International labour migration

Table of Content

Sr No. Particulars Page no.

1 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION INTRODUCTION 6

2 LABOUR MIGRATION – THE BACKGROUND 9

3 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION PROGRAM 12

4 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION FROM INDEPENDENT INDIA 14

5 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION 16

6 CAUSES OF MIGRATION 18

7 DATA AND METHODS 22

8 IMPACT OF MIGRATION 23

9 EMPLOYMENT ORIENTED MIGRATION 27

10 TRENDS IN GLOBAL MIGRATION 28

11 EFFECTS OF MIGRATION 32

12 CONCLUSION 36

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International Migration Introduction

International labour migration is defined as the movement of

people from one country to another for the purpose of employment.  Today,

an estimated 105 million persons are working in a country other than their

country of birth.   Labour mobility has become a key feature of

globalization and the global economy with migrant workers earning US$

440 billion in 2011, and the World Bank estimating that more than $350

billion of that total was transferred to developing countries in the form of

remittances.  However, despite the efforts made to ensure the protection of

migrant workers, many remain vulnerable and assume significant risks

during the migration process.      

International labour migration is defined as the movement of

people from one country to another for the purpose of employment.  Today,

an estimated 105 million persons are working in a country other than their

country of birth.   Labour mobility has become a key feature of

globalization and the global economy with migrant workers earning US$

440 billion in 2011, and the World Bank estimating that more than $350

billion of that total was transferred to developing countries in the form of

remittances.  However, despite the efforts made to ensure the protection of

migrant workers, many remain vulnerable and assume significant risks

during the migration process.

When properly managed, labour migration has far-reaching

potential for the migrants, their communities, the countries of origin and

destination, and for employers. While job creation in the home country is

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the preferred option, demographic, social and economic factors are

increasingly the drivers of migration. As a result, a growing number of both

sending and receiving countries view international labour migration as an

integral part of their national development and employment strategies. On

one hand, countries of origin benefit from labour migration because it

relieves unemployment pressures and contributes to development through

remittances, knowledge transfer, and the creation of business and trade

networks. On the other hand, for destination countries facing labour

shortages, orderly and well-managed labour migration can lighten labour

scarcity and facilitate mobility.

International migration occurs when peoples cross state

boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum length of time.

Migration occurs for many reasons. Many people leave their home

countries in order to look for economic opportunities in another country.

Others migrate to be with family members who have migrated or because

of political conditions in their countries. Education is another reason for

international migration, as students pursue their studies abroad. While there

are several different potential systems for categorizing international

migrants, one system organizes them into nine groups: temporary labour

migrants; irregular, illegal, or undocumented migrants; highly skilled and

business migrants; refugees; asylum seekers; forced migration; family

members; return migrants; and long-term, low-skilled migrants. These

migrants can also be divided into two large groups, permanent and

temporary. Permanent migrants intend to establish their permanent

residence in a new country and possibly obtain that country’s citizenship.

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Temporary migrants intend only to stay for a limited periods of time;

perhaps until the end of a particular program of study or for the duration of

a work contract or a certain work season. Both types of migrants have a

significant effect on the economies and societies of the chosen destination

country and the country of origin.

Similarly, the countries which receive these migrants are often

grouped into four categories: traditional settlement countries, European

countries which encouraged labour migration after World War II, European

countries which receive a significant portion of their immigrant populations

from their former colonies, and countries which formerly were points of

emigration but have recently emerged as immigrant destinations.

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LABOUR MIGRATION – THE BACKGROUND

Migration from one area to another in search of improved

livelihoods is a key feature of human history. While some regions and

sectors fall behind in their capacity to support populations, others move

ahead and people migrate to access these emerging opportunities.

Industrialisation widens the gap between rural and urban areas, inducing a

shift of the workforce towards industrialising areas. There is extensive

debate on the factors that cause populations to shift, from those that

emphasise individual rationality and household behaviour to those that cite

the structural logic of capitalist development.

