REGULATORY FRAME WORK FOR RECRUITMENT OF MIGRANT WORKERS &

MINIMUM STANDARDS IN OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT

CONTRACT By:

Rashid Ahmed MughalDirector

Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment,

Islamabad-Pakistan

LABOUR MIGRATION POLICY & VISION

Economic Development & Poverty reduction through labour migration on decent wages & to earn foreign exchange.

Encourage & promote systematic & legal labour Migration process under Government regulation.

Discourage illegal and un-documented Labour Migration by enforcing Government regulatory framework.

Help receiving countries by providing skilled manpower for their development activities and to meet shortages in various sectors.

Prevent occurrence of abuse/malpractices by the recruiting agents/employers in labour Migration process.

Prescribe and strictly enforce mechanism to protect vulnerable groups i.e. female housemaids/domestic servants, artists.

FACTS

 Labour Migration Process helps: -

Reduce Poverty. Un-employment pressure on local labour market. Increase in per capita income through Labour

Migration. Improvement in quality of life & standard of living. Earn Foreign Exchange.

Bulk of workers are being sent by authorized and licenced recruiting agents/Promoters.

Philippines US$ 7.60 BillionSri Lanka US$ 1.41 Billion Pakistan US$ 3.87 Billion

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS FOR THE YEAR 2003

Philippines (in 2003) 867669Sri Lanka (in 2002) 203000Pakistan (in 2003) 215,000

NUMBER OF WORKERS SENT

In Pakistan by Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment under Emigration Ordinance 1979.

In Philippines by Philippines Overseas Employment Administration under Philippines Overseas Employment Act 1995.

 In Sri Lanka by Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign

Employment under Foreign Employment Act 1985.

The activities of Recruiting Agents are regulated.

TASK AHEAD

Prevention of incidences of abuse & exploitation

through Government regulatory framework. Effective monitoring of activities of agents. How best to safeguard workers rights in case of non-

fulfillment of contractual obligations by employers. Changes required to be made in the Labour

Migration mechanism to prevent contract violation

or substitution on arrival of worker in the host

country. Action against employers indulging in abuse &

exploitation of migrant workers.

ROLE OF AUTHORIZED AGENTS IN OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT.

The role of authorized /licenced agents is commendable as every year they send hundreds of thousands of workers for employment abroad.

Note: (i) Those authorized agents who perform well are rewarded in cash in Sri-Lanka according to No. of people sent by them. In Pakistan, they are given OEP of year” award and like wise in Philippines.

(ii) Figures mentioned above reflect fresh hirings (Land based only)

Country

No. of OEPs/Aut

horized agents

No. of workers sent. (Land based) Percentage

Compl-aintsMale Female Total

Male Fe-male

Pakistan (2003)

1,258 214,341 659 215,000 99.7% 0.3% 872

Philippines (2003)

1,327 66,408 175,103 241,511 27% 73% 6,957

Sri Lanka(2002)

538 70,726 132,986 205,000 34.7 65.3 7,938

ACTIVITIES OF ILLEGAL/UN-AUTHORIZED AGENTS AND PUNISHMENT PRESCRIBED.

No. of Illegal Agents operating is reported to be in thousands in Pakistan, Philippines and Sri-Lanka.

Experience has shown that complaints against authorized agents are not many, as they know they can be traced and caught any time as their activities are monitored constantly and closely.

Malpractices are committed generally by fake agents.

Fake agents exploit the intending emigrants by promising them terms/conditions, which are not honoured by employer or with no job on arrival in host country, after charging huge amounts of money from them.

PUNISHMENTS PRESCRIBED UNDER LAW FOR ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT.

FOR ILLEGAL/FAKE AGENTS

a)  Immediate arrest on commission of offence.b) Prosecution.c) Imprisonment /Jail.

a)   Cancellation of licence.b) Forfeiture of cash guarantee/security.c) Black listing of firm.d) Prosecution and arrest.e) Imprisonment/Jail.

ORGANIZATIONS WHICH DEAL WITH LABOUR MIGRATION PROCESS

PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES SRI LANKA 1. MINISTRY OF

LABOUR, MANPOWER AND OVERSEAS PAKISTANIS

2. BUREAU OF EMIGRATION AND OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT.

3. OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT CORPORATION (PVT) LTD.

1. MINISTRY OF

LABOUR AND

EMPLOYMENT

 2. PHILLIPPINES

OVERSEAS

EMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION

1. MINISTRY OF

LABOUR.

2. SRI LANKA

BUREAU OF FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT

3. SRI-LANKA FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT AGENCY (PVT)

(SUBSIDIARY)

FIELD OFFICES.

PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES SRI LANKA

1. PROTECTOR OF

EMIGRANTS

2. COMMUNITY WELFARE ATTACHE

(OVERSEAS)

1. ADMINISTRATION AND ITS

REGIONAL OFFICES.

 2. REGIONAL LABOUR CENTERS (OVERSEAS OFFICES)

1. CHAIRMAN BUREAU OF FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT

2. LABOUR ATTACHES

(OVERSEAS)

BENCHMARK FOR MINIMUM WAGES

PAKISTAN: No minimum wage requirement. Follows free-floating market based policy.

