GS Paper III

News excerpt:

Labour activists and trade unions have raised concerns regarding the recruitment of Indian workers for jobs in Israel.

Recruitment Controversy:

• Trade Union Opposition and Legal Challenge: Trade unions have opposed this move, citing the Emigration Rules under the Emigration Act. They are planning to challenge this employment drive legally.
• Ethical Concerns and Opposition to Conflict Zone Employment: According to the central trade unions, such a move is against the Indian ethos of bringing back citizens from conflict zones. They also pointed out that paid recruitment in a war zone facilitated by governments violates provisions of the Emigration Act.

Emigration rules:

• Conflict Zones Registration: Workers going to conflict zones or places without sufficient labour protections are required to register with the Ministry of External Affairs’ ‘e-migrate’ portal.
• ECR Passport Scheme: Passports issued under the ECR (Emigration Check Required) scheme cover workers travelling to 18 countries. Israel is not on this list and the ‘e-migrate’ system will not be used for those going to Israel despite continuing violence due to Israel’s bombing of Gaza.
• Limitation on Service Charges: The Rules say that no recruiting agent shall collect from the worker service charges more than a maximum of ₹30,000 and the service charges shall include costs of domestic travel or lodging and boarding for conducting of interviews by the recruiting agent.
• Government’s stand: The Central government defends the recruitment, asserting satisfaction with Israel's labor standards and emphasizing safety measures for Indian workers abroad.

International Practices for protection of migrant workers

• The international practices for protection of migrant workers are governed by two conventions of the International Labour Organisation:

• •  The Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) 
    • The 1949 convention says: “Each Member for which this Convention is in force undertakes that it will, so far as national laws and regulations permit, take all appropriate steps against misleading propaganda relating to emigration and immigration. For this purpose, it will where appropriate act in co-operation with other Members concerned.
  • Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143).
• While India has not ratified both conventions, Israel had ratified the 1949 convention in 1953. 

Way forward:

• Addressing Global Unemployment: As per ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 report, the global unemployment is expected to rise in 2024, hence there is an urgent need for proactive measures to support local labor markets.
• Need for sensible migration policies: According to ILO, many low- and middle-income countries will experience a demographic transition after 2030, thus the countries should design sensible migration policies and skilling initiatives to support and develop local labour markets with growing populations.
• Accurate Forecasting and Strengthened Education System: There is need for more accurate forecast of labour demand by occupations and sectors in destination countries, and a strengthened education and training system in countries with excess labour resources.
• Inclusive Policy Formulation: The government should actively involve stakeholders in the formulation of such policies to ensure that the rights and well-being of workers are protected.