Moreover, numerous studies show that the process of migration

is influenced by social, cultural and economic factors and outcomes can be

vastly different for men and women, for different groups and different

locations. In the past few decades new patterns have emerged, challenging

old paradigms. First, there have been shifts of the workforce towards the

tertiary sector in both developed and developing countries. Secondly, in

developed countries, urban congestion and the growth of communication

infrastructure has slowed down urbanisation. Thirdly, in developing

countries, the workforce shift towards the secondary/tertiary sector has

been slow and has been dominated by an expansion of the ‘informal’

sector, which has grown over time. In countries like India, permanent shifts

of population and workforce co-exist with the ‘circulatory’ movement of

populations between lagging and developed regions and between rural and

urban areas, mostly being absorbed in the unorganised sector of the

economy. Such movements show little sign of abating with development.

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The sources of early migration flows were primarily agro-ecological,

related to population expansion to new settlements or to conquests (e.g.

Eaton, 1984). There is considerable information on patterns of migration

during the British period.

Indian emigration abroad was one consequence of the abolition

of slavery and the demand for replacement labour. This was normally

through indenture, a form of contract labour whereby a person would bind

himself for a specified period of service, usually four to seven years in

return for payment of their passage. They left for British, Dutch and French

colonies to work in sugar plantations and subsequently for the tea and

rubber plantations of Southeast Asia. Similar demands for labour rose

internally with the growth of tea, coffee and rubber plantations, coal mines

and, later, modern industry. Much of this labour was procured through

some form of organised mediation and some portion of it remained

circulatory and retained strong links with the areas of origin. But as it

settled down, it provided a bridgehead to other migrants, whose numbers

grew to satisfy colonial demand. Urban pockets like Kolkatta and Mumbai

attracted rural labourers mainly from labour catchment areas like Bihar,

Uttar Pradesh and Orissa in the east and Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and

parts of Kerala and Karnataka in the south. The historical pattern of the

flow of labourers persisted even after independence.

In 2001, India’s population exceeded 1 billion. At that time,

67.2% lived in rural areas and 32.8% in towns and cities. Between 1951

and 2001, the proportion of the population living in urban areas rose from

17.3% to 32.8%. Of the total workforce, 73.3% remained in rural areas,

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declining marginally from 77.7% in 1991 and 79.3% in 1981; 58%

remained dependent upon agriculture.

In a country of India’s size, the existence of significant regional

disparities should not come as a surprise. The scale and growth of these

disparities is, however, of concern. The ratio between the highest to lowest

state per capita incomes, represented by Punjab and Bihar in the first

period, and Maharashtra and Bihar in the second period, has increased from

2.6 in 1980–83 to 3.5 in 1997–00. The Planning Commission estimates that

26.1% of India’s population lives below the poverty line (based on the

controversial National Sample Survey of 1999–2000). The rural poor has

gradually concentrated in eastern India and rain fed parts of central and

western India, which continue to have low-productivity agriculture. In

1999–2000, the states with the highest poverty levels were: Orissa (47.2%),

Bihar (41.2%), Madhya Pradesh (37.4%), Assam(36.1%) and Uttar Pradesh

(31.2%) Generally, India’s poor have meagre physical assets and human

capital and belong largely to socially deprived groups such as scheduled

castes (SC) and tribes (ST). Women share an extraordinary burden of

deprivation within households. The poor rely on different types of work to

construct a livelihood; wage labour and cultivation are the most important.

Earlier studies have shown that poor households participate extensively in

migration. More recent studies have reconfirmed that migration is a

significant livelihood strategy for poor households in several regions of

India.

