resource centre summary

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Headquarters:17 route des Morillons C.P. 71 CH-1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland

Tel: +41.22.717 91 11 Fax: +41.22.798 61 50 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://www.iom.int

SUMMARY

PROPOSAL ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AOVERSEAS WORKERS RESOURCE CENTRE IN THE GULF STATES

1. Background

Labour migration has emerged as one of the significant aspects of humanmovements. In the Gulf in particular, the rapid economic growth in the regioncreated an increased demand for overseas contract workers given the labourshortages in certain sectors. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States are amajor destination for Asian workers.

Many Asian workers in the Gulf are employed in lower-level skill jobs, some in poorworking and living conditions; a number are women working in the house-hold; and

are temporary workers given their fixed contracts. Living in one of the GCCcountries as a contract worker is both an opportunity in terms of employment andremittances, and a challenge.

Problems arise in both sending and receiving countries and can be attributed to anumber of factors. In general, issues facing Asian workers occur during threestages: at pre-deployment, post-deployment, and in the reintegration phase. TheGCC countries have made a number of efforts to develop and improve the workingconditions and welfare of expatriate contract labour and these efforts, relativeopenness to employing foreign workers and benefits accruing have often been underrecognized by the international community. In addition, these efforts, althoughsustainable ones, still need further enhancement to provide adequate solutions tothe different challenges facing the host countrys commitment to resolve the existingproblems.

At the post-deployment or employment stage despite the efforts by the sending andreceiving countries, workers face problems such as: (1) contract substitution (inArabic which they usually do not know); (2) difficulty in changing jobs; (3)withholding of passports and other documents by employers; (4) withholding anddelay of wages and entitlements by employers and difficult working conditions; (5)limited practical access to courts; and the (6) special concerns regarding domesticworkers given their vulnerability. Workers who have become irregular faceadditional problems related to access to health care, detention and removal.

In order to enhance the provision of support services to migrants, at the first

Labour Migration Ministerial Consultations for Countries of Origin in Asia organizedby IOM in April 2003 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Ministers recommended theestablishment of a common Overseas Workers Resource Center with the support ofthe labour receiving and sending countries, employers and internationalorganizations. As the first step in this regard, IOM undertook a study to assess thefeasibility of establishing a joint Resource Centre with a view to present it to one ofthe six countries of the GCC for consideration and approval.


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2. Current On-site Overseas Workers Information and Support Services

There are some models of support services for overseas workers, including the (1)Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) which has programs for overseas Filipinoworkers; (2) Saudi Social Welfare Administration which house female domestichelpers who ran away; (3) the United Nations Development Fund for Women(UNIFEM) in Jordan where it has established a NGO to promote rights of womenmigrant workers; and the (6) Human Rights Care Department of the Dubai Police touphold human rights principles.

Outside the region, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also has theMigrant Information and Liaison Service (MILS) in Rome, Italy and the Informationand Resource Centre (IRC) in Lisbon, Portugal. MILS is a forum in whichgovernment officials, experts and other interested parties can meet and exchangeinformation on migration issues. The IRC provides sustained and effectiveintegration policies for immigrant communities and ethnic minorities in Portugal.

3. Proposed Overseas Workers Resource Center in the GCC

The proposed Resource Centre (RC) will focus on the requirements for a successfultemporary sojourn to work for Asian contractual labour.

3.1. Aim and Concept

The purpose of the Centre is to provide protection and support services tovulnerable categories of contract workers, particularly women. In doing so theCentre will take into account the initiatives of the host government and Embassiesof the Asian sending countries so as to add value to current efforts and poolcommon resources wherever possible. The Resource Centre is not a substitute forthe respective embassies of contract workers.

3.2. Activities

Research, documentation and information provision to contract workers: Tocollect data and information on various laws, regulations and official directivespertaining to labour, health, residency issues, rights of the workers, and otherissues of relevance and make them available to the contractual workers. Pamphletson these issues will be made in the different languages of the Asian sendingcountries.

