Promoting the Effective Governance of Labour Migration from South Asia through Actions on Labour Market Information, Protection during Recruitment and Employment, Skills and Development Impact

The Project aims to promote the management of labour migration from South Asia, to ensure effective protection of the rights of vulnerable migrant workers, enhance the development impact of labour migration and reduce irregular flows.

Project background

India is one of the largest countries of origin (14.15 million approx.), transit and destination (4.07 million approx.) for international migrants. It has also been the world’s largest recipient of remittances for the last seven years and in 2014 accounted for 12.06 % of total global remittances. It has the second largest diaspora in the world, estimated at 25 million spread across every major region of the world. More than 90% of Indian overseas workers have migrated to the Gulf and South- East Asia. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (Gulf Cooperation Council countries) alone have over 4.8 million Indian migrant residents, most of whom are semi- skilled and unskilled workers who will return to India after the expiry of their contractual employment.

In 2004 India merged the work done by the Emigration Division of the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the NRI Division of the Ministry of External Affairs to form the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. India is one of the 12 nations in the world / Asia that has a separate Ministry to look into affairs of migrants.

The Dubai 2020 expo, the Qatar 2022 World Cup and the planned massive construction projects in Saudi Arabia is likely to continue to increase the demand for Indian migrant workers particularly in construction but also other sectors.

While labour migration generates substantial benefits for countries of origin and destination it also creates a range of problems. Abuse of migrant workers during recruitment and employment is a common, well documented issue. Women face barriers in finding overseas employment, and female migrant domestic workers are among the most vulnerable to abuses.

The South Asia labour migration governance project aims to promote the management of labour migration from India, Nepal and Pakistan to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, specifically Qatar, Kuwait and UAE, to ensure effective protection of the rights of vulnerable migrant workers, enhance the development impact of labour migration and reduce unregulated migration.

Project objectives

The specific objectives include:
  • provide reliable information on overseas employment opportunities and building the capacity to match qualified job seekers with foreign employers;
  • reduce migration costs and abuses and increasing the protection of migrant workers in countries of origin and destination by improving recruitment services; and
  • enhance training and the portability of skills for outgoing and returning migrant workers and promoting the development impact of migration.

Partners

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Employers’ and Workers’ Organizations, Trade Union Coordination Committee (TUCC), Centre for Indian Migrant Studies (CIMS).

Target beneficiaries

Migrant workers from India, Nepal and Pakistan

For further information please contact:

Seeta Sharma, National Project Coordinator,
Tel: +91 11 47509233, 2460 2101 Email