labour with greater responsibility and precautions. Review the current bilateral or memorandums of understanding (MoUs) agreements with nations and modify and improve the contractual obligations that will take in the learnings from the Covid-19 situation, especially in avoiding wage thefts, wage deductions, arbitrary layoffs, and decent repatriation plans. As civil society representatives, we felt that the Government did not do much at all for the stranded and distressed migrant worker population including their families. We call upon the Government to be accountable and responsible to its citizens' fundamental rights, especially when in distress in foreign countries, for this is a fundamental obligation, responsibility, and commitment of the State. Prepare for future events such as another Covid-19-like pandemic and design policies and agreements with host nations in fulfilling the health rights and other labour rights of the migrant workers. Make certain that insurance policies for migrant workers cover such eventualities. Strengthen Sri Lanka’s diplomacy and diplomatic relations with destination countries and keep an active and assertive dialogue with counterpart authorities, thereby establishing a strong diplomatic policy on labour migration as its primary focus with popular destination countries. There are large numbers of workers leaving our shores on visit visas for many of them do not trust the recruitment process and have not received any assurance from the Government for their job security. They pay large sums of money to recruiters to secure a job placement. This is because there is no ethical standard, monitored guidelines, or government guarantees, systems, and safeguards put in place. The Government must be serious and responsible to put in place a decent and corruption-free recruitment policy with zero recruitment cost or by negotiating for the employer-pays-all model. A large number of returned and repatriated workers are without jobs for several months. Many of them were denied their wages and on top of it had to fork out large sums to return home. They are in very serious debt. The Government must develop an effective return and remigration plan and return and reintegration plan with state-sponsored benefits, offer them a relief package beyond the Rs. 5,000 monthly payment, and refer them to local job opportunities and remigration opportunities without levying any charges or fees, honouring and respecting the service they rendered to the nation by way of their remittances. The Government must take a firm, supportive, and protective stand on female migrant workers in the elementary job fields, as their concerns were severely overlooked and contracts were blatantly violated. The Government’s gender response policy must be clear if it is to promote female labour migration and benefit from their remittances. Finally, we are yet to see a proactive response from the Government in working with civil society organisations. The whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach has to be strengthened in policy and practice, as we are the representatives of migrant workers. A people-centred governance approach is what we recommend for the mutual benefit and recognition of the labour migration discourse.   (The writer is a development practitioner who is engaged in working with underserved communities and advocates for the rights of migrant workers at the national, subregional, and regional levels. He can be contacted at avsamuel@gmail.com)

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