Training and orientation: Training for workers on language, cultural issues,workers rights, and skills improvement to workers can be included. Also to providethe personnel of diplomatic missions newly arriving in any of the GCC countrieswith training and orientation on the laws and regulations by conducting seminars

and workshops.

Joint Consultations and seminars: The Centre will hold seminars organized jointly by officials from various ministries in the GCC countries and concernedmembers of diplomatic missions with the view to identify key issues of concern andmethods to jointly address such concerns. The Centre can also sponsor regularmeetings among the labour attaches to share information, discuss commonconcerns and brainstorm possible solutions. The Centre can possibly hold anannual round-table meeting between the administrative bodies responsible foroverseas employment in the GCC states and countries of origin in Asia and monitor


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the follow-up. The RC can be a focal point for coordination and consultation amonglabour sending countries on the one hand, and between labour sending andreceiving countries in the GCC on the other hand.

Information Campaigns: To undertake sensitization and awareness campaignstargeting employers and officials in close coordination with the GCC governments tohighlight the issues pertaining to expatriate workers. This may be achieved bymeans of public broadcasting (radio and television) and a newspaper column.

Direct support to contract workers: The Centre would provide support, and not areplacement, to embassies in assisting their nationals and to follow up on thestatus of cases. Contract workers can be referred to the RC for assistance or in thecase of Asian countries without an embassy can get in touch directly. In such casesthe RC will:

Retain legal services to provide legal advice either through theembassies or directly to the distressed workers;

Provide psycho-social counseling and advice to workers in distress tostrengthen their personal ability to cope with their problems; and

Retain the services of a medical professional to provide either directmedical care (for simple cases) or proper medical referrals.

3.3. Host Country

One of the potential locations for the Centre on a pilot basis is Kuwait, which hasthe highest estimated number of domestic helpers from Asia, at 500,000 against the300,000 domestic helpers in the United Arab Emirates, and 40,000 in Bahrain.

IOM is also present in Kuwait and can provide administrative support in theoperation of the proposed Centre.

The role of the host government in the establishment of the Centre is obviously veryimportant. An agreement between IOM and Kuwait on the establishment of the RCis currently under consideration by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. IOMalso sent a Terms of Reference (TOR) of the RC in Kuwait to the countries of origin.

Relying on the close coordination with diplomatic missions and the cooperation ofthe Government of Kuwait, the Centre aims at establishing its regional operation inthe State of Kuwait and initiating its functions, as a pilot project, in the State ofKuwait, and bearing an impact on the whole of the GCC territory.

Resource Centres can also potentially be established in any of the other GCC stateswhere the host and countries of origin have an interest.

3.4. Proposed Personnel and Management

To attain its objectives, the Centre would require employing a small core team withvarious technical skills and experience. The key positions are:

Director of the Centre Seconded representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour to liaise

with the host government. Labour Desk Officers (2) Information Officer


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Legal and Health Advisors (part-time, 2) Support staff (3)

In the set-up outline above, the presence of a representative of the host governmentis deemed important to promote transparency and build trust and confidence. Therepresentative could serve as a coordinator and liaison officer between the RC andthe relevant host government bodies.

In the case of Kuwait since the RCs personality is attached to the IOM KuwaitMission, the latter could provide administrative support as well as officialrepresentation with the host countries. The office of the Head of Labour MigrationService Area, IOM Geneva, will provide technical support.

The RC will have an Advisory Board consisting of senior officials from the hostcountry, embassies of the concerned labour sending countries, IOM and civilsociety representatives.

3.5. Budget and Funding Sources

Contributions will be sought from the labour sending countries, host country anddonor organizations. The Department for International Development of the U.K.made available USD 180,000 for the RC in 2005.

The host countrys contribution can be in the form of providing and maintainingsuitable premises for the Center and a seconded officer.

The estimated budget for the RC (not including in-kind contribution of the hostcountry) for 2006 is USD 500,000. IOM has proposed that labour sending countriescontribute twenty five percent of this amount, with non-LDC States contributingUSD 15,000 each and LDC States USD 6700. The balance will be sought fromdonors. This proposal and the TOR have already been received favorably by somecountries and under consideration in others.

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