2014-2016 impact: Illustration labour rights: migration

Labour migration largely occurs under temporary migration regimes and for less skilled work. Migrants often fill jobs unattractive to nationals, the infamous three Ds: Dirty, Dangerous and Demeaning. Examples of this are the Nepali and Indian migrants travelling to Gulf countries like Qatar to work as domestic or construction workers. Migrant workers make an enormous development contribution to the region’s economies – through skills, labour, services and competitiveness in countries of destination; and financial remittances, skills and knowledge upon return to their countries of origin. In destination countries many migrant workers fill labour market niches by doing jobs that nationals do not want or cannot fill. Yet many migrant workers in the region are subject to labour exploitation and abuse during recruitment and employment. Several of the WSM partners focus on organizing and defending labour migrants rights.

SBMI Indonesia: In Sepayung village, recruiters were helping many underage girls with fake identity cards and passports to go abroad as domestic workers. In 2016, SBMI successfully promoted a new regulation which meant the age of potential migrant workers had to be verified, with an access from SBMI to monitor and check ID cards. They also lobbied for a registration of all recruiters with a public display of their pictures, so the public can identify them.

Reni, Indonesia: "I was 15 year old when I traveled to Singapore to work as domestic worker. In my employment contract, I was supposed to take care of the employer’s children, but I had to do many other things, like cleaning, washing the clothes and everything. After nine days, I wanted to quit and go back because it was too hard for me and not what had been put in my contract. The agency that had send me to Singapore refused however and the sponsor and local agent demanded my parents to pay 36 million IDR (2,267€). My parents contacted SBMI and they managed to negotiate so that I could return without having to pay this exorbitant amount. SBMI explained that I was a victim of trafficking because I was underage and shouldn’t have been a migrant domestic worker. This is against the law and I should be protected under the Labor Law and the Child Protection Act. I am more aware and will share my knowledge with my friends and neighbors so that they will not experience the same things I did."

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Stories from Nepali in Qatar
1. April 2009 in Qatar. The weather was very hot and the sun was scorching. Dhal couldn’t bear the heat anymore. He started to get cramps in his arms. He was very thirsty but there was no drinking water available. He and around 300 other migrant workers decided to take an unscheduled break. The companies’ supervisors however got upset and asked the workers to continue working. The workers ignored him and asked to meet with the company manager, or else they would report it to the safety inspector. After some negotiation, they agreed that workers can take a rest when the temperature reaches 46 Celsius.

Before going to Qatar, Dhal worked as a mason on a construction site in Nepal earning two Euros for an 8 hour work-day. After he was married and had children, he felt that it was getting harder to survive. Dhal decided to go work abroad as a migrant worker. On January 2007, he went to a technical and vocational Training Centre in Kathmandu. With their certificate, he went to an Overseas Employment Agency where he spent about 750 Euro to go overseas. He actually didn’t know where he was going since the agency didn’t inform him. In July 2007, he received a work permit for a job as an electrician in Qatar. However, when he arrived in Qatar, the contract had changed. He received a contract as a mason for another company. The employers gave him an ID Card but took away his passport. The first 3 months, he received a salary of 220Euro. After 3 months however, the company paid him, as well as 90 other Nepalese migrant workers, only 170Euro. When the workers complained about this to the General Manager, he said that they first tested the workers’ skills one by one before they would raise the salary back. Two months later, after this skill test, Dhal’s salary was increased to 270Euro. Others however were not so lucky and were told they could accept or leave.

The first three months in Qatar were hard. The workers stayed in a Labour Camp. The room was 10x9m and 10 to 15 workers had to sleep on the floor. There was no air conditioning in the room, so it was very stuffy. Dhal had to get up at 4am, take the bus at 5.30 a.m. and start to work at 07:00 a.m. They had an hour for lunch, and then continued working until 7pm. For their overtime (instead of 8 hours a day they generally worked 12 hours), they received a 25% bonus. If they worked on Fridays, they received an additional allowance of 50%.

On his day off, Dhal would take the bus to Doha and meet with other Nepali workers. Many of these workers are members of GEFONT Support Group. He himself already joined CUPPEC-GEFONT in 2002, before he left Nepal. One day in 2012, the police took him to the police station and interrogated him. Having felt unsafe ever since, he decided to return to Nepal in December 2012. He now works as a member of the GEFONT Migrant Committee in Kathmandu and returns regularly to Qatar, not as mason but as a union organizer. 

2. My name is Jit Bahadur from Nepal. I’m married and have 4 children, 1 son and 3 daughters. Now, I lost my only son and still I can’t pay back my debt. On 10 January 2008, I heard that my eldest son (14 years old) had a fatal bus accident. He was studying at Grade 6 at the Academy of Scared Hearts. I cried and begged my employer to allow me to go back to Nepal. My employer did not allow me to return to Nepal. He said that if I went back to Nepal, I would have to refund 2 years of remuneration and the visa fee. It was impossible for me to pay. I felt bad and guilty.