Photograph by J. Mohr / Source: United Nations Photo
Migrant farm workers picking cotton in the Sudan.

    Nepalese former domestic worker, Maya Gurung, worked for a rich family in the Middle East.  However, her ‘work,’ composed of impossible tasks, seemed to last forever,  and her only free time lasted four short hours a day.  She cooked, cleaned, laundered clothing, and took care of children from the extensive hours of five AM to one AM daily.  Maya experienced the awful isolation and strict imprisonment many migrant workers experience everyday, as well as draining verbal and physical abuse.  Maya’s tasks, similar to many other migrant workers, parallel those of modern homemakers, which emphasize her unfortunate underpayment and undervalued work.  Maya and her fellow migrant workers experience poor rights and little pay in exchange for long hours of labor in pitiable conditions.

    Migrant workers have always played a vital role globally, especially in the United States.  In the late 1800’s, it was feared that many Chinese migrants were taking Americans’ jobs.  However, the federal government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which deterred Chinese immigrants from coming to the U.S.  At the turn of the century, many migrants from England moved to the U.S., and they experienced little difficulty due to a non-existent language barrier and their Protestant religion.  However, migrants at this time from Ireland and Germany were less fortunate, as they were subject to many prejudices and racism.  Then, in the mid-1900s, Mexico sent many temporary toilers into the U.S. because of the demand for labor during WWII.  Unfortunately, the agricultural fields, where the Braceros labored, only required seasonal labor, and the Braceros’ illegal status in the U.S. led to extensive withholding of wages.  In fact, with interest accumulated, the U.S. currently owes ex-Braceros approximately $500 million.  Ironically, migrant workers have always seemed unwelcome in the United States, even though the United States is in fact a nation of immigrants.

    Foreign countries also have had historical issues with migrant workers.  In China, approximately 9% of the population consists of migrant workers.  This 9% are people who leave impoverished regions of China and move to more prosperous areas in search of a job.  Today, China is experiencing one of its largest influxes of migrants from countryside and farmland to its big cities.  In the European Union, migrants travel from country to country looking for work.  However, most governments limit the ease of finding a job in their state in order to reduce the large amount of migrants looking for work.  After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, migration has become much easier and more popular in Russia.  Overall, migration occurs all over the world and plays an important role in the global economy and relationships between and within countries.   

    Migrant workers offer many advantages and disadvantages to their receiving country.  When migrants work in a foreign country, that country obtains a large supply of cheap labor.  This fact, paired with the low wages migrant workers earn, increases profits in agricultural and manufacturing industries.  Some scholars praise the hard work ethic of the migrant and the contributions to the diversity of the country’s vitality. Although America benefits greatly from higher profits, low wages and lower incomes may lead to higher dependency on certain social programs, such as medical expenses and crime.  Eventually, this results in high taxes, which is definitely a disadvantage for the host country of the migrants and all of its citizens.

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, summarizes his view on the issue of migrant workers,:  “Migrants have proven to be an asset for countries of destination, contributing not only their hard work and creativity, but also their entrepreneurial spirit.  The mobility of people reduces labour-market imbalances, promotes the exchange of expertise and ideas and allows for the training of younger generations.”  (Ban Ki-Moon)  Unfortunately, a migrant worker, who the UN defines as “a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national,” does not receive the ‘dignity’ or ‘respect’ they deserve, as they are forced to toil in ridiculous work conditions,  to be abused, and to receive extremely low wages.  Approximately 36 out of 293 million of Americans are foreign born, and the surge of migrants into foreign countries is often caused by globalization (ASHA).  Migrants move to other countries in order to escape war or famine, or to strive for better living conditions for them and their families.  Regrettably, migrants often move to environments that do not protect their rights or equality.  Migrants are susceptible to harsh treatment and discrimination at work just because they reside in a foreign country and may not understand the language.  Even their families receive cruel treatment, sometimes abused, imprisoned, and vulnerable to xenophobic attacks. 