International Migration Program

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In this era of globalization, almost all countries in the world are

involved in migration as countries of origin, destination, or transit—or all

three. Of the several millions of people living outside their countries of

birth, the ILO estimates that almost 90 per cent are migrant workers and

their families. While international migration can be a positive experience

for migrant workers, many suffer poor working and living conditions,

including low wages, unsafe work environments, a virtual absence of the

social safety net, denial of freedom of association and workers’ rights,

discrimination and xenophobia. Therefore, the ILO approaches

international labour migration—international migration undertaken for

work—from a labour market and rights-based perspective with the intent to

promote decent working conditions for migrants as well as migrants’ labour

and human rights.

As the UN specialized agency on labour issues, the ILO has

been dealing with labour migration since its foundation in 1919. The very

Constitution of the ILO specifically mandates the organization in its

Preamble to give attention to the "protection of the interests of workers

when employed in countries other than their own". The International

Migration Branch (MIGRANT) is the main unit responsible for labour

migration issues in the ILO.

MIGRANT promotes the ratification and implementation of

international standards; facilitates the participation of ILO's tripartite

constituents in formulating and implementing migration policy; provides

advisory services and a forum for consultations; serves as a global

knowledge base on international labour migration; and conducts or

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coordinates various projects to strengthen the capacity of ILO's tripartite

constituents and other relevant partners such as non-governmental

organizations and migrants' associations, to deal with a wide range of

labour migration issues.

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION FROM INDEPENDENT

INDIA

In India, the migration of its labour force within and across its

national boundaries is nothing new. India’s geographical position has

ensured contact with the Persian Gulf region and South East Asian

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countries for trade in goods and movement of people, a contact which goes

back to several centuries. The migration of workers on a significant scale

was, however, to come much later. It began in the colonial era and

continues now to independent India.

Migratory flow during the period of colonial domination was

very much tied to the investment interests of the colonial rulers and took

place under their aegis. For instance a great part of the nineteenth century

and the early twentieth century witnessed a regular migration of Indian

workers as indentured labour for plantations or mines in the British

colonies; this migration was to faraway places such as Guyana, Jamaica

and Fiji, to not so-distant lands such as Malaysia and Singapore and even to

neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Burma.

Since Independence, two distinct types of labour migration

have been taking place from India. The first is characterized by a

movement of persons with technical skills and professional expertise to the

industrialized countries like the United States, Britain and Canada which

began to proliferate in the early 1950s. The second type of migration

pertains to the flow of labour to the oil exporting countries of the Middle

East which acquired substantial dimensions after the dramatic oil price

increases of 1973-74 and 1979. The nature of this recent wave of migration

is strikingly different, as an overwhelming proportion of these migrants are

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in the category of unskilled workers and semi-skilled workers skilled in

manual or clerical occupations.

International Organization for Migration

IOM’s Vision

IOM strives to protect migrant workers and to optimize the benefits of

labour migration for both the country of origin and destination as well as

for the migrants themselves.

IOM’s Objectives

In its labour migration programming, IOM builds capacity in labour

migration management by:

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offering policy and technical advice to national governments;

supporting the development of policies, legislation and administrative

structures that promote efficient, effective and transparent labour migration

flows;

assisting  governments to promote safe labour migration practices for their

nationals;

facilitating the recruitment of workers, including pre-departure training and

embarkation preparedness;

Promoting the integration of labour migrants in their new workplace and

society.

Principal Beneficiaries

IOM implements various labour migration programs in 70 countries.  The

beneficiaries of these programs include:

migrants, their families and their communities;

local and national governments;

private sector entities such as employers and industry representatives; and

regional organizations.

IOM’s Approach

Through its global network of more than 440 offices, IOM is able to bring

together governments, civil society and the private sector to establish

labour migration programs and mechanisms that balance their various

interests, and address migrants’ needs.  The IOM approach to international

labour migration is to foster the synergies between labour migration and

development, and to promote legal avenues of labour migration as an

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alternative to irregular migration.  Moreover, IOM aims to facilitate the

development of policies and programs that are in the interest of migrants

and society, providing effective protection and assistance to labour

migrants and their families.

