Lets Talk about Migrant Domestic Workers

There are numerous benefits of migration for workers and for their countries of origin and destination: for destination countries they fill gaps in the labour force; countries of origin earn foreign currency; while workers gain personal development together with economic agency. However, migration policies of both destination and countries of origin, especially for domestic workers, are not centred on the rights of migrant workers, and provide inadequate rights protection and deny further development opportunities for workers.

The major destination countries for Asian migrant domestic workers are the Middle Eastern countries. By providing free visas for domestic workers these destination countries attract women from low economic backgrounds. However these governments shy away from providing conditions for decent work and a dignified life by failing to include domestic work as formal labour and to provide protection for workers. This invisibility of domestic workers in the legal framework is reflected in the attitudinal issues faced by the workers within the household of their employers. Restrictive regulations do not allow domestic workers to benefit from other opportunities or upward mobility.

Countries of origin have benefitted vastly from the remittances sent by migrant domestic workers. If we take the example of Nepal, 25% of its GDP has been covered by remittances of migrant workers, 11% of which is contributed by women migrant workers. This data does not take into account remittances sent by undocumented migrant women, which is estimated to constitute 80% of all Nepali migrant women. India is currently the highest remittance-receiving country, while Bangladesh’s remittance equalled 84% of its garment exports. While the states have clearly benefitted, adequate measures for the protection of the rights of migrant workers are lacking.

Many South Asian governments have imposed policies that have made migration for work for women riskier. Countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India have imposed such restrictions on movements in varying degrees in the last decade. Nepal’s ban on women under the age of 30 migrating for work is an example. Governments defend their policies as “protecting” the women from abuses they face at destinations. However, the move to curtail women’s freedom has been seen as a reflection of cultural practices in the region where women’s sexual purity is linked to the family’s honour and, in a larger context, that of the nation’s. These policies do not address the root causes behind women migrating as domestic workers.

There are far more pressing needs that force women to migrate. Long-standing discrimination and inequality play an important role in migration of women for domestic work –the majority of these workers are rural women with lower levels of education and limited economic options. Although economic opportunities are one of the major reasons for women’s migration, many also decide to migrate to escape from situations of unhappy or unwanted relationships and violence, to access opportunities for development and sometimes just an opportunity to see the world beyond. Women migrants are not ignorant of the risks they face: many women view abuses and exploitation at destination merely as an extension of their experiences at home.

In Nepal, more than a decade of various restrictions on migration has not discouraged women from travelling to Gulf countries to work as domestic workers. This indicates that such restrictions are not being effective in “protecting” women. If anything, the restrictions have made their journeys more dangerous and their migration experiences worse.

Governments need to take action in order to stop exploitation of migrant domestic workers. Barriers and restrictions form the basis of the business models of unscrupulous agents that aid women to move for work. Even when agents act with good intentions, women travelling in contravention of government restrictions may find themselves in situations of risk during the journey or at destination and may lack state protection should they need it.

The demand for domestic workers from South Asian countries in Gulf countries has increased in recent years. This is due to Southeast Asian governments’ reluctance to send women as migrant domestic workers to Gulf countries following wide spread reports on abuse of domestic workers at their workplace. Currently the governments of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia are pushing for Nepal to remove the ban on women migrant domestic workers. To ensure that migrant women are not exploited, there has to be regulated open channels for migration and the rights of migrant domestic workers need enhanced protection measures at destinations. An important step both for countries of origin and destinations would be to ratify and implement obligations specified in International Labour Organisations Domestic Workers Convention 189.

The economic and political influences of the countries of destination allow them to shop around the Asian region for the lowest cost workers, and disregard the rights of domestic workers to a living wage and other labour rights. Ensuringmigrant workers’ wage protection and fair remuneration is critical, and this would only be possible if countries of origin refrain from undercutting each other by providing workers at lower wages. They need to centre and formulate their policies around the rights of migrant workers.

Development of domestic workers also requires countries of origin to invest substantially in the workers – at the very least in quality skills and language training – so they can adapt to and perform their tasks. However, understanding of rights – as a woman, as a worker, as a migrant worker – is equally imperative. Women must be able to recognise when their rights are violated and to take action against it. It is the responsibility of both countries of origin and destination to guarantee this safe environment to migrant domestic workers through policies and laws that uphold their rights as workers and ensure effective implementation.