Premal Kumar Khanal
The working class is an invincible, powerful organized force. The working class overthrew the slave and feudal eras. Therefore, Marxism has assimilated the working class as the most revolutionary productive force.
The means of production used by humans in production, experience, labor, and skill, all of which together form the productive force. Only after the productive force operates the means of production do the means of production become active force, otherwise the means of production become inactive.
The working class is forced to sell its labor because it is deprived of the means of production. As a result of the physical or mental labor done by the working class, production increases. Karl Marx has explained the participation of the working class in the production process as the socialization of production. However, the practice of centralizing the benefits, rewards, or profits from production in a few limited individuals or owners creates internal conflict. This is the main contradiction within capitalism. Not only this, capitalism does not provide a fair price/reward/remuneration for the labor done by the working class. The owner/capitalist has the desire to earn more profit by making cheap labor. Capitalism cannot survive without exploitation. Only after this was pointed out as the exploitation of surplus value did the exploitation of capitalism come to an end.
Capitalism cannot last forever. According to Marx, economic crises arise repeatedly, just as the wheels of a bicycle rotate. Capitalism, which has become in crisis, is in crisis.
Migrant workers:
Migrant workers are workers who leave their country or leave their home country to work in another country or within a country. Even when such workers are employed abroad, every individual and their family is entitled to basic human and labor rights. For this, the governments of the source and destination countries of migrant workers, the private licensed organizations (PRAs) that recruit them, and the employers of the destination countries are responsible. If such rights are violated, the workers concerned have the right to justice, compensation, and legal protection from competent and independent bodies.
Marxist theory views labor migration as a product of the inherent needs of capitalist accumulation, which creates uneven global development and a “reserve army of labor.” Migrant workers are seen as a source of cheap labor in the secondary labor markets of developed nations, which contributes to the “over-exploitation” of workers from the global periphery. Rather than individual choices, migration is seen as a structural process driven by capitalist dynamics.
Rights of migrant workers:
Some of the basic rights of migrant workers are as follows.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The Declaration prohibits arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. Similarly, everyone has the right to leave his or her country or to any other country and to return to his or her country. It also states the rights to receive and seek information without interference or frontiers, to social security and to food, clothing, housing and medical care. The Declaration also states that everyone is entitled to the enjoyment of human rights in an equal manner.
International Human Rights Law:
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights requires States parties to ensure the maximum possible enjoyment of the right to physical and mental health of their citizens and to prevent, treat and control epidemics, occupational/workplace-related and other diseases. States also have a responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil basic human rights such as adequate food, housing, healthcare and information.
According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, everyone has the right to return to their country and to receive information. No one shall be discriminated against on any basis and shall have the right to a fair and independent legal remedy in the event of alleged violations of their rights.
International law focusing on the rights of migrant workers has made provisions for the rights of workers and members of their families in the migration cycle. In particular, according to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 1990, migrant workers and their families have the right to return to their country at any time and to seek and receive information and important information through appropriate means. They are also prohibited from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to arbitrary arrest. They have the right to receive emergency and other health services and treatment, like nationals of the country where they work, to protect their lives and minimize potential risks to their health. In addition, migrants have the right to housing and communal accommodation, like nationals of that country.
According to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979, there shall be no discrimination against women and the state shall take appropriate measures to ensure that they are not discriminated against in health services and treatment.
The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights state that no business enterprise should act in a way that affects the rights of anyone and must respect internationally recognized human rights.
“The principle requires businesses to regularly analyze and effectively address the risks to workers’ rights in situations where they may be exposed.”
ILO Conventions and Recommendations:
Various conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) have ensured various rights of workers in foreign employment. The ILO Convention on Migration for Employment, 1949, stipulates that migrant workers should be provided with free services and information and that the destination country should ensure that migrants have the same rights as their nationals in matters of social security. Similarly, the ILO Convention No. 1950 on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Environment requires employers to ensure that workplaces, machines, equipment and processes are safe and do not pose any risk to health.