Causes of migration

Given the diversity in the nature of migration in India, the

causes are also bound to vary. Migration is influenced both by the pattern

of development, and the social structure. The National Commission on

Rural Labour, focusing on seasonal migration, concluded that uneven

development was the main cause of seasonal migration. Along with inter

regional disparity, disparity between different socio economic classes and

the development policy adopted since independence has accelerated the

process of seasonal migration. In tribal regions, intrusion of outsiders, the

pattern of settlement, displacement and deforestation, also have played a

significant role. Most migration literature makes a distinction between

‘pull’ and ‘push’ factors, which, however, do not operate in isolation of one

another. Mobility occurs when workers in source areas lack suitable options

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for employment/livelihood, and there is some expectation of improvement

in circumstances through migration. The improvement sought may be

better employment or higher wages/incomes, but also maximization of

family employment or smoothing of employment/income/consumption

over the year At one end of the migration spectrum, workers could be

locked into a debt-migration cycle, where earnings from migration are used

to repay debts incurred at home or in the destination areas, thereby

cementing the migration cycle. At the other end, migration is largely

voluntary, although shaped by their limited choices.

The NCRL has recognized the existence of this continuum for poor

migrants by distinguishing between rural labour migration for survival and

for subsistence. The landless poor, who mostly belong to lower caste,

indigenous communities, from economically backward regions, migrate for

survival and constitute a significant proportion of seasonal labour flow.The

growth of intensive agriculture and commercialization of agriculture since

the late 1960s has led to peak periods of labour demand, often also

coinciding with a decline in local labour deployment. In the case of labour

flows to the rice producing belt of West Bengal, wage differentials between

the source and destination have been considered as the main reason for

migration. Moreover, absence of non-farm employment, low agricultural

production has resulted in a growth of seasonal migration. Migration

decisions are influenced by both individual and household characteristics as

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well as the social matrix, which is best captured in social-anthropological

studies.

Factors such as age, education level, wealth, land owned,

productivity and job opportunities influence the participation of individuals

and households in migration, but so do social attitudes and supporting

social networks. Where migration is essentially involuntary, it makes little

sense to use voluntaristic models to explain the phenomenon. In Dhule

region sugarcane cultivation leads to high demand for labour, but

landowners recruit labourers from other districts for harvesting as they can

have effective control over the labour. Local labourers are thus forced to

migrate with their households to South Gujarat.

Labour mobility is one of the key features of economic development

and its characteristics are closely tied with the nature of this development.

Historically, development is associated with unevenness and structural

change, giving an impetus to the movement of workers from one region to

another, and from one sector to another. Even within the macro-structural

features which determine the supply of, and demand for, certain types of

migrant labour, the pattern of migration depends on a host of factors

determined by labour market characteristics, together with individual,

household and community level features, and the existence of social

networks, among other things. These factors cumulatively determine the

‘causes’ of migration. On the other hand, labour migration plays a key role

in influencing the pattern of development, through its impact on a host of

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economic and non-economic variables, both in the origin and destination

areas.

Labour migration does not recognize borders—but borders,

whether urban, state, or international influence migration through a host of

policies and regulatory measures. A key distinction between internal and

international migration is the existence of national regulatory frameworks

such as immigration controls (which leads to a distinction between regular

and irregular migration). But regulatory frameworks and restrictive policies

also operate within nation states.

Early development literature conceptualized labour migration

as occurring from the rural to urban, agricultural to industrial, and informal

to formal sectors. However, the workforce pattern has changed across the

world in favour of the services sector, and the informal sector is more

prominent today, both in developing and developed countries than it was

twenty or thirty years ago. In developing countries, the informal sector is

no longer conceived as a temporary destination for migrants but in most

cases, as a final destination. The (changing) structural features of world

capitalism have an important bearing on both internal and international

migration.

The theme on labour migration will explore all types of labour

migration— internal, inter-state, cross-border and international. It will

encourage cross disciplinary studies and papers based on both fieldwork

and secondary data.

