TUC to support migrant workers in Asia to achieve decent work

TUC to support migrant workers in Asia to achieve decent work

The TUC has just signed a new agreement with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to support migrant workers in Asia.

Jeroen Beirnaert of the ITUC says, 'Trade unions are essential to the sustainable empowerment of migrant workers and migrant workers are essential to the sustainable empowerment of trade unions to represent all workers. This project kills two birds with one stone and has a real and sustainable impact.'

Owen Tudor, head of the international department at the TUC says: 'Migrant workers bear the brunt of globalisation forces around the world. I am really pleased that the TUC is now supporting the work of the ITUC and national trade union centres in Asia to ensure that migrant workers can achieve decent work.'

Migration is a labour market issue. People migrate in search of decent employment opportunities and migration is most common among young adults. A recent global trend is the feminisation of migration: female workers constitute now almost half of the migrant population.

But migrant workers are disproportionately confronted with discrimination, xenophobia and social exclusion in destination countries. They are often faced with problems including delay and non payment of wages, lack of social protection, denial of trade union rights, long hours, low wages and bad working conditions and even forced labour. Most migrants have to go through intermediaries to find work such as official or unofficial recruitment agencies, are sometimes deceived by these agencies and end up paying large amounts which can even lead them into debt bondage.

This new project will build on the ITUC's pilot programme, supported by LO-TCO of Sweden, which has trialled new ways of union organising which can effectively support migrant workers in both their country of origin, before they leave, and once they arrive in their destination country. National trade union centres are supported to, in turn, enable their own affiliates to reach out to migrant workers.

The TUC is pleased to be supporting the ITUC's programme in Asia which will cover migrants from Indonesia working in Malaysia, and migrants from India working in Bahrain. Malaysia is one of the main destination countries for migrant workers in Asia and of the registered 1.9 million migrant workers in Malaysia, more than 1 million are Indonesian. Bahrain, as a Gulf country, is another of the main destination countries for migrant workers in Asia. More than 55 per cent of the Bahrain labour force are migrant workers and India is a major country of origin. Twenty five to 30 million Indians are working abroad of which four million are in the Gulf.

Jeroen Beirnaert continues: 'We are extremely happy with the continued support of LO-TCO for the migrant workers and the new support of the British TUC which has enabled us to enlarge the project and to double our activities in Asia, now covering four countries instead of two.'

As a result of this project, migrant workers will be encouraged to join and become active in trade unions and new collective bargaining agreements will improve the pay and conditions in migrant workplaces. Trade unions will receive training and capacity-building support to enable them to better meet the needs of migrant workers.

For more information about the work of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress regarding migrant workers, please follow this link: http://www.ituc-csi.org/spotlight-interview-with-g.html

The story below of Mira Basnet, a domestic worker from Nepal, who has also worked in Qatar, gives an insight into the motivations, conditions and challenges of being a migrant worker, but also of the opportunities and benefits of union organising within migrant worker communities.

Mira is 37 years old and lives in Kathmandu although she originates from the eastern region of Nepal, Jhapa.

When Mira was 34 she started to experience some problems in the rural area where she worked on a tea plantation. This was at a time when Nepal was politically very unstable and she felt personally threatened, and so she ended up deciding to leave the country.

She moved to Kuwait and lived there for three years as a domestic worker, looking after children and keeping house for a family. At first it was difficult as she did not speak Arabic, although gradually she grew used to it and she made some new friends.

Mira says that the conditions of Nepali domestic workers in Kuwait, and indeed many migrant workers in Kuwait, are not so good. She says it is common for the house owners to take the worker's passport away from them and to refuse to pay them a salary. Exploitation is common and Mira knows of one worker who was not paid for three years. Mira says that she was treated well by her employer, but when pressed, she admits that in the three years she worked for them, she only had three hours off three times. She worked every day of the week.

When Mira was originally in Nepal, she was a senior member of the tea plantation workers' union. When she moved to Kuwait, even though there was no migrant workers union, she tried to support other Nepali workers.

'In one incident, I remember that there were many Nepali drivers working for an American company in Kuwait. They were badly treated and I was able to persuade them that they had rights and that they must stand up for their rights. So the Nepali drivers launched a strike and the employer then agreed to make some changes, increase the wages and improve the facilities.'

'Now I am planning to go back to Kuwait for one year to see if I can start a union for Nepali migrant workers. This is my dream. This is necessary because Nepali workers do not receive the same wages as Kuwaiti workers and there is also much discrimination against women migrant workers too.'