“After I was let go by my employer in Dubai, I faced a tough situation. The employer did not as much as hint at the prospects of a future reemployment. The government of Pakistan, too, has not put in place any contingency plan to ensure my economic survival,” says Abu Bakar, who returned to Pakistan following the financial crisis emerging from the Covid-19 situation. Abu Bakar was laid off from his job in the United Arab Emirates where he had worked as a chef.

Abu Bakar scoffs at the mention of government’s rehabilitation plans for workers like him. He says, Pakistani workers in the UAE, unskilled as well as semi-skilled, were on their own when they were fired in view of an impending financial crisis. He said the government did not try to negotiate with their employers to buy them some time to make alternate arrangements or to secure financial assistance for those affected.

Abu Bakar says a large number of these workers had not received their salaries for the last four to six months. He says the Pakistani government added to their problems by announcing that they would have to buy tickets to be repatriated.

“Having returned home, none of the laid-off workers, including my colleagues, have any knowledge of the government’s plans for us,” he says. “It seems that the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), the Ministry for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development and the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment are in a deep slumber. They might wake up to a creeping tragedy after the damage is already done.”

The Covid-19 crisis has caused a large number of Pakistani workers to return to Pakistan from the Gulf countries. Thousands of Pakistani labourers in all categories, registered and unregistered, have lost their jobs and are returning, if they haven’t already returned. According to the Ministry for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, around 60,000 Pakistani workers have lost their jobs so far. On returning home, they face an uncertain future.

The government clearly lacks a vision needed to lay down an immediate rescue plan. Any strategy to provide financial solace is out of sight. The authorities concerned seem to be either ignorant or slow in hammering out practical policy initiatives to upgrade the skills of the returning workers in naccordance with the demands of the digital age to make them competitive in the job market.

Malik Asar Awan, a senior official of the Overseas Pakistan Foundation (OPF), says that Covid-19 triggered a mass repatriation of Pakistani labour workers from the Gulf region as the pandemic hit the job market. To deal with this situation, he says, the government’s first step was to launch an online portal for those returning to the country. “The portal allows the affected workers to register themselves. This data then helps the overseas ministry determine the numbers and hence, the magnitude of the problem,” he says. “Whatever is necessary will be done soon,” he adds.

The first stage of the government’s rehabilitation plan is already in action, says Awan. “In order to facilitate the affected, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OPHRD), Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, met the Galadari Brothers in the UAE last month. As a result, free air tickets (worth Rs 10 million) were provided to 200 Pakistanis,” he says.

According to the Ministry for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, around 60,000 Pakistani workers have lost their jobs so far.

The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development claims that the government has given serious thought to providing relief to Pakistani workers returning from the Gulf. Ghyas Anwer, an official of the ministry, says that around 60,000 Pakistanis have registered themselves on the portal. As far as rehabilitation is concerned, he says, a number of skill development packages are in the pipeline. “After analysing the complete picture, we will do the needful in a befitting manner.”

Khurram Shabbir, an entrepreneur based in the Gulf, says that cash-starved Pakistani workers returning home were being made to pay customs duty on their belongings at airports in Pakistan. “The government could start its rehabilitation or facilitation efforts by exempting them from custom levies.”

Recently, the Centre on International Migration, Remittances and Diaspora (CIMRAD) at the Lahore School of Economics published a report titled, Pakistan Migration Report 2020. It says that the legal framework for migration governance is guided by the Emigration Ordinance promulgated in 1979, and amended periodically. “Efforts at formulating and adopting a revised policy have not succeeded thus far. A draft policy document on National Emigration and Welfare Policy for Overseas Pakistanis has been prepared and shared with several stakeholders over the last few months. This document must be presented to, and approved, by the parliament in order to provide an updated legislative framework for migration governance,” it reads.

The report suggests that a mechanism for evaluation of effective implementation of various policies must be instituted. “More than half of migrants from Pakistan continue to fall in the category of unskilled/semi-skilled workers. Unskilled and semi-skilled workers are often employed in the riskiest jobs most vulnerable to abuse, and their proportion among labour migrants must be reduced through up-skilling of human resources. Efforts at enhancing the skill levels of Pakistan’s labour force and its overseas migrants should be strengthened. There is a need to put in place a systematic mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of the current programmes under way for vocational and technical training. Thus, programmes aimed at up-skilling must be regularly evaluated, and their deficiencies removed,” it adds.

The report reveals that knowledge about return migration to Pakistan remains especially weak. “No result-oriented data collection system is in place to capture return flows in order to provide assistance where needed, or reintegrate migrants productively in the community. Programmes designed to achieve these goals could be launched with focused interventions. The proposed National Emigration and Welfare Policy for Overseas Pakistanis identifies the strengths of those returning as one of the three pillars for reaping benefits of migration and should be implemented effectively once adopted,” it concludes.

Nabeel Asghar, the chief projects and operations officer at Technology Upgradation and Skill Development Company (TUSDEC),a Ministry of Industries and Production unit, says that a number of courses have been launched for skill upgrade. “All those returning are welcome to join these courses,” he adds.

The writer is a freelance journalist working for various national and international media organisations. He tweets at @yaseerkhann