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We would welcome papers which explore not only economic issues

but also historical, political, sociological and psychological factors

affecting labour migration and the consequences of migration at more

disaggregate levels, viz., for various socio-economic strata and segments of

the population and for women, men, the elderly and children separately,

wherever possible. The contributors should confine themselves to the issue

of worker migration, as conventionally defined in SNA accounts, and to

leave out those types of “forced labour” migration, which are not

conventionally included in work but are covered in international

conventions on forced labour and trafficking. The paper contributors should

not be concerned with other forms of non-labour migration (such as refugee

or student migration) or with population mobility, which is important for an

understanding urban growth.

Data and methods

The paper uses data from Census of India 2001 as well as data

from the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) 55th Round on

Migration. According to Indian Census, a Person is considered a migrant if

birthplace or place of last residence is different from Place of enumeration.

The National Sample Survey Organization of Government of India Carried

out an all-India survey on the situation of employment and unemployment

in India during the period July 1999-June 2000. This 55th Round Data was

published in August 2001. In this survey, data was collected on migrants as

well. It defines a migrant as ‘a member of the sample household who had

stayed continuously for at least six months or more in a place other than the

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place of enumeration’. It collects the reasons for leaving the last usual place

of residence under the following heads: (a) in search of employment (b) in

search of better employment (c) to take up employment/better employment

(d) transfer of service/contract (e) proximity to place of work (f) studies (g)

acquisition of own house/flat (h) housing problems (i) social/political

problem (j) health (k) marriage (l) migration of parent/earning member of

the family and (m) others.

A simple analysis using vicariate tables has been carried out in

the paper to bring out the extent of employment oriented migration in India.

Moreover, the paper also attempts to study the difference between the

stated reasons for migration and the labor force participation, taking into

account duration and educational qualification of the migrants.

Employment oriented migration

Impact of migration

On migrants and their families

Poorer migrant workers, crowded into the lower ends of the

labour market, have few entitlements vis a vis their employers or the public

authorities in the destination areas. They have meagre personal assets and

suffer a range of deprivations in the destination areas. In the source areas,

migration has both negative and positive consequences for migrants and

their families.

Living conditions: migrant labourers, whetheragricultural or non-

agricultural, live in deplorableconditions. There is no provision of safe

drinking water or hygienic sanitation. Most live in open spaces or

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makeshift shelters in spite of the Contract Labour Act which stipulates that

the contractor or employer should provide suitable accommodation (NCRL,

1991; GVT, 2002; Rani and Shylendra, 2001). Apart from seasonal

workers, workers who migrate to the cities for job live in parks and

pavements. Slum dwellers, who are mostly migrants, stay in deplorable

conditions, with inadequate water and bad drainage. Food costs more for

migrant workers who are not able to obtain temporary ration cards.

Health and Education: labourers working in harsh circumstances and

living in unhygienic conditions suffer from serious occupational health

problems and are vulnerable to disease. Those working in quarries,

construction sites and mines suffer from various health hazards, mostly

lung diseases. As the employer does not follow safety measures, accidents

are quite frequent. Migrants cannot access various health and family care

programmes due to their temporary status. Free public health care facilities

and programmes are not accessible to them. For women workers, there is

no provision of maternity leave, forcing them to resume work almost

immediately after childbirth. Workers, particularly those working in tile

factories and brick kilns suffer from occupational health hazards such as

body ache, sunstroke and skin irritation (NCRL, 1991).

Changes in migrants’ attitudes: Exposure to a different

environment, including the stresses that it carries, has a deep impact on the

attitudes, habits and awareness levels of migrant workers, depending upon

the length of migration and the place to which it occurs. Changes are more

dramatic in the case of urban migrants. Migrant workers develop greater

awareness regarding conditions of work (Srivastava, 1999). Life style and

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changes in awareness may lead to a mixed impact on family members. The

increased awareness which migrants, especially in urban areas, gain often

helps them realise the importance of their children’s education.

