Labour Migration to Qatar: Process, Actors and Challenges Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM)

•Migration Trends: Trends over the years Nepali Migrants Currently in Qatar Sector of Work Migrants and the Labour Force in Qatar

•Migration Actors: Social Institutions Government Institutions Private Actors Financial Intermediaries

•Process of Migration and Challenges: Process of Migrating from Nepal Challenged for Migrant Workers

Migration Trends

Migration Trends Over the Years

Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, National Population Censuses, 1952/54, 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011

1952/54 1981 1991 2001 2011Male 173,919 328,448 548,002 679,469 1,663,237Female 24,501 74,529 110,288 82,712 254,666Total 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

Total Number of Labour Permits Issued(2006/07-2013/14)

Source: Department of Foreign Employment

Labour Permits by Destination 2013/14

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

Migration to Qatar1994-1

995

1995-1

996

1996-1

997

1997-1

998

1998-1

999

1999-2

000

2000-2

001

2001-2

002

2002-2

003

2003-2

004

2004-2

005

2005-2

006

2006-2

007

2007-2

008

2008-2

009

2009-2

010

2010-2

011

2011-2

012

2012-2

013

2013-2

014

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

245 505 477 1802

90308791 14086

19895

2685024128

42394

5589259705

85442

76175

55940

102966105681

90935

128874

Source: Department of Foreign Employment

Gendered Perspective of the Migration to Qatar

2006-2007

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012

2012-2013

2013-2014

0%7%

14%21%28%35%42%49%56%63%70%77%84%91%98%

FemaleMale

Source: Department of Foreign Employment

Migrants in the Gulf and Sector of Work

4.4%

35.5%

26.5%

10.6%

6.1%

6.5%5.3% 5.0%

Agriculture Manufacturing, Mining, Utilities

Construction Hotels, CateringTransport Trade, CommerceServices Others

Data Source: World Bank, 2011

Migrants and the Labour Force in Qatar

2010 20130.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

10.0

15.713.4530816645693

21.0

Nepali Migrant Stock in Qatar

% of Population% of Labour Force

Source: World Bank

Migration Actors

Social Institutions

•Prospective migrants typically receive preliminary information from friends and family

•Use of social networks to inquire about job opportunities

•Choice of an agent and/or RA based either on personal acquaintance or on the recommendation of friends and family (usually returnees).

Aspirant and Returnee Migrants – Making Contact with the Person Who Helped with the Processing of Documents

How was the Person Contacted

Nepali Aspirant Nepali Returnee

No. % No. %

Already a Personal Acquaintance

25 34.7 15 32.6

Through Family/Relative 20 27.8 8 17.4

Through Friends 16 22.2 8 17.4

Suggested by Friends Working Abroad

1 1.4 - -

Through a Neighbour - - 10 21.7

Recruiting Agents/Training Centres

- -  - -

Advertisement - - 5 10.9

NA 10 13.9 - -

Total 72 100 46 100

Source: The Asia Foundation, 2013

Government Institutions

Ministry of Labour and Employment

(MoLE)

Department of Foreign

Employment (DoFE)

Government Institutions

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(MoFA)

• Negotiates labour agreements with destination countries

• Provides various services to current migrants through Nepali embassies located in destination countries

Foreign Employment Promotion

Board (FEPB)

• Development of educational material• Information dissemination and

awareness raising• Research and analysis on labour

market situation of destination countries

• Responsible for the management of the Migrant Worker’s Welfare Fund

• Assistance and support to relevant embassies for “promotional activities”

Government Institutions

• Trial and settlement of cases other than those punishable by DoFE

• Cases have to be forwarded by the investigation officers at DoFE

Foreign Employm

ent Tribunal

• Provide vocational and skills training, either directly or through affiliates

• Design and update the curricula for the various training courses

• Conduct research and analysis of the labour market situation

• Conduct skills-testing and certification

Council for Technical

Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT)

Private Actors

Recruitment

Agencies

•Intermediaries between the migrant worker and the placement agencies/employers in the country of destination•Around 760 recruitment agencies are registered with DOFE

Agents/Brokers

•Agents are generally the first point of contact in the labour migration process•RAs largely depend on individual ‘agents’ mostly unlicensed, to supply them with workers

Person Helping to Arrange Travel Documents

Source Nepali Aspirant Nepali Returnee

No. % No. %

Broker/Agent 60 59.4 37 72.5

Manpower 19 18.8 9 17.6

Relatives 5 5.0 3 5.9

Relatives working in that country

- - 2 3.9

Brother 4 4.0 - -

Husband 3 3.0 - -

Friends 2 2.0 1 2.0

Neighbour 1 1.0 - -

Self (No one) 7 6.9 - -

Total 101 100 52 100

Source: The Asia Foundation, 2013

Other Private Institutions

• Two day pre-departure orientation training course• There are 74 government recognized centres that

are mostly concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley

Orientation Training Centres

• Conduct medical check-ups for Nepali migrant workers

• Licensed by National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL)

• NPHL has authorised 179 laboratories to conduct medical check-ups for Nepali migrant workers

Medical Examination

Centres

• The migrant worker or the concerned RA is required to procure insurance

• Currently, there are nine insurance companies that have been authorised by DoFE to sell insurance policies to prospective migrant workers

Insurance Companies

Financial Intermediaries

Formal•Commercial Banks•Money Transfer Agencies •Savings and Credits Groups

Informal

•Family/ Friends loans•Local Money lenders•Hundi

Financing Migration (to the Gulf)

7% 2%

3%

3%

26%

7%

53%

Own SavingsSale of AssetsHelp from family members in NepalHelp from family members abroadLoan from friends, relativesBank loanLoan from village merchants, etc.