    Although migration can sometimes bring new employment opportunities, migrant women often end up at the bottom end of the labor pyramid.  Migrant women are forced to complete domestic work or work as entertainers (sex workers), both of which lack the necessary labor laws, regulations, and respect for women.  Women are most susceptible to low wages, pay withholding, or abuse due to their vulnerability, which puts an obvious strain on them and their family members.  Therefore, the ILO works with UN Women, the UN entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, which establishes laws on women migrant’s human rights and strengthens migrant organizations around the world.  In Indonesia, a law on the Protection of Migrant Women was adopted, and in Jordan, a minimum standard contract was developed, which demands women migrants’ rights to health care, work vacations, and timely wages.  The support for women migrant workers around the world juxtaposed with the hard work of the ILO will eventually encourage other countries to take part in the overall fight for equality and fair treatment of migrant workers and their families.

    Indonesia and Jordan, as well as other countries such as Morocco, Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines all support the fight against cruel treatment of migrant workers.  The countries in support of the ILO’s mission are the countries of origin of the migrants.  They support the issue because of their goal in protecting their citizens abroad.  Cruel treatment of their fellow citizens will possibly upset the people of their country and harm the country’s reputation.  Even though most of the migrant workers work in North America and Europe, no western state signed the ILO’s Convention on non-discrimination and equality.  India and Australia also do not support the ILO’s mission.

    Although some countries do not support the ILO’s undertaking, the ILO recognizes that migrant workers are human beings and therefore works extremely hard to ensure migrants basic human rights.  In fact, discrimination violates the most basic of human rights, and unfair work conditions; little pay, abuse and imprisonment also violate obvious human rights.  In order to guarantee better lives for migrant workers and their families, the UN wrote the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.  Signed in 1990 and put into action in 2003, this Convention strives to cultivate respect for migrant workers and their families.  The Convention seeks to ensure equal treatment and conditions for migrants and nationals, and to eliminate harsh treatment of migrant workers.

    Unfortunately, the ILO recently noted that despite affirmative advances in anti-discrimination legislation, the worldwide social and economic crisis led to increased risk of discrimination against certain groups of migrant workers.  Economic and social crisis clearly makes the work field more competitive, leading to a setback of the positive advances in discrimination of migrants.  Although advancements have been made regarding gender equality, a pay gap still exists between men and women, as well as discriminatory actions towards vulnerable young women, migrants who do not speak a certain language, or workers infected with HIV/AIDS.  In response to these problems, the ILO plans to promote further ratification of their Convention on non-discrimination and equality, endorse knowledge and information on the issue of discrimination of migrant workers, and fortify international relationships with countries with similar views on the issue of migrant workers’ equality.

    Overall, the ILO continuously works hard to alleviate cruel treatment of migrant workers and their families around the world.  Vulnerability due to language barriers, gender inequality, and other causes of susceptibility often leads to migrant workers’ suffering through horrible working conditions, and the ILO strives to eliminate this vulnerability.  According to the ILO, there are 86 million active migrant workers in the global economy, and the ILO’s worthy goal is to create equality between migrants and nationals.

                                                                            Questions

Works Cited

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Rice, Dennis. "Migrant Workers Toil in Our Fields for Just £14 a Day | Mail Online." Home | Mail Online. Web. 18 May 2011 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-491614/Migrant-workers-toil- fields-just-14-day.html

"UN Calls for Protection of Migrants’ Human Rights Regardless of Legal Status." Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25107

U.N. General Assembly, 57^th Session. (2003). Resolution 57/201. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.  Adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/158 of 18 December 1990 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cmw.htm

U.N. General Assembly, 63^rd Session. (2009). Resolution 63/184. Protection of Migrants.

 "Women Migrant Workers - Gender Issues: Women, Poverty & Economics - UNIFEM." UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Web. 18 May 2011. http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/women_poverty_economics/women_migrant_workers.php