Concept Note
International migration of workers is a dynamic process and women represent around fifty percent of the total population of international migrants. In the case of domestic workers, more than two thirds of all migrant domestic workers are women (ILO estimates). In the case of domestic workers, a distinctive feature has been the nature of domestic work that remains informal and performed outside the purview of labour and social protection regulations. It also remains one of the least protected sectors that are not guaranteed rights under labour laws and are most susceptible to vulnerability at workplace and exploitation. While other categories of workers in varying degrees are assured basic rights such as decent working and living conditions, paid annual leaves, working time, minimum wage coverage and maternity protection, the same remains elusive for the domestic workers.
Over the years a vast majority of Indian domestic workers have travelled to countries in the Gulf region, South East Asia and sporadically even to countries in Europe and North America (NDWM)[1]. As of 2019, the top five sending states for women domestic workers were Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Maharashtra and traditionally the top destination countries have been UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain (MEA estimates). At present the Government of India allows for women with an ECR endorsement (except nurses) of 30 years and above to seek employment in the ECR countries. Further, the recruitment of all female domestic workers having ECR passports for overseas employment, have been mandatory through 9 state run recruitment agencies.[2] An alternate mode of recruitment is also directly through the Foreign Employer (FE) who have registered with the e-migrate system and have to make a security deposit of US $2500 if he/she recruits the workers directly. To facilitate their mobility, India has also signed Labour and Manpower Cooperation MoUs with six countries of the Gulf region that provide the institutional framework to comprehensively discuss and review labour related issues, including the working conditions of Indian domestic workers.
Despite these institutional frameworks in place, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has left in its wake, serious challenges for labour migration at large including graver vulnerabilities for women domestic workers. These implications hence call for a timely discourse on forming enabling measures for emigrant women domestic workers. New estimates suggest that nearly three-quarters of domestic workers around the world are at a significant risk of losing their jobs and income due to lockdown and lack of effective social security coverage (ILO estimates). Therefore, guaranteeing labour protection, recognizing their rights as workers become an important issue. Further, developing additional measures such as establishing training programs for up-skilling and to orient them towards other destination countries are also required. This would also include benchmarking best practices from other sending countries with policies that intervene actively to protect domestic worker rights and upgrade skills of workers. These efforts are crucial for effectively developing standardized channels to formalize domestic work and protect their vulnerabilities in the current and future scenario.
With this backdrop, the India Centre for Migration seeks to organize a virtual discussion titled ‘Women in International Migration: A Case of Domestic Workers from India’. The discussion aims to deliberate (but will not be limited to) on the following issues-
Examine the overall impact of COVID-19 pandemic on domestic work sector and way forward.
1. National Domestic Workers Movement
2. NORKA Roots and Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants (ODEPC) of Kerala, Overseas Manpower Corporation Ltd. (OMCL) of Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh Financial Corporation (UPFC) of Uttar Pradesh, Overseas Manpower Company Andhra Pradesh Limited (OMCAP) of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana Overseas Manpower Company Limited (TOMCOM) of Telangana, Karnataka State Unorganized Workers Social Security Board (KUWSSB), Karnataka and Karnataka Vocational Training and Skill Development Corporation (KVTSDC). Recently, state run recruiting agencies in Bihar and Jharkhand have also been approved.