3 From Policy Research to Policy Impact
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- The document summarizes migration trends in Nepal over several decades, showing a large increase in the number of people working abroad, especially in the Gulf states and Malaysia. It notes both economic benefits but also social impacts and abuses some workers face. - It discusses efforts to include regional cooperation on labor migration issues in the agenda for an upcoming SAARC summit. A technical working group drafted proposals focusing on optimizing migration's development benefits and protecting migrant workers. - The document concludes by reflecting on lessons learned from engaging policymakers and pursuing realistic policy impacts through partnerships with stakeholders.
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3 From Policy Research to Policy Impact
- 1. From Policy Research to Policy Impact Migration, Knowledge Production and Regional Integration in the Context of South Asia Bandita Sijapati Research Director Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM) Social Science Baha, Kathmandu, Nepal 16 March 2016
- 2. MIGRATION TRENDS, PATTERNS AND IMPACT
- 3. Absentee Population – over the years 1952/54 1981 1991 2001 2011 Male 173,919 328,448 548,002 679,469 1,663,237 Female 24,501 74,529 110,288 82,712 254,666 Total 198,120 402,977 658,290 762,181 1,917,903 Source: Central Bureau of Statistics 173,919 328,448 548,002 679,469 1,663,237 24,501 74,529 110,288 82,712 254,666 198,120 402,977 658,290 762,181 1,917,903 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000
- 5. Labour Permits by Destination Source: Department of Foreign Employment 24.4% 40.6% 16.5% 10.4% 3.7% 4.5% Qatar Malaysia Saudi Arabia U A E Kuwait Others 0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 Kuwait Malaysia Qatar Saudi Arabia UAE
- 6. Personal remittances (in million USD) 55 68 111 771 1,734 2,727 3,464 4,793 5,770 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
- 7. Important Driver of Poverty Reduction 42 % 31 % 25 % 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Year 1995/96 Year 2003/04 Year 2010/11
- 8. The Promise of Remittances… 78.9 7.1 4.5 3.5 2.4 Daily consumption Repay loans Household property Education Capital formation Make migration/remittances beneficial to individuals Maximize the value of remittances - Lower cost of remitting -Lower the cost of migration Provide productive investment opportunities
- 9. Cost of remitting decreasing… 4% 6% 4% 73% 9% 4% Brought himself/herself Through friends, relatives Through hundi Through money transfer companies Transfer to own bank account Transfer to other’s bank account Source: NMS 2009 as illustrated in World Bank, Large-Scale Migration and Remittance in Nepal, 2011
- 10. High cost of migration … The Debt Trap 7.00% 1.90% 2.70% 2.50% 25.70% 6.80% 53.30% Own Savings Sale of Assets Help from family members in Nepal Help from family members abroad Loan from friends, relatives Bank loan Loan from village merchants, etc. 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% Source: NMS 2009 as illustrated in World Bank, Large-Scale Migration and Remittance in Nepal, 2011
- 11. Social Impacts of Migration • Total fertility rate decreased • Household responsibilities and decision-making transferred to women • Nuclear family: role of decision-making increased • Extended family: no remarkable change • Breakdown in familial ties/relationships/broken families • Decrease in social protection for elderly • HIV problems increased (for India) • Suicide leading cause of death amongst women of reproductive age
- 12. Abuses Experienced by Workers • On an average, 3 dead bodies per day (primarily from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia) and the number of cases of injuries • Cases Reported – Fraudulence by agents/manpower agencies – Contractual irregularities – Non-payment or irregular payment of salaries – Stranded in destination countries – Physical and sexual abuses – Forgery cases (e.g., fake documents, trafficking, etc) – Seizure of documents – Arrest in destination countries
- 14. MIGRATION IN SAARC’S AGENDA
- 15. Preparing for 18th SAARC Agenda • South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) – 8 member states; Established in 1983; 1st Summit in 1985 – 18th SAARC Summit, 2015: reinvigorate regional cooperation, deepen regional integration, and fulfill developmental aspirations of people of South Asia – Regional cooperation on migration • Interested parties – Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka – But major players (India, Pakistan) not keen – Nepal heading the secretariat www.ceslam.org