Impact on source areas

The major impacts of migration on source areas occur through changes in

the labour market, income and assets, changes in the pattern of expenditure

and investment.

Although seasonal outmigration potentially has the effect of

smoothing out employment over the annual cycle, rural outmigration could

cause a tightening of the labour market in some circumstances. However,

empirical evidence from out-migrant areas does not often attest to this. This

may be because outmigration often takes place in labour surplus situations.

There is also evidence of the replacement of out-migrant male labour by

female and even child labour. Study of seven villages in Uttar Pradesh

showed some variation over regions. While the situation in the study

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villages in Eastern and central Uttar Pradesh conformed to a situation of

labour surplus, this was not the case in Western Uttar Pradesh where

seasonal migration coincided with the agricultural peak season (Rabi) and

employers complained of labour shortages. Significantly in all the regions

studied, labourers on their part gave uncertainty of employment along with

employment conditions and poor relations with their agricultural employers

as the major reasons for outmigration.

Even if labour tightening is not an outcome, outmigration may

still speed up qualitative changes in existing labour relationships in rural

areas, and thereby affect the pace of change. This may occur in several

ways. First, there is the well-documented impact of migration on attitudes

and awareness as migrant labourers and return migrants are more reluctant

to accept adverse employment conditions and low wages. Secondly,

outmigration leads to a more diversified livelihood strategy. Combined

with some increase in the income and employment portfolio of poor

households, this may tend to push up acceptable level of wages (reservation

wages) in rural areas and may make certain forms of abour relationships (as

for example, those involving personalised dependency) less acceptable.

Outmigration as a result of debt at home, or debt-interlocking

(i.e. the repayment of debts through advance labour commitment) involving

employers in the destination areas or their middlemen, is quite common.

Such outmigration may or may not eliminate the causes of debt. The

reduction of personalised dependencies or interlocked relationships may

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also accelerate labour mobility and migration as labourers seek out

alternative sources of cash income.

Employment oriented migration

Employment oriented migration is obtained by combining the

migrants that have given work/employment and business as their reason for

migration. It is found that employment oriented migration is quite small,

particularly among female migrants with just around 2 percent of total

female migrants giving employment or business as the reason for their

migration.

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Trends in Global Migration

Mankind and migration have been linked to each other since the

beginning of time; life without migration could not be thought of.

Migration has a history of its own, both at the national and international

levels. The mobility of capital and technology has indeed changed the

history of peoples. At the same time, migration has created a greater impact

on history.

In India, the cultural ethos of the country has actually dissuaded people

from going abroad. There are myths and superstitions surrounding

migration in almost every Indian tradition. The fear of kala-pani, literally

translated as ‘black waters’, which meant ostracism, was a strong deterrent.

Such myths were prevalent also in other ancient cultures like China and

Japan, preventing people from going abroad. For a variety of reasons, be it

economic or cultural or personal, the concept of ‘we’ and ‘they’, and the

notions of individual, intellectual and spiritual ‘pollution’ and the fear of

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consequent ostracism prevented people from leaving their home soil until

the advent of the Europeans—which in turn stimulated an interest for

Indians to migrate overseas.

Characteristically, most of these migrants were poor, illiterate and

unskilled. It was supposed to be a voluntary system, but there are horror

stories about coercion, and how these people were picked up literally from

the streets of their hometowns, collected at various embarkation points, and

forced to go to a foreign land, of which they knew nothing about. Gender

did not come in the way, and women picked up as indentured labour were

made to stay with men. Many were declared man and wife, and packed off

to foreign destinations. All said and done, this can be considered as a

precursor to the global migration of Indians.

