UNB, Dhaka :
Hundreds of thousands of women migrant workers from South Asian countries in the Middle East have signed employment contracts that they do not understand or do not adequately protect them against discrimination and abuse, says a new report.
The study was carried out by UN Women and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The findings were discussed at a stakeholder consultation in Kathmandu, Nepal, on December 20-21. The study focused on migration from South Asian countries to the Middle East, which has been booming since oil-generated wealth started growing in the region in the 1970s. At present, India is the largest sending country (at 747,000 workers), followed by Pakistan (623,000 workers), Nepal (454,000 workers), Bangladesh (409,000 workers) and Sri Lanka (282,000 workers).
But with this increase have come associated vulnerabilities, exploitation and
abuse of migrant workers, particularly women, according to UN Women Asia and the IOM. Templates for standard contracts are available, and in some cases referenced in national legislation or bilateral labour agreements, but are often not applied effectively, it found. “There is a colossal gap between the Standard Terms of Employment template (STOE) and the employment contracts that are used for female labour migration,” the study said.
“Without addressing the gaps that exist in the current female labour migration, applying an idealistic contract template is not feasible.”
Hundreds of thousands of women migrant workers from South Asian countries in the Middle East have signed employment contracts that they do not understand or do not adequately protect them against discrimination and abuse, says a new report.
The study was carried out by UN Women and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The findings were discussed at a stakeholder consultation in Kathmandu, Nepal, on December 20-21. The study focused on migration from South Asian countries to the Middle East, which has been booming since oil-generated wealth started growing in the region in the 1970s. At present, India is the largest sending country (at 747,000 workers), followed by Pakistan (623,000 workers), Nepal (454,000 workers), Bangladesh (409,000 workers) and Sri Lanka (282,000 workers).
But with this increase have come associated vulnerabilities, exploitation and
abuse of migrant workers, particularly women, according to UN Women Asia and the IOM. Templates for standard contracts are available, and in some cases referenced in national legislation or bilateral labour agreements, but are often not applied effectively, it found. “There is a colossal gap between the Standard Terms of Employment template (STOE) and the employment contracts that are used for female labour migration,” the study said.
“Without addressing the gaps that exist in the current female labour migration, applying an idealistic contract template is not feasible.”
