Two years ago, Muhammad Alam was hired as a heavy machinery driver by a company in the United Arab Emirates. He was hired under a three-year contract. The job meant a lot to him. It allowed him to earn a decent amount to take care of his wife and children and parents living back home in Sargodha. But Alam had to leave the UAE when job opportunities for migrant workers vanished following a slowing down of economic activity due to Covid-19.

Chaudhry Akram tells a similar story. Hailing from Gujrat, Akram went to the UAE a year ago as a construction worker. When the pandemic hit, it affected various sectors and work for many workers like Akram stopped. Within days conditions worsened. His company was not ready to pay him and other workers without work. With no other option available, he was forced to return home.

“The work and living conditions for the labour class are very challenging there,” he recalls. “It is normal for six to twelve people to share a room, and eat food that is just enough to keep you going.” He does this to save some pennies he shares so that dependents living back home can pay for some basic necessities. “During the pandemic, we faced terrible times. We had to depend on charity for food there. Our dependents were going through similar or worse conditions back home.”

Both Alam and Akram tell The News on Sunday that they had paid handsome amounts to private agents to secure these job opportunities. “Like many others, I, too, had taken a loan to pay agents who hire people for foreign companies. We take this risk knowingly as there are limited opportunities in our country,” says Alam.

It is understandable that people migrate to other countries for better economic prospects. Since 1971, the Middle Eastern countries, particularly GCC (Gulf Corporation Council) countries, have become an attractive destination for both non-skilled and skilled labour force. The Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment data shows that till 2018 more than 10.08 million workers migrated to the GCC countries, which is around 96 percent of the total Pakistani migrants.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), overseas Pakistani workers had sent home around $23 billion in 2019-2020, with $5 billion remitted from Saudi Arabia and $4.62 billion from the UAE. The SBP figures highlight that Pakistan receives around 50 percent foreign remittances annually from the GCC countries. These foreign remittances are often considered the lifeline not only for their families but also for the country.

Apart from the financial aspect, the Pakistani labour force faces several other challenges in the GCC countries. Sabir Farhat, general secretary of the Pakistan Rural Workers Social Welfare Organisation (PRWSWO), says that these problems start with the informal methods of hiring low- to semi-skilled workers.

Informal methods of hiring means that foreign companies appoint individuals or companies as their agents to hire work force. These agents and sub agents intentionally keep potential workers in the dark regarding the conditions of employment till they arrive at their destination and in no position to decline what they are being offered, Farhat tells TNS.

“It is unfortunate that our government is more interested in receiving foreign remittances than paying serious attention towards resolving challenges faced by our workers abroad,” says Sabir Farhat, general secretary of the Pakistan Rural Workers Social Welfare Organisation.

However, government to government (G2G) agreements can change circumstances by making this process formal. “Unfortunately, Pakistan has no G2G agreement with most of the GCC countries,” he adds. “It is unfortunate that our government is more interested in receiving foreign remittances than paying serious attention towards resolving challenges faced by our migrants abroad.”

Another way is to create awareness among potential migrant workers about informal methods and the circumstances they might face upon reaching a work destination. In the Punjab, a Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) has been set up in the Labour Department’s head office situated in Lahore. The administrative responsibility is allocated to the Labour Department, Punjab. However, it is being funded by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Austria. The core responsibility of MRC is to guide and give relevant information to migrant workers about the destination and how they may contact the concerned labour attaché in difficult situations.

Both Alam and Akram are unaware of the existence of this centre. They have never heard of a department meant to help and guide migrant workers.

“The job of the MRC has always been as important as it is today,” says Farhat adding “Nevertheless, its performance has always been disappointing.”

“In addition to this, all our embassies in the GCC countries and their labour attachés never feel concerned about resolving issues faced by migrant workers.”

It is an open secret that labour migration from Pakistan has been an unregulated affair. The potential migrants are desperate to grab any opportunity available to go to the GCC countries despite knowing the kinds of risks and challenges they may face there.

Undoubtedly, the international market is a lucrative earning opportunity for our workers as they hardly have any viable economic opportunities locally. This desperation is being manipulated by the informal sector such as hiring agents and sub-agents of foreign companies who trick them and eventually land them into trouble, says Daniyal Kapadia, director of the Mera Maan organisation.

According to him, most of these workers hail from rural areas and have very little exposure. Therefore, he says, the government and the recruiters have a greater responsibility to educate them about labour rights, challenges faced on foreign soil and how to cope.

Private organisations like PRWSWO and Mera Maan are sensitising potential migrant labour workers, mostly from rural areas.

“We disseminate information about three stages: pre-departure, departure, and arrival at destination. At the first stage we inform them about paper work, how to judge a job opportunity, and how and why they should avoid borrowing to get this opportunity. At the second stage, we educate them about every pertinent detail regarding departure. About the destination stage, they get to know about their rights the destination country is offering, details regarding Pakistani embassies, and how to contact labour attachés there,” he says.

Kapadia and Farhat believe that dissemination of significant information about potential international markets and creating awareness of formal channels will decrease the challenges for the migrant labour force. However, it cannot be done in an effective manner without a primary role played by the public sector.

The writer is a staff  member. He can be reached at warraichshehryar@gmail.com