However, there is the problem of Indian embassies in most of these

countries not being very cooperative towards the migrant community. The

embassies are not exactly attuned to the needs of these people, nor are the

officials always aware of their problems, their issues and their needs – be it

in terms of their labour contracts, or the laws of the land. There is greater

room for the Indian embassies to play a more effective and cooperative role

in this context. Many a time, because of the indifference and the ignorance

of the Indian missions in these countries, the migrant workers are almost

always at the mercy of the employers and the laws that they adhere to. It is

only in recent years that the Government is waking up to the need for

appointing a separate Labour Attaché in the Indian embassies in these

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countries, to cater to the demands of the workers, and to take care of their

needs.

In 2000, the high-powered Indian Diaspora Committee, chaired by the

jurist, Dr. L.M.Singhvi, recommended the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

celebrations on January 9 each year, and also contributed to the setting up

of a full-fledged Ministry for Overseas Indians at the Centre. Following up

on this report, the Prime Minter of the day announced the institution of the

Prabhasi Bharatia Samman awards in recognition of the contribution made

by the Indian Diaspora, to the nation. The report also raised major issues of

concern to the Diaspora -- from consular difficulties to larger and abiding

issues pertaining to culture, economic development, education, health,

media, science and technology, philanthropy, and dual citizenship. Based

on carefully-gathered statistics on overseas Indians, the Singhvi Committee

report is the first ever-comprehensive statement of the Indian Diaspora, and

provides a comprehensive framework for discussing India’s relations with

Indians overseas. Till now, these relations had been discussed in a tentative

and casual manner. The report is full of highly novel and important

practical suggestions, including special economic and political concessions

to overseas Indians – all leading to effective NRI contribution to India’s

economic, political, cultural and other areas of development. The report

will increase the general level of consciousness in India about the country’s

overseas connections, going back to several centuries. We tend to think of

ourselves as a people 7 whose history was made only in India. The report

shows how wrong this view is, and how PIOs are a part of the body politic

in 119 countries

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There is the possibility of migration from India growing in the coming

years and decades. The probability of a younger age population in India

coupled with declining birth-rates in the developed world leading to a

labour shortage, be it unskilled, skilled or professional, are among the

causes. The interface between outsourcing, migration and growing social

networks are also contributory factors. There is also the factor of newer

destinations, Japan, for instance, emerging on the horizon. In this, the

Indians abroad have transitioned from being dependants to being ‘dictators’

through their significant presence, positional clout and numerical strength

coupled with effective networking, and coordinated organisation. There is

now the Global Organization for the People of Indian Origin (GOPIO),

which has set its priorities in pooling resources, both financial and

professional, for the benefit of PIOs, in the countries they come from, and

in India. In all this, India derives material support from the Diaspora, and

they derive psychological satisfaction of being a part of the Indian

nationhood, and in the process of crafting a resurgent India.

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EFFECTS OF MIGRATION

Migration of labour has its positive as well as negative effects both on

native and host countries. We will examine these effects as under:

Positive Effects:

1. Wage Rate: Labourers usually migrate from low wage counties to higher

wage nations. Unless prevented or guarded by law, wages will change in both

countries. Such an effect on wages is brought out in Home country and

foreign. It is also possible that over a period of time real wages may increase

both in host countries and native countries. A case study by Jeffery G.

Williams, of eight countries, host countries Argentina, Australia, Canada

and United States of America and native (home) countries Ireland, Italy,

Norway and Sweden – between the period 1870 and 1913 has come to the

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conclusion that real wages during this period had increased in all the countries,

but substantially in the home countries.

2. Supply of labour: Developed countries like Canada, Australia, some

European countries and USA have experienced scarcity of skilled as well as

unskilled labour. Many Asian doctors and engineers, nurses and teachers are

employed in developed countries. Unskilled labour migrated from developing

countries, provided labour to those areas where the native people would not

wish to take up the jobs. This is more evident in the so called ’dirty jobs’. In

USA such jobs are taken up by labourers from Mexico, South American,

Africa and Asia.

