LABOUR MIGRATION SCENARIO OF PAKISTAN

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LABOUR MIGRATION SCENARIO OF PAKISTAN

• G.M.Arif
• Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
• Islamabad

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OUTLINE

• Volume of migration and countries of destination
• Male/female ratio and policy on women migration
• Remittances volume and importance
• Migration governance in Pakistan
• Insecurity of migrant workers
• Policy reforms

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Number of Overseas Pakistanis in Different
Regions of the World, June 2004
Source Bureau of Emigration and Overseas
Employment (BEOE), 2004.
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Women and overseas migration from Pakistan

• Migration to the developed nations
• Women as spouse
• Women as independent migrants
• Students
• Professionals
• Women and labour migration to the Middle East
• Small share/ratio
• Policy on women migration

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Overseas Migrants by Districts of Origin
Source Bureau of Emigration, Islamabad
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Flow of Foreign Remittances in Pakistan
Source BEOE, Pakistan Economic Survey - Various
issues (a) average of 1990s
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Migration governance in Pakistan

• Institutional Arrangements
• Emigration Act 1922, three organizations were
  functioning
• National Manpower Council
• Directorate of Seamens Welfare
• Protectorate of Emigrants
• In the 1970s, the Bureau of Emigration and
  Overseas Employment (BEOE) was setup by
  amalgamation of these three organizations
• BEOE is established to boost labour emigration,
  and also to regulate and control the recruitment
  process in the country
• BEOE functions through its seven regional
  offices, called Protector of Emigrants, located
  in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta,
  Malakand and Multan

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Channels of Labour Recruitment and Procedures

• Legally, Pakistanis can find overseas employment
  through public, private and direct channels or
  sectors.
• Public Sector
• Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC)
• After receiving demand from overseas, the OEC
  advertises the jobs and sends applications to
  employer's who makes the final scrutiny and
  arrange interviews with the candidates in
  Pakistan

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Contd

• In Pakistan, labour recruitment for overseas
  employment is primarily in the private sector,
• Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs)
• OEPs are required by law to obtain a license
  from the Ministry of Labor, Manpower Overseas
  Pakistani to recruit Pakistani labour for
  overseas employment
• The Ministry grants the license for the period of
  three years on the recommendation of BEOE

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Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs)

• OEPs receive a formal demand letter from foreign
  employers, specifying the number of job
  categories with terms and condition of employment
  
• Applies to the concerned Protector of Emigrants
  for permission to process the demand
• OEP is required to advertise the demand
  specifying the number of persons, categories,
  wages and other terms and conditions
• Prepares a FSA on behalf of the employer and
  approach the Protector of Emigrants for
  registration
• Briefing by the protector of emigrants

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Official Cost of Recruitment
Source BEOE a NICOP stands for National
Identity Card for overseas Pakistanis.
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Insecurity of migrant workers during the
recruitment process in Pakistan
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Sources of Information for Job Abroad by Region
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Recruitment through OEPs
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Role of Sub-agents in recruitment
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Contd

• OEPs often contact these sub-agents when
  recruiting from rural areas, particularly
  semi-skilled or skilled workers
• Many friends/relatives also play the role of a
  sub-agent in the migration process
• Many prospective migrants prefer their mediation
  through local agents because of close contacts

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Signing the Contract before Migration

• 50 of those who used OEPs channel, whereas 28
  and 46 of those who went abroad through
  relatives/friends and direct visa respectively
  signed contract before migration
• About 75 of the respondent reported that the
  contract was written in English
• More than 70 of the migrants reported that they
  understood terms and conditions of the contract
• Majority of the migrants went abroad on work visa
  (62), along with this about one fourth of
  migrants went abroad on Azad visa

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Is Recruitment Procedure Followed?
Source SRM, 2007.
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Cost of migration (Rupees) by type of recruitment
Source SRM, 2007.
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Financing Foreign Employment
Source SRM, 2007.
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Illegal Migration

• Local agents organize a group of prospective
  migrants to take the risk of crossing border
  without documents by using sea and dry routes
• Reason of Illegal Migration
• High Cost of legal Migration
• Job opportunities and wages in native country
• Deportees can never enter legally in the country
  from where they were deported
• Overstaying after Hajj/Umra

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Insecurity of migrant workers while abroad