PHILIPPINES: Follows a policy of “fair & decent wages” for its workers for overseas employment.

SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka also follows a “free-floating” market based rate for its workers and does not follow any minimum wage schedule.

Competition amongst sending countries has brought down the wages of migrant workers which are below than expected wages.

STANDARD CONTRACT FOR EMPLOYMENT ABROAD OF WORKERS (INCLUDING FEMALES).

PAKISTAN: Follows a system of uniform and standard contract of employment for its workers including females.

PHILIPPINES: Follows a system of different contract for different countries e.g. Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan). The terms/conditions of employment of its female workers vary from region to region -- hence no uniform /standard contract of employment.

SRI LANKA: Tried to evolve system of uniform/ standard contract of employment but due to pressure from recruiting agents, it could not be enforced strictly. It is, however, applicable in case of those workers who are registered with Sri Lankan Overseas Employment Bureau. Those registered get free insurance coverage for contract period.

LAW/ RULES AND PROCEDURE IN PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES & SRI-LANKA TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF

ABUSE & MALPRACTICES.

It is the ultimate goal of each sending country to safeguard interests of it migrant workers & towards this end Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka have proper legal framework in place. Yet in some cases, incidents of abuse by employers and malpractices by

agents have been reported.

REMEDY: Penalties and punishments already prescribed be strictly enforced and licences of agents who indulge in malpractices be cancelled with heavy fines and host Governments be asked to take strict action against such employers. Employer’s against whom there are repeated complaints be not only blacklisted but host Government be asked to take severe action against them. Bi-lateral agreements/MOUs be signed with receiving countries specially covering female abuse cases.

EXISTING LEGAL MECHANISM TO DEAL WITH CASES OF ABUSE/MALPRACTICES BY EMPLOYERS

 

LAWS/RULES

PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES SRI LANKA

 a) EMIGRATION ORDINANCE

1979. b) EMIGRATION RULES 1979. c) PROCEDURE

FOR RECRUITMENT

IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

SECTOR

 a) EMIGRATION LAW/ACT 1995

  b) RULES AND

REGULATIONSGOVERNINGOVERSEASEMPLOYMENT.

 a) EMIGRATION

ACT 1985.  b) OVERSEAS

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION 1985.

MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT FOR OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALES

Rise in No. of cases of abuse of female workers and their vulnerability prompted fixing of minimum age for house-maids in Pakistan, Philippines and Sri-Lanka which is:- Pakistan: 35 yearsPhilippines: 21 yearsSri Lanka: 25 years (for Kuwait)

30 years (for Saudi Arabia)

The ratio of female/male workers/house maid servants proceeded abroad is:-

Pakistan (2003) 99.7 Male 00.3 Female

Philippines (2003) 73% Female

27% MaleSri Lanka (2002) 65% Female

35% Male

IS THE VULNERABILITY OF FEMALES AS HOUSEMAIDS MAJOR FACTOR IN ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION

Because of nature of job, housemaids/domestic servants are always vulnerable to abuse and exploitation at the hands of employers. As they

Stay at home mostly and sometimes denied access to outside world, even their Embassy.

Work without adherence to fixed time schedule. Denied access to communicate with countrymen, relatives, and friends. Face physical harassment, which often is not reported. There are no Laws that govern their protection at work

except in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Lebanon & Cyprus.

SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS Age (minimum) be fixed at 35 years for domestic servant/housemaids. Employers may be asked to sign a bond for faithful performance of their duties. If they fail to do so, bond be

cashed and worker be compensated. Cash guarantee be obtained from employers which should remain with Government (Ministry of Labour) for the contract period and released if there no disputes between worker and employer at the end of contract period. Both husband & wife be encouraged to work with the

same employer to obviate chances of abuse. Embassy in host country should maintain a data bank

of all maid-servants to be contacted at random to check their welfare.

All female domestic servant/house-maids should be registered in Embassy on arrival.

Bonafides/credentials of employers be thoroughly checked before recruitment of house-maids/domestic servants. Housemaids/domestic servants be briefed to observe

domestic customs/traditions and dress code in the host country.

A separate section/wing be established in the Ministry of Labour in the sending country to specially look after recruitment of female workers/housemaids (like

“House hold Centre”, under Philippines Overseas Employment Administration in Philippines). Involvement of host Government (such as signing of

MOUs and Bi-lateral agreements) for ensuring worker’s rights.(Philippines has signed such agreements with 11 countries).

Impressing upon host countries to create a wing/section in their Ministry of Labour for protection of rights of female workers to look in to their problems and

solving disputes with employers. Sharing of information by labour sending countries and forming of special alliances for protection of rights of labour migrants. Labour Attaches should monitor cases of abuse & keep

close watch on employers against whom complaints are received, repeatedly.

If complaints persist, employers be black listed and host Government be asked to take action against them. Strict action be taken against agents who willfully &

knowingly conceal facts and expose labour migrants, specially vulnerable groups i.e. female domestic

servants, to abuse and exploitation. Regular /periodical meetings of sending countries to

evaluate situation and discuss methods of improvements in the system to prevent abuse/ malpractices.

THE END

GOD BLESS YOU