Tamil Nadu: Decline in migrant workers going to ECR nations
Total Indians who went to ECR countries in 2015 was 7,42,236, while that in 2016, was 5,20,960.
Chennai: With the dwindle in the number of people legally going to ECR countries for work, having fallen in the last two years, the number of people going for jobs from Tamil Nadu has also seen a massive decline.
Under the Emigration Act, 1983, Indian passport holders going to 18 countries known as the ECR (Emigration Check Required) countries, including United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain need Emigration Clearance.
While the states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal account for the largest number of emigrants to these countries, the numbers have collectively fallen from all states.
Total Indians who went to ECR countries in 2015 was 7,42,236, while that in 2016, was 5,20,960. The number of migrant workers who went from Tamil Nadu in 2016 and 2015, stood at 42,541 and 69,087.
While the fall in these numbers has been attributed to the e-Migrate system, which is a computerized system to regulate overseas employment, especially for the protection of less educated blue-collar workers, and for their protection against exploitation by their employers.
Despite the fall in numbers of people going through the system, officials have said that many are circumventing the system and going. “The fall in number could be due to the system, but the number of people not going legally could be another reason,” said a senior official at the Protector of Emigrants (POE) office in Chennai.
He added that now the number of requests coming in through the e-Migrate platform is about 100 to 150 each day, while earlier the portal used to receive over 150 – 200 requests in a day.
Echoing concerns are groups working in the interest of fishermen and domestic workers who fall prey once they reach the Gulf countries.
“Even if the statistics show a fall in numbers, the number of cases of trafficking coming forth has not seen a decline. Last year alone, we received 97 cases,” said Sr. Josephine Valarmathi, of National Domestic Workers Movement in India.
Drop in takers for blue-collar jobs
Increased number of workers from states like Bihar and West Bengal who migrate as workers to ECR countries is attributed to decline takers for blue-collar jobs from southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, activists say.
“What was once a major trend of people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, of going as construction workers to Gulf countries has now declined. More and more takers of blue-collar jobs are from states like Bihar, UP, and even Andhra,” said an activist.
Another activist, Rafeek Ravuther, who has been from Kerala advocating the case that the decline of people going to these countries has seen a decline across India, as earlier at least seven lakh people used to go each year, which has fallen to 3 to 4 lakhs. “But the decline is only through the legal channel.”
He added that employers themselves are not willing to take these workers legally. A prominent industrialist of the state, however, added that overall the state sees a massive decline in natives who take up blue-collar jobs. “It is sad to see the number of migrants from West Bengal and Biharis coming to the state to work because our people don’t want such jobs. This is one of the main reasons why many small and medium industries are facing hardships,” he added.