3. Employment: Migration takes place primarily in search of employment, to

earn, more income and to enjoy better quality of life. While enjoying these

benefits in the host countries the migrants at the disguised unemployment. In

the early stages of large scale migration from Europe to North America, it

helped in mitigating population problem of European countries.

4. Remittance: Emigrants remit a part of their income back to their families in

their native country. Many of the European countries, Mexico and Asian

countries have benefited from the remittance of their emigrants. At present

china and India receive a substantial amount of remittance. It helps the home

countries reduce their balance of payment problem or increase investment at

home; import capital goods thus promote development of their economies.

Remittance would reduce over a period of time as the emigrants settle in the

migrated country along with their families. The size of the remittance depends

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on the number of emigrants from a country and the nature and duration of

employment. Many countries including India, offer additional incentives to the

emigrants to remit and keep the money back in their home country.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

1. Brain Drain: Emigrants comprise people educated and trained at different

levels. Majority of the emigrants are of low education and unskilled.

Emigrants also include highly educated professionals such as doctors,

engineers, professors and other technically and professionally trained

people. A good number of medical, engineering and management students

from India migrate to countries like USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,

Germany, France and to some rich gulf countries. These students take the

advantage of subsidised education financed by tax payer money and leave

the country when they become productive agents or labourers. Ts is also

argued that educated emigrants help the home countries when these

countries rare not in a position to employ them. Beside it also reduces the

claim on goods and service of the home country when labourers migrate.

2. Problem of social Integration: Immigrants in a country belong to different

countries, race, religion and culture. They form their own groups based on

the above factors. In the initial stages these groups live in ghettoes. Social

assimilation with the people of the host country becomes difficult. In USA,

Canada and Australia or in countries dominated by white coloured people,

social integration becomes difficult due to colour complex. Religion is

another factor which makes immigrants identify with the host country where

the majority belong to another religion. Cultural differences also deter the

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process of integration specially when each group develops a complex of

cultural superiority. At times ethnic and religious differences create a

problem for the host country as it happens in UK and India.

3. Illegal Immigrants: It is a serious problem for many countries. USA has a

large number of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Similar problems are faced

by Canada, Australia and some of the European countries. Illegal migration

to a neighbouring country is a common occurrence due to political,

economic, social and religious factors. India is facing such a problem with

illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

4. Cheap Labour: Developed countries, specially organise labour through

their Trade Union oppose the liberal migration policy. They argue that the

migrant labourers who are willing to work at lower workers. However this

argument does not merit serious consideration wage rate in such economies

is determined by market forces, Exploitation can be prevented through

minimum wage law, which also safeguards the interest of migrant labourers.

5. Fiscal Imbalance: Immigrants positively contribute to the growth of the

host country. When immigrants constitute in large numbers, the host country

requires to spend huge amount of capital to provide the required economic

and social infrastructure. As they settledown permanently, the government

requires to spend for providing social security benefits. Expenditure on all

these counts may create fiscal imbalance in the form of increased budgetary

deficit.

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CONCLUSION

Migration has become a global phenomenon. As discussed

earlier people migrate to another country for a number of reasons of which

economic and political are the important ones. From our earlier explanation

it is evident that migration has positive as well as negative effects both on

the host and native countries. In a globalised world, the number of migrants

is bound to increase. However in the larger interest of nations and people

(migrants) involved it is necessary to introduce measures so that the positive

effects are maximised while the negative ones are minimised if they cannot

be totally eliminated.

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The suggestions in this direction are to promote labour rights to

immigrants. Allow the migrant workers to join Trade Unions. Treat

immigrants on the same level as those of workers of host country. Safety

conditions should be made applicable even if they are on temporary work.

Promote ethical recruitment. Prevent exploitation and discrimination.

Reform work permits schemes to reduce powers of employers. Legislate to

prevent employers from withholding migrant workers passport. Initiate

international action to regulate the activities of private recruitment agencies.

All the countries should ratify 1990 UN convention on the protection of

rights of all migrant workers and their families.

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