While the number of South Asian migrant workers is increasing, their wages and rights remain stagnant. Experts at a regional conference have pointed out that the lack of unity among the origin countries is causing them to regress internationally, allowing destination countries to manipulate laws concerning the rights and protections of migrants.
The conference, titled "Regional Conference on Labour Migrants from South Asia: Issues and Concerns," was held in Dhaka on Tuesday (23 April).
The Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), in collaboration with the Consortium of South Asian Think Tanks (COSATT) and the Political Dialogue Asia Programme, sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), organised the conference.
Migrant researchers from different think-tanks in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka spoke at the seminar and pointed out contemporary challenges migrant workers of their country are facing.
The researchers emphasised gender issues, rights concerns, and protection challenges of migrant workers during the seminar. They also shared insights into the migrant worker scenarios in their respective countries.
The researchers noted that while the number of migrants is increasing, remittances are not increasing as expected. In 2022, India witnessed a 384% rise in migration, Pakistan saw an 89% increase, and Bangladesh experienced an 84% increase. These figures indicate a demand for migrant workers. However, there is a challenge: despite the growing number of migrant workers, salary and rights issues are not improving, said the discussants at the conference.
The migrant origin countries and the destination countries engage in bilateral deals to send workers. The destination countries reap the benefits of these bilateral negotiations.
"We are regressing internationally because the origin countries lack unity. Consequently, destination countries have the ability to amend laws related to rights and protections," stated Professor Tasneem Siddiqui, chairperson of the Department of Political Science at Dhaka University.
Dr. Mashiur Rahman, the Economic Affairs Advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, attended the program as the chief guest.
Dr. Mashiur Rahman stated that there is an ILO standard for migrant workers, but it is ineffective. He emphasized the difficulty faced by international organisations, including the UN, in enforcing their regulations.