According to Recommendation No. 164 on Occupational Safety, Health and the Working Environment of Workers issued by the ILO, employers must provide workers with adequate protective equipment and tools free of charge. “If a situation arises that poses a serious risk to the life or health of workers, the worker has the right to withdraw from employment if the situation does not improve even after the employer is notified.”
Nepal has ratified major human rights laws, including the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and several ILO conventions on labor rights. Nepal must implement the laws it has ratified.
Of the young men and women who have gone abroad for employment, 2/3 percent are skilled, 22 percent are semi-skilled, and the remaining 75 percent are unskilled workers. Naturally, after becoming unskilled workers, they are forced to work for low wages and facilities. When they go abroad to work, they are not organized…
No matter how difficult or difficult it is, the capitalist, the owner, is forced to work under the policies and orders of the company. After going for foreign employment, they are not allowed to work in their desired field or be transferred. This is why foreign employment is producing a new slave.
Number of workers leaving Nepal for foreign employment in the past 11 years
The number of people approved to go abroad for employment until 2072 was 32,01,268. In the fiscal year 2072/73, 4,03,174 people, in the fiscal year 2073/074, 3,83,493 people, in the fiscal year 2074/75, 354,082 people, in the fiscal year 2075/76, 2,36,211 people, in the fiscal year 2075/76, 1,90,453 people, in the fiscal year 2076/77, 72,081 people in the fiscal year 2077/78, 3,48,868 people in the fiscal year 2078/79, 4,94,224 people in the fiscal year 2079/80, 4,60,102 people in the fiscal year 2080/81, and 3,17,063 people in the fiscal year 2081/82, making a total of 6.4 million, 61,019 people as of the end of Falgun 2081. Similarly, the number of jobs in South Korea through EPS as of 2081 Falgun is 114,179.
Among those going abroad for work, 6.1 million are men, 37 thousand are women.
Among those going abroad for work, 6.1 million 37 thousand 56 are men and 438 thousand 142 are women.
Similarly, 17,823 people from 111 countries have obtained work permits in Nepal.
The Government of Nepal has opened labor migration to 111 countries institutionally and 178 countries individually. The major labor destination countries for Nepalis are Malaysia and the Gulf countries of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. However, recently the number of workers going to countries like Romania, Croatia, Cyprus, Maldives, Britain, Poland, Malta, Turkey, Seychelles, and Albania has also been increasing significantly. On the other hand, a significant number of workers from neighboring countries including India, as a destination country, are engaged in employment in Nepal.
Similarly, 17,823 people from 110 countries have obtained work permits in Nepal.
Problems of labor migration:
Due to the lack of transparency among service providers involved in the labor migration cycle, labor migrants are constantly being cheated. Although pre-departure orientation training is mandatory, it has not been as effective as expected. Due to the lack of sufficient information, knowledge, and counseling for workers, there has been a major problem of them using illegal routes to go to other countries and engaging in risky employment. There is no data on Nepali workers working in India, and sufficient initiatives have not been taken for their welfare. There has been no detailed study on foreign workers working in Nepal. Nepal has had to pay various social costs due to labor migration. Sustainable and effective reintegration of workers returning from abroad has not been possible. Various health problems have been observed among workers. In addition, labor diplomacy, inter-ministerial coordination, service delivery, monitoring, and evaluation have not been effective.
Major problems have been observed such as lack of coordination in producing skilled and efficient workers according to the demand and needs of the internal and external labor markets, low level of education and skills among most of the workers going for labor migration, lack of work, facilities and security as per the agreement with the employer, unexpected troubles due to lack of language, culture and minimum legal knowledge of the destination country; some migrant workers falling into human trafficking, various types of violence and exploitation against female workers; insufficient preparation and effective reintegration, failure to protect the human rights and labor rights of migrant Nepali workers.
National Labor Migration Policy -2082:
The Government of Nepal has recently issued the National Labor Migration Policy – 2082. Various policy and institutional arrangements have been made to ensure good governance in labor migration services, making labor migration safe, systematic, and dignified.
Nepal has prepared a policy framework for labor migration by adopting the Sustainable Development Goals, the Global Compact for Migration, as well as the Forced Labor Convention, 1930, and the Convention against Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, 1958, and other treaties, agreements, and bilateral and multilateral commitments related to labor and migration to which Nepal is a party.
