This Tuesday (15th of September, 2020), Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism together with the Migrant Forum in Asia,Cross-Regional Centre for Refugee and Migration, and Civil Society Action Committee organized an online webinar regarding all stages of migration. The whole webinar was moderated by William Gois, the regional coordinator of the Migrant Forum in Asia.
Stages of Migration Process
Mohamed El Zarkani, Chief of Mission of IOM in Bahrain was the first speaker on this webinar, who stressed out the importance of information for migrant workers and their protection. However, the gaps in information may have a negative effect on migrant workers. They might become victims of unsafe migration, human trafficking, forced labor or be exploited by others. For these reasons, the IOM with other partner organizations designed a guide with all necessary information regarding the future employment of migrant workers.
The first stage is pre-employment, where migrant workers and future employers are talking about possible future employment. In the first stage, the migrant worker should be able to get all the necessary information about its future employment. However, as El Zarkani noted, not all countries provide this kind of information. The second stage is pre-departure when the worker has already signed a contract and is ready to leave. This program has been established and institutionalized in many countries. However, such information and are delivered quite late, when migrant workers are already on the way to their destination. The last stage is the post-arrival orientation when the migrant worker has already arrived at the destination.
However, similar to the first stage, only a few countries have developed this stage, despite its importance. In this stage, migrant workers are able to get important information about their rights and obligations. In his speech, El Zarkani stressed out the importance of the Comprehension Information Orientation Programme, based on which migrant workers should have the right information at the right time. Thanks to which migrant workers will be well informed and less vulnerable.
The provision of relevant and accurate information can support migrant workers in making decisions, that are right for themselves, and their loved one. As well as encourage safe and regular forms of migration, and as well as enhancing preparedness and most importantly…protection measure. On the other hand, gaps or misinformation can have dire consequences. It can lead migrant workers vulnerable to unsafe migration, exploitation, some cases of human trafficking, forced labor, depth bondage… : Mohamed El Zarkani
Right of All Information for Migrant Workers
The second speaker was AtyabAlshati, the Deputy Secretary-General of Kuwait Society for Human Rights. She talked about the challenge of providing necessary information to migrant workers in Kuwait. She talked about the important role of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, an organization dedicated to protecting human rights in Kuwait with the accordance with international standards. One of the biggest achievements of this organization is the translation of the labor law in Kuwait into seven languages. Another one was the development of mobile applications for easier access to all necessary information. Besides that, the Kuwait Society for Human Rights provides legal consultations for migrant workers in Kuwait.
We want to facilitate the information for every migrant to help them become their own lawyers, because when somebody knows the an info, it’s gonna be a lot easier for them: AtyabAlshati.
The Philippines and National System of Migration of Migrant Workers
The third speaker at the webinar was attorney Francis Ron C. De Guzman, the director of the Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Despite working for governmental organizations, based on his opinion, the government of the Philippines does not provide all necessary information for migrant workers and there is room for improvement. De Guzman stressed out the legal framework of the Philippines, according to which, Filipino migrant workers are only to send to countries who fulfil these conditions. The countries must have an existing system of labor laws, or be a signatory to multilateral labor agreement or must enter into a bilateral labor agreement with the Philippines. He also stressed out the importance to publish all necessary information not only in English, which can be found difficult to read for many Filipino but also into their local languages. The Philippine government, according to De Guzman, organizes all three stages mentioned earlier by first speaker El Zarkani.
Jordan-ILO Cooperation for more Fair Conditions
The fourth speaker was SuhaLabadi, the Project Coordinator of ILO in Jordan. Labadi same as other speakers agreed, that the biggest problem migrant workers are challenging is the lack of and access to information, which leads to their abuse, violation of their rights, and discrimination. She mentioned the outcome of research made by the IOM of Jordan about Indian workers. Based on this, most Indian workers learn the terms of their contracts only once they reach Jordan and not before their departure. At this time, they also learn the fact, that their contract is three-year mandatory. For these reasons, the ILO in Jordan works closely with the Jordanian government.
She mentioned a specific project called a safe corridor between Nepal and Jordan, based on which Nepali migrant workers are provided with objective information about their employment in Jordan. They also developed a partnership with what she calls ethical recruiters, who provide real information to future employees. The IOM has also developed a system of pre-departure when future migrant workers receive all important information regarding labor law, wages, agreement, living conditions before departure. Labadi especially stressed out the importance of pre-departure programs for migrant workers. Thanks to this information, many migrant workers actually decide to not migrate.
Those workers, who came through the pilot…through the Nepal-Jordan corridor, they were more empowered. They knew about working and living conditions. They knew about how to calculate their wages, they did it themselves. How to calculate their social security and all of that. They were more empowered to bring issues of concerns to the management. So if there is something, that was of concern to them, they took it immediately to the management and discussed it with them: SuhaLabadi.
Mental Stress as a Result of Struggles of Migrant Workers
The last speaker of the webinar was MehruVesuvala, who is the Grassroot Community Volunteer. Vesuvala stressed out the different problems migrant refugees are facing. She stressed out the mental stress, the domestic workers face when facing difficult issues. The fact, that many employers are not punished for the illegal treatment of migrant workers. As well she talked about the pre-departure programs being generic and not providing all information to migrant workers before departure. Vesuvala also mentioned the dignity of work, based on which many migrant workers travel to other countries and take the job, they would not do in their home countries.
All speakers at the webinar were experts, who have been working with migrants and migrant workers for many years. Therefore, all of them were able to provide the main difficulties migrants are facing in other countries. What is clear from all speeches is the fact, that especially migrant workers lack the necessary information before they leave their country. There is a lot of work in order to assure, that the rights of migrants have been implemented. Therefore, the cooperation between governments, international organizations, international and local NGOs is important.
Michal Tengeri, PhD Candidate in Asia-Pacific Studies at National Chengchi University Twitter: @Michal8810