Source: NMS 2009 as illustrated in World Bank, Large-Scale Migration and Remittance in Nepal, 2011

Remittance Channels (from the Gulf)

4% 6%

4%

73%

9%

4%Brought himself/herselfThrough friends, relativesThrough hundiThrough money transfer companiesTransfer to own bank accountTransfer to other’s bank account

Source: NMS 2009 as illustrated in World Bank, Large-Scale Migration and Remittance in Nepal, 2011

Process of Migration

Decision to Migrate •Family /Friends/Community (Social Institutions)•Agents/Brokers

Migration Process•Government Institutions (MoLE, DoFE, FEPB, MoFA, CTEVT)•Agents/Brokers/RAs•Other Private Institutions (Medical, Insurance, Orientation)

Post Return •Government Institutions (DoFE, Tribunal, FEPB)•Private Actors (Brokers, RAs, Insurance)

Decision to Migrate

Recruiting Agency

Agent Broker

Labour Permit from DoFE

•Preparing Documents•Purchasing Life Insurance •Deposit into Welfare Fund (FEPB) •Medical examination

Demand for Labour

DoFE Pre-approval

Departure

Challenges for Migrant Workers

Pre-Departure: Challenges and Abuses before leaving Nepal

Lack of Information/Acce

ss

Financing

Migration and

IndebtednessBroker/

Agent/ Recruitment

Agency Issues

Policy and

Bureaucracy

Lack of Information/Access

Lack of awareness regarding the

recruitment process for foreign

employment

• Basic procedure for foreign employment

• Max fees to be paid to agency• Knowledge of various governmental

& relevant institutions and their roles (e.g. passport, insurance, medical examination, orientation training, etc.)

Concentration of relevant government offices in Kathmandu

• DoFE office only in Kathmandu • Pre-Departure orientation centers

concentrated in Kathmandu valley• Other pre-departure related services

(for instance, mandatory health checkups, insurance, etc.) concentrated in Kathmandu

Financing Migration and Indebtedness

High Migration costs

Many lack

collateral to

borrow from

banks/financial

institutions

Forced to borrow from

“informal” sources

often times at

exorbitant (often illegal) interest

rates

Pre- Migration

indebtedness

Data Source: World Bank, 2011

Agent/Broker

First PoC - Trust factor for potential migrants, ease of access

Often times unregulatedCharge higher fees no accountability

Deceptive practices vis-à-vis (Nature of Job, Non-existent “jobs”, Wages and Benefits, Food and Accommodation, Work Hours, Destination)

Policy and Bureaucracy

Policy bias against women vis-à-vis travel restrictions*• Must be 30 years

of age to migrate for domestic work

• Required to obtain a “guarantee letter” from the Nepali Embassy at destination

Restrictions encouraging “irregular”

migration (via India)

Bribery (“setting fee”) at the airport to travel without hindrance• “fee” ranges

between US$ 100-700

Post- Departure: Situation of Migrant Workers in Qatar

Legal Impedime

nts

Regulatory Issues

On the Job Abuses and Challenges

Legal Impediments

• Sponsorship system:• Workers “tied” to their employer• “No objection Certificate” (NOC) before

changing jobs• Employer’s permission before leaving the

country (“exit permit”)• Exclusion of certain groups of workers from the

Labour Law• No right to form or join trade unions• Labour Court System:

▫Lengthy trial periods ▫Fee payment requirement

Legal Impediments•Qatar has not ratified 3 of the 8 ILO Core

Conventions (i.e., C087, C098, and C100) •It has not ratified the International

Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990)

Regulatory Issues

•Prevalence of contract substitution, fake contracts, non-native language contracts▫“free floating” visas▫“waiting period” for a job; on average,

migrants waited for 4.82 weeks before securing employment

•Violation of contract terms by the employer (often with impunity)

•Confiscation of passports by employers

On-the-Job Abuses and Challenges• Physical/sexual/psychological abuse• Rate of work related injury and work related illness

about 25.3% and 45%, respectively• Withholding pay (often for long periods), non-

payment, lower than agreed pay• Providing sub-standard housing and lodging for

employees• Overtime work without compensation• Language Barrier• Lack of information regarding workers’ rights• Additional plight of domestic workers (e.g. isolation

from other workers, often locked in the house, prohibited from contacting family/friends, etc.)

After Return: Problems Faced Post-Return

•Lack of awareness regarding▫Complaint mechanism at the DoFE▫Welfare Fund▫Mandatory insurance and the claims

mechanism

•Lack of remedial or compensatory mechanism for those with irregular status

Other Challenges

•Recruitment agency denial to compensate defrauded migrants

• Inability to secure employer compensation for work injury or death

•Challenges in securing compensation from Welfare Fund and/or insurance

• Issues with repatriating bodies of the deceased

• Issues with the DoFE grievance mechanism

Status of Complaints Filed at DoFE

2012/13 2013/14

Individual Institutional Individual Institutional

Total complaints received 1245 1060 899 1406

Complaints cleared for investigation 202 350 145 272

Cases settled by DoFE 0 39 0 45

Cases forwarded to the Foreign Employment Tribunal 164 14 107 5

Source: DoFE as cited in MoLE, 2014

Status of Cases Forwarded to the Tribunal

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/140%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Cases Remaining to be SettledCases Settled

Source: Foreign Employment Tribunal as cited in MoLE, 2014

The End