Article 51 (i) (5) of the Constitution of Nepal states that “to regulate and manage foreign employment in order to make it free from exploitation, secure and systematic and to guarantee the employment and rights of workers” and clause (i) (6) of the same article states that “to encourage the use of capital, skills, technology and experience acquired from foreign employment in productive sectors in the country”.
The National Labor Immigration Policy
It has taken the vision of contributing to prosperity through safe, orderly, and dignified labor migration and reintegration. Similarly, it has taken the goal of focusing remittances on production and employment by maintaining good governance in labor migration.
The goal is to end forced labor migration through entrepreneurship, making labor migration profitable by developing a well-informed, skilled, competitive, and professional workforce.
Objectives of Immigration Policy:
-Ensuring information and effective services on labor migration.
-Ending the compulsion to migrate for labor due to lack of employment opportunities within Nepal.
-Management of foreign workers working in Nepal.
– Expand and implement labor agreements with destination countries for safe, orderly, and dignified labor migration.
Immigration policy policies:
– Maintain good governance at all stages of labor migration management.
. Expanding access to information and services related to labor migration for all.
– Protect the human rights of migrant workers and minimize all types of risks based on gender.
– Identify and develop the skills and competencies of workers in line with the demands and trends of the international labor market.
– Emphasis on internal employment creation through sustainable and dignified reintegration of workers who have returned from labor migration.
– Covering all aspects of labor migration in social security programs.
– To regulate and manage foreign workers working in Nepal in accordance with the national interests and needs of Nepal.
Although the Government of Nepal has put forward a national labor migration policy, its effective implementation remains a challenge. Migrant workers continue to face problems such as labor exploitation. In particular, they face poor living and working conditions, such as non-payment of wages on time, forced overtime work, human trafficking, and lack of basic amenities; health problems, physical and mental illnesses, and barriers to accessing health services; and social and psychological challenges, such as family separation, discrimination, and language barriers.
Similarly, migrant workers are unable to form trade unions, file grievances and bargain collectively for redress. This leaves them with difficulties accessing justice and leaves some workers with a lack of information about their rights and workplace conditions.
Migrant workers are often victims of forced labor, human trafficking, illegal wage deductions, withholding of wages and documents, and excessive overtime. They face job insecurity, low incomes, and often limited understanding of their rights in destination countries and lack access to collective bargaining. Workers are kept in unsafe, unsanitary, and overcrowded conditions.
They face a variety of occupational hazards in the workplace and may be excluded from standard health and safety training. Migrant workers are sometimes excluded from social security systems and standard workplace training. They are at risk of poor health, including debilitating injuries, infectious diseases, and common illnesses such as fever and backache.
Mental health challenges include stress, anxiety, and depression due to factors such as language barriers, psychosocial risks in the workplace, and family separation.
Many migrant workers face barriers to accessing health care, including language barriers and unaffordable costs. Workers may face racism, harassment, and violence, including gender-based violence.
Justice workers may not know how to file a complaint or fear the consequences of doing so. Families are under financial burdens to return home and cover medical services.
To make the country independent and self-reliant, the government needs to adopt a strategy to reduce the number of people going for foreign employment by creating sufficient employment opportunities within the country and moving forward with the program.
For this, the arable land should be fully utilized. For this, a national campaign should be launched to increase production and employment by modernizing, commercializing and diversifying the agricultural sector.
Agriculture and tourism are important sectors for employment. By creating an investment-friendly environment in this sector, attracting national and international investors and expanding the employment sector, promoting industry, trade, tourism, construction, etc., mobilizing the available resources and means to the maximum, operating programs for promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment up to the local level, mobilizing a wide range of manpower through skill development training, and utilizing the knowledge and skills of the youth who have returned from abroad for the economic development of the country, we should adopt concrete policies and programs to end the situation of having to migrate abroad for employment.
The writer is the President, Confederation of Nepalese Professional – CONEP, and Presidential Council Member of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)