• Re-signing of Contract While Abroad
• Re-signing of the contract is done in two way
• A new contract is prepared with clear terms and
  conditions soon after migrant arrival in the host
  country
• The contract is signed when the first salary is
  paid
• Migrants are usually unaware about the contract
  they are signing
• In the new contract salary is usually 8-10
  percent low
• Medical test upon arrival at destination and
  re-assessment of skill level are also getting
  common

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Fulfillment of Contract
Source SRM, 2007.
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Contd
Source SRM, 2007.
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Working Conditions
Source SRM, 2007.
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Exploitations high Cost of Migration

• Rural migrants are the victims of high cost for
  all types of intermediaries
• As compared to only Rs. 40,000 for urban
  migrants, the average total cost paid by rural
  migrants was more than Rs. 100,000 for those who
  went abroad through friends/relatives.
• Actual costs are higher for rural migrants mainly
  because they do not have direct links with OEPs
  and they use the channel of sub-agent/middlemen
  which increases the cost of migration.
• Migrants who paid very high costs are unskilled
  and illiterate labourers irrespective of the
  channel they used for overseas employment

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Exploitation during Recruitment Process
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Other forms of Exploitations

• A major exploitation, after the high costs of
  migration, is ambiguities in overseas job
  contracts. Usually migrants are not fully aware
  of all these terms and conditions, which may lead
  to exploitation in the country or abroad
• Workers (mainly unskilled) are not usually paid
  their full salaries during first three months of
  overseas employment
• Kafeel system also creates problems for many
  migrants who are set free to work with any
  employer of their choice against a regular
  payment of fixed amount to the Kafeel

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Recruitment Mechanisms and Outcomes of Emigration

• Remittances and Household Assets
• On average migrants remitted Rs. 209650 during
  their 4.7 years average stay abroad
• Migrants who went abroad on direct visa remitted
  more money (Rs. 250000) as compared to those who
  used friends/relatives channel for overseas
  employment (Rs.159000)
• Illegal migrants also remitted more (Rs.169000)
  than those who went abroad through friends and
  relatives

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Contd

• Monthly income of working returnees is on average
  more than 10,000 rupees except illegal migrants
  who earn about 9000 rupees per month
• It is observed that migrant who used OEPs channel
  or obtained direct visa are better settled in
  terms of income
• Migrants who have used the channel of
  friends/relatives are particularly at
  disadvantage in terms of paying high cost and not
  remitting large amounts
• Landlessness among returnees has slightly declined

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Happiness on Achievements
Source SRM, 2007.
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Recommendations

• Because of high costs, migration is becoming less
  and less financially profitable. To recover the
  cost, migrants work abroad in bad conditions.
  This cost may be controlled
• Role of both subagents and foreign recruiters in
  labour recruitment may be eliminated only legal
  recruiting agents may be allowed to initiate the
  migration process
• Contracts and terms and conditions for overseas
  employment are not transparent and migrants are
  in general unaware about these conditions.
  Reforms may be introduced in the recruiting
  system in Pakistan as well as abroad
• Pakistani embassies in the Middle East may be
  made active

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What Needs to be done?

• Despite many on-going programs to increase the
  skill-level of Pakistani workers, little progress
  has been made. The increase in the share of
  unskilled workers in the Middle East overtime is
  a great concern. These workers are generally the
  victims of illegal practices, high costs and low
  wages while abroad. There is a need to enhance
  the skill-level of labour force to avoid
  exploitation and to reap the benefits of
  migration.
• Emigration is limited to relatively more
  prosperous areas e.g. Barani Punjab. Migration is
  likely to have a role in this prosperity.
  Information and facilities for overseas
  employment may be introduced in poor regions of
  the country e.g. southern Punjab, Sindh to lift
  poor families out of poverty.
• Contract signing is not common in Pakistan.
  Recruiting system should be made more
  transparent, easy to follow and understandable in
  terms of working conditions abroad.

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Contd

• Re-signing of contract while abroad appears to be
  exploitative, it may be stopped. Exploitation
  linked with the kafeel system may also be
  checked.
• Rules and procedure set by BEoE e.g. appearance
  before Protector of Emigrants and briefing may be
  followed.
• Illegal migration leads to exploitation and
  carries bad name for the country. It may be
  controlled. The issue of trafficking has not been
  dealt in this study because of the small size of
  the sample. It deserves to be explored.
• Working conditions abroad are not satisfactory.
  Arrangements may be made to follow the terms and
  conditions for overseas employment. Both labour
  sending and labour receiving countries must agree
  on a system of core values, standards and
  outcomes to be attained through labour migration.

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• THANK YOU