Uphold migrants’ rights during COVID-19 pandemic
View(s):The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases and its alarming spread in many parts of the world have further undermined the situation of those who are in the most vulnerable sectors, among them migrant workers. The global pandemic further reveals how migrant workers are more visibly discriminated against and denied their human rights, according to a joint statement issued by Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), the Cross Regional Centre for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), and the Solidarity Centre.
The COVID 19 outbreak has demonstrated that no government was adequately prepared to deal with a health emergency of this scale. As governments scramble to find adequate responses to address the pandemic, many migrant workers are the first to be left behind.
“We have seen multiple examples where migrants are required to pay for testing and treatment. Undocumented migrant workers are denied health care and are rounded up for detention and deportation. In a pandemic, excluding a community from access to healthcare threatens the health security of all. Some countries have deported migrant workers out of fear that they might spread COVID-19. A number of governments have targeted migrants as scapegoats; blaming them for spreading the disease. Some other deportations have been done on the pretext of migrant workers’ disobedience on rules of social distancing and non-gathering,” the statement said.
Many migrants are currently stranded in transit or in countries of destination as governments impose travel bans and close their borders, while many others are stranded in countries of origin, awaiting deployment, not knowing if they still have the jobs to which they were to be deployed. Some are seeing their recruitment costs mount as they wait.
The COVID-19 pandemic, while largely an issue of health, is also an economic issue for migrant workers. Many will be at the receiving end of the most severe impact of economic recession. As major industries close down, migrant workers are among the first to be let go. There have been reports of many workers deported to their countries of origin while being denied their salaries and benefits.
Many migrant workers continue to live in crowded, squalid and confined spaces. With imposed quarantines, many migrants face barriers for preventing further outbreaks. Lack of decent housing and accommodation, shared facilities and amenities, difficulty in implementing protective measures, such as social distancing – these obstacles could further trigger the spread of the virus. Migrant workers are also affected by limited rights to communication with family and friends, due to restricted access to video and web calling services – furthering their isolation and affecting their mental health, the statement added.
Migrant domestic workers who reside in-house with their employers will be spending their due non-work days and time in the same place. Imposed quarantines may force many workers to spend their entitled rest days and time working. In many places, societies see restrictions on domestic workers’ movements as a justified means of protecting their employers from infection, while not expecting a similar restraint on the part of their employers. Further, it may increase the potential for workers to be further abused, particularly migrant women workers.
“In light of the impact of the ongoing COVID 19 crisis on migrant workers, we call on all governments to uphold migrants’ rights and include all migrants, regardless of their status, in their efforts, strategies and plans to address the crisis and ‘flatten the curve’, the statement urged.