Allow free movement of female workers – migrant group

While we acknowledge an increasing number of mothers are foreign domestic workers who leave their children behind with emotional consequences for both the mother and her children, the right to stay and move within and across borders with dignity has to be the cornerstone of any migration and development policy

Migrant worker groups in a Mayday message have urged the government to allow the free movement of female workers to foreign countries or provide them with decent jobs locally.

“While we acknowledge an increasing number of mothers are foreign domestic workers who leave their children behind with emotional consequences for both the mother and her children, the right to stay and move within and across borders with dignity has to be the cornerstone of any migration and development policy.

The ban and restriction on female migration and all types of migrants should be removed as it leads to an increased clandestine movement,” a statement issued by CARAM Asia and Sri Lanka’s Migrant Services Centre (MSC) said.

It said governments should create employment opportunities instead of ‘exporting’ workers to ‘service their foreign debt and boost the foreign exchange of their home countries via remittances.’

It said reintegration programmes must be in place for returnee foreign domestic workers to break the vicious cycle of migration. MSC is a local organisation while CARAM is a network of organisations working with Asian migrant workers and their communities globally.

The joint statement said present labour laws in the region exclude domestic work from regulation and thus provide less protection for foreign domestic workers, their health and well being. It said the psycho-social and sexual needs of the foreign domestic worker are ignored through: single entry policies that do not allow them to bring their families and partners/spouses (even on holiday); exploitation of under-aged girls which predispose them to the harsh risks of working in informal and unprotected areas of work; prohibition on marriage in the destination country; and deportation on account of pregnancy, STDs and HIV/AIDS.