Migrant workers' wages in Gulf states declining: ILO
FE Report | Tuesday, 15 July 2008
The wages of migrant workers in the Gulf states are on the sliding trend, as these countries lack in measures meant to protect jobs and minimum wages, International Labour Organisation (ILO) officials said.
"Wages in all the Gulf States are going down due to unprotected labour markets," ILO chief technical adviser on Asian programme on governance of labour migration Manolo Abella said.
In all the Gulf states foreign employees are allowed to work in the private sector where there is neither any provision for minimum wages nor job security, Mr Abella clarified.
Pointing to the slowdown the ILO official said the average wages in 1976 was 30 per cent higher than the wages earned nowadays by expatriates in the Gulf countries.
ILO said more than 1.5 million South Asian workers are estimated to migrate every year, many of them destined for the Gulf region to perform construction, maintenance, and other service jobs.
Counting only those who go through regular channels, an estimated 200,000 workers each from of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and many more from India and Bangladesh are expected to leave every year for the Gulf states.
In 2007, remittances to the region were estimated by the World Bank to have exceeded US$40 billion. Of these, India accounted for US$27 billion, Bangladesh US$6.4 billion, Pakistan US$6.1 billion, Sri Lanka US$2.7 billion, and Nepal US$1.6 billion.
But rights protection for South Asia's migrant workers is the major concern, ILO noted.
By standard definition, South Asian migrants would be classified as highly vulnerable, it said.
Large numbers take irregular routes, most are low skilled and young and for some countries the majority are women.
In Sri Lanka, between 60-70 per cent of the out-bound workers in recent years were women employed mainly as domestic help. This is confounded by exorbitant recruitment costs and corrupt recruitment practices widespread in some countries.
"If the region is to reduce the risks for migrants, and maximize the benefits of this large and growing migration, it should constantly adapt to its migration infrastructures to emerging conditions and realities in the global labour market," said Ms. Leyla Tegmo-Reddy, Director of the ILO Sub-regional Office for South Asia.
"The ILO is working with many countries including those in the Gulf region to ensure introduction of model contracts to protect labours rights and improve the income level," the ILO official said.
To ensure such protection for the soaring number of migrant workers from South Asia the ILO in association with the European Union (EU), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Bangladesh government however, organised a two-day regional symposium from today (Monday), he said.
A media briefing was also organised in this connection in a local hotel Monday.
Talking about the symposium the organisers said the ability or inability of countries to provide protection to workers will be the crux of the discussion during the international conference to be held in Dhaka Sheraton Hotel from 15 to 16 July 2008.
The Symposium on "Deployment of Workers Overseas: A Shared Responsibility" is a concrete step in pursuit of 'improving dialogue and the management of labour migration so as to benefit both exporting and host countries and better protect the rights and equal treatment of migrant workers, which was identified as a national priority for action at the ILO Fourteenth Asian Regional Meeting on Decent Work in Asia held in Busan, Korea in 2006.
Participants would include high-level government officials, and representatives from workers' and employers' organisations from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka.
The symposium will discuss recruitment policies and cooperation mechanisms between origin and destination countries, and will provide a venue for exchange of best practices on the preparation of workers for foreign employment and provision of on-site services and monitoring.
The conference hopes to contribute to the development of recruitment practices and labour migration management in South Asia.
"Wages in all the Gulf States are going down due to unprotected labour markets," ILO chief technical adviser on Asian programme on governance of labour migration Manolo Abella said.
In all the Gulf states foreign employees are allowed to work in the private sector where there is neither any provision for minimum wages nor job security, Mr Abella clarified.
Pointing to the slowdown the ILO official said the average wages in 1976 was 30 per cent higher than the wages earned nowadays by expatriates in the Gulf countries.
ILO said more than 1.5 million South Asian workers are estimated to migrate every year, many of them destined for the Gulf region to perform construction, maintenance, and other service jobs.
Counting only those who go through regular channels, an estimated 200,000 workers each from of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and many more from India and Bangladesh are expected to leave every year for the Gulf states.
In 2007, remittances to the region were estimated by the World Bank to have exceeded US$40 billion. Of these, India accounted for US$27 billion, Bangladesh US$6.4 billion, Pakistan US$6.1 billion, Sri Lanka US$2.7 billion, and Nepal US$1.6 billion.
But rights protection for South Asia's migrant workers is the major concern, ILO noted.
By standard definition, South Asian migrants would be classified as highly vulnerable, it said.
Large numbers take irregular routes, most are low skilled and young and for some countries the majority are women.
In Sri Lanka, between 60-70 per cent of the out-bound workers in recent years were women employed mainly as domestic help. This is confounded by exorbitant recruitment costs and corrupt recruitment practices widespread in some countries.
"If the region is to reduce the risks for migrants, and maximize the benefits of this large and growing migration, it should constantly adapt to its migration infrastructures to emerging conditions and realities in the global labour market," said Ms. Leyla Tegmo-Reddy, Director of the ILO Sub-regional Office for South Asia.
"The ILO is working with many countries including those in the Gulf region to ensure introduction of model contracts to protect labours rights and improve the income level," the ILO official said.
To ensure such protection for the soaring number of migrant workers from South Asia the ILO in association with the European Union (EU), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Bangladesh government however, organised a two-day regional symposium from today (Monday), he said.
A media briefing was also organised in this connection in a local hotel Monday.
Talking about the symposium the organisers said the ability or inability of countries to provide protection to workers will be the crux of the discussion during the international conference to be held in Dhaka Sheraton Hotel from 15 to 16 July 2008.
The Symposium on "Deployment of Workers Overseas: A Shared Responsibility" is a concrete step in pursuit of 'improving dialogue and the management of labour migration so as to benefit both exporting and host countries and better protect the rights and equal treatment of migrant workers, which was identified as a national priority for action at the ILO Fourteenth Asian Regional Meeting on Decent Work in Asia held in Busan, Korea in 2006.
Participants would include high-level government officials, and representatives from workers' and employers' organisations from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka.
The symposium will discuss recruitment policies and cooperation mechanisms between origin and destination countries, and will provide a venue for exchange of best practices on the preparation of workers for foreign employment and provision of on-site services and monitoring.
The conference hopes to contribute to the development of recruitment practices and labour migration management in South Asia.