- 16. Preparing for 18th SAARC Agenda • Roundtable discussion organized by the Foreign Employment Promotion Board to discuss a draft note – Draft note driven by international normative frameworks (i.e., Migrant Convention, ILO Convention) – Experience of CESLAM on regional migration issues shared • Importance of labour migration to all (UP, Bihar) • Opportunity for development • Collective emergency response (e.g., Libya) • ASEAN Declaration on labour migration • SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Women and Children for Prostitution, 2002 Opportunities • Intra-regional tensions, particularly due to legacies of 1947 partition of India-Pakistan • Low-skilled migrant sending countries versus high-skilled migrant sending countries versus labour-receiving countries • Convincing the major players versus agenda of the smaller countries Challenges
- 17. Drafting the Agenda • Representative from Ministry of Foreign Affairs • Representative from Ministry of Labour & Employment • Migration Expert • Civil Society Organization Technical Working Group • Recognition of labour migration as area of common interest • Optimize benefits of migration for both sending & receiving countries (reduce remittance transfer costs, recruitment fees, productive investments) • Expand scope of trafficking • Collaboration on management (minimum standards, skills qualifications, mutual legal assistance, and emergency response mechanisms) Key Agenda Items • Widening ownership • Government, civil society and international organizations Actors/Institutions
- 18. Policy Impact and Way Forward 18th SAARC Declaration • Collaborate and cooperate on safe, orderly and responsible management of migration from South Asia to ensure safety, security & wellbeing of their migrant workers in the destination countries outside the region Framing an Action Plan • Set up an institutional mechanism to facilitate collaboration & cooperation on management of key labour migration issues • Formulate ‘SAARC Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Welfare of Migrant Workers’ Future Directions • Scheduled meeting of representatives from labour and foreign affairs ministries (May 2016) to finalize action plan
- 19. To Conclude… Lessons Learnt • History of engagement with policy makers • Clear understanding of contextual factors • Partnerships with stakeholders • Seeking entry points for impacts and leveraging them • Realistic expectations on impacts www.ceslam.org
- 20. Thank you Questions? Visit our website www.ceslam.org Email: bsijapati@ceslam.org info@ceslam.org
Editor's Notes
- The number of absentee population has increasing over the years and between 2001 and 2011 itself, there was more than two-fold increase in the number of Nepalis who were absent. According to the NLSS, 53 percent of the households have at least one absentee living currently within or outside the country. This amounts to 7.24% of Nepal’s total population is currently absent.
- The number of labour permits issued increased by more than a hundred-fold in the 18 years for which there are records—from 3605 permits in 1993/94 to 453,543 in 2012/13. There have been some exceptions when either a surge or decrease in the issuance of labour permit was observed. As highlighted by the two circles, there was a sharp increase in 1998/99 and 2001/02, which could have resulted from the dearth of employment opportunities and growing insecurity in the country, both by-products of the socio-political unrest that engulfed Nepal during the period. But also, the surge in the late 1990s could be attributed to the change in policy regulations which made migration more easy. On the other hand, in 2008/09, the number of individuals going abroad for employment decreased, particularly because Malaysia, the biggest importer of Nepali labourers at the time tightened its immigration policies to restrict ‘irregular’ and ‘illegal’ migration. T his period also coincided with the onset of the global financial crisis, which affected labour recruitment and migration practices of the Malaysian government who started giving greater priority to its citizens than to migrants in hiring practices. Because Malaysia has been a top-ranked destination for many Nepali workers, a sudden decrease in the demand for workers in there also meant an overall decrease in Nepalis seeking foreign employment in 2008/2009.