Colombo Process: A Chance for Reform on Migrant Workers’ Laws

On January 23 and 24 labor ministers from Asian and Middle Eastern countries will meet in Abu Dhabi as part of the Colombo Process. The Colombo Process is a series of meetings in which government officials from these countries discuss and address issues affecting migrant workers. The main focus of these meetings is to discuss the rights of contract workers that very often fall through the cracks of flawed immigration and labor laws. These ambiguities in the legal frameworks leave these workers unprotected by the laws and perpetuate a cycle of abuse.

Tens of millions of Asians work as contract migrant workers to meet the high demand for cheap labor in countries in the Middle East while at the same time sending back home billions of dollars annually in remittances. Therefore, it is in the best interest of both sending and host countries to work out a legal framework that defines and protects the rights to which migrant workers should be entitled.

“Labor recruitment agencies overcharge migrants, leaving them heavily indebted.” Immigration laws in many countries tie the migrant worker visas to a specific employer, making it extremely difficult to switch employment when abuse ensues without losing their visas in the process. Furthermore, even though these host countries benefit immensely from migrant labor, their labor laws do not extend protection to these workers, foreclosing their avenues for redress.

In the United Arab Emirates, some employers pay extremely low wages and in some cases withhold wages for months at a time. In order to prevent the worker from quitting, employers routinely confiscate the worker’s passport leading to a situation akin to forced labor. Migrant workers also remain unprotected by health standards in case of injuries suffered in the workplace. They lack the right to strike and organize, women are barred from certain jobs and other categories of workers are altogether excluded from protection under the labor laws.

As part of the International Migrants’ Day, a number of organizations and human rights advocacy groups issued a letter to governments participating in the Colombo Process calling on them to implement reforms that address their equal protection under the labor laws, reformation of the visa system to address instances of abuse, implement stronger monitoring systems of labor recruitment agencies, and ensure that migrant workers have access to legal mechanisms to obtain redress for violations of basic workers’ rights.

While domestic labor movements have resisted granting migrant workers protection under immigration and labor laws, what they must realize is that refusing migrant workers of basic rights and minimum wage law protections affect them as well. Influx of large number of cheap migrant labor decreases the overall wage that employers are willing to pay to workers in general. Also, employers are unlikely to hire domestic labor entitled to protections under health and safety standards when they can contract foreign workers that are not entitled to such protections. Therefore, granting all workers, domestic and migrant the same protections under the law will level the playing field and assure that minimum standards for domestic workers stay at a certain level.

Furthermore, players should recognize the need for uniform rights for migrant workers across countries are essential to protect their economies and the human rights of workers in general. Legislation that accords migrant workers the same protections everywhere will protect economies from “forum shopping” by employers who look for lax labor regulations and cheap labor at the expense of economic development and migrant workers’ rights.

 

For more information:

Human Rights Watch, The UAE's Draft Labor Law, March 2007.

Human Rights Watch, UAE: Meetings Should Address Migrant Workers’ Rights, January 20, 2008

International Labor Organization, International Standards on Labor Migration.

International Organization for Migration, Labor Migration.