Migrant workers: human resources or human beings?

Quote

“Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” Franklin D Roosevelt, US President.

News

Last week a report was published on the conditions of migrant labourers constructing venues for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Investigators accused government-appointed companies of denying minimum wages, adequate accommodation, basic safety equipment and medical care to many of the 17,000 workers on the sites.  So far 43 labourers have been killed in the course of building the venues for the games.

A few days ago, Amnesty International exposed the plight of migrant workers in Malaysia.  If migrants leave their Malaysian employment, their work permits are immediately cancelled and they lose their legal status in the country – leaving them vulnerable to arrest, detention and criminal penalties, ranging from fines and imprisonment to caning.  One rights group in Malaysia handled 5,315 cases last year, typically of unfair dismissal and unpaid wages.  70% had to return home – mainly to Bangladesh and Indonesia – without any form of redress.

The plight of these workers draws our attention to the inadequacy of economic analysis that regards migrants primarily as a commodity – “cheap labour” – rather than as human beings endowed with dignity and worthy of full respect.  The fact that so many thousands of labourers are willing to leave their homes and communities to work for low wages does not at all reflect their value as people, only their lack of similar opportunities nearer to home. 

The hard reality of leaving home for months at a time weakens migrants’ relationships with their family and community; it is then a double blow to the workers if their agents or employers profit from their vulnerability and lack of relational support in order to extract the most value from their work for the lowest cost – in money or commitment to their welfare. 

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Asylum and immigration have been hot topics in Britain for many years.  Our colleagues at the Jubilee Centre undertook some research into these issues in 2004, which included how the biblical narrative provides a rich set of principles to inform the modern debate.  To read an introduction to the book, follow this link:  http://www.jubilee-centre.org/document.php?id=123

Walk the talk 

Do you have migrant workers living in your community – working perhaps in construction, agriculture or the tourist industry?  If you can make an opportunity, try to discover when they last saw their close family members, and if possible, whether they receive their wages promptly… It may be that injustice regarding migrant workers is closer to home than you imagine.

The last word

From the Bible, in Deuteronomy 24, verses 14-15: “Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.”

A visual interlude

"Hard Times" by Sir Hubert von Herkomer, 1885

 
Unemployment: 125 years ago and today

It is likely that hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs in Britain in 2010, as the government starts to cut back state expenditure savagely in order to keep public finances solvent. Greece has started down this turbulent road and several other Western nations need to follow suit.

A lengthy period of unemployment lies in store for many... as was the case in the recession of the 1880s, when this picture was painted. Here we see two portraits, two halves of a whole: a woman is exhausted, sitting on the roadside hardly able to stay awake, yet nursing her baby at the breast and comforting her older child, who rests his head on her lap. She is resigned yet unswerving in her determination to protect her little ones – even if they have to sleep rough through another winter night.

In contrast, her husband remains standing, alert, refusing to put down his heavy bundle of possessions (a symbol, perhaps, of the weight of responsibility he carries for his family.) As an itinerant labourer, the man has no assets but his bundle of tools and the strength of his back. He keenly surveys the road in the distance for any sign that the figures approaching might be in a position to offer him some work.

In spite of the circumstances, there is patience and hope in the man’s poise; his poverty has not robbed him of his dignity. Can the same be said today? We have established a welfare safety net to support families through unemployment and hardship, which is laudable, but it has helped create an “entitlement” mentality which can easily undermine the vital sense of responsibility that motivates people to persevere and work hard.

With this new crisis comes the opportunity for governments to find ways of modifying welfare systems so as to safeguard the dignity of newly unemployed men or women, and avoid the slow slide into dependence and hopelessness.

Perhaps the two birds flying overhead add a spiritual dimension to the painting – pointing to the ultimate source of hope, provision and identity for us all, whether in or out of work: “Consider the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” The Bible, Matthew 6 verse 26.

The many faces of Facebook

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“The Internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom.” Jon Stewart

News

This week in Britain a multiple sex offender was sentenced to 35 years for the rape and murder of a 17 year old girl.  Peter Chapman used the face of a handsome teenager on his Facebook page and lured his victim into meeting him – though he was actually twice her age.  In another case in the US, unemployed Adonis Giron, 43, posing on MySpace as a 26 year old talent scout for MTV, ensnared a 12 year old girl and raped her.  These girls were vulnerable because they had no other context than the internet to discover the nature and character of the people they met.  We call the breadth of knowledge gained through knowing someone in different contexts “multiplexity”.

Social networking sites are phenomenally successful (Facebook alone has 350 million users), in part because they allow a more frequent and sustained interaction between multiple friends and acquaintances, without having to be in the same place together.  While there are benefits in continuity of relationship, the most obvious downside is being deceived by someone you only meet via the internet, not face to face.  This “stranger danger” is not new, but it’s harder for parents to keep a protective eye on their internet-savvy children, especially when many have a computer in their bedroom. 

Fortunately, cases involving the likes of Chapman and Giron are still relatively rare.  A more insidious danger is that of “cyber-bullying” via the internet or mobile phone; this happens frequently and in extreme cases leads to suicide.  Unfortunately, the advantage of catching up with people online at home is not restricted to your friends, as messages or photos from a cyber bully can follow you everywhere also, with no longer any respite at home from such destructive behaviour. 

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There are some excellent sites responding to the issue of cyber-bullying; http://www.cyberbullying.us is an American one, http://www.kidsmart.org.uk and http://www.bullying.co.uk are British sites – among many other good ones.

Walk the talk 

Try building “multiplexity”; in developing any important relationship – especially when you need to work well with the other person – vary the situations where you meet.  Why not suggest a different context next time you meet?  If it’s usually in a formal office setting, suggest a game of tennis or a walk in the park; if the normal context is in a café, invite the person to your home.  Each new context can open up another dimension of mutual knowledge and reduce the element of the unknown in the relationship.  This helps build trust and understanding more quickly, two of the greatest assets in any relationship.

The last word

From the Bible, 2 John 12: “I have much more to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink.  Instead I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.”

The Prince and the Paupers

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“My guiding principles in life are to be honest, genuine, thoughtful and caring.”  Prince William

News

This week the London Evening Standard is running a series of articles on poverty in Britain’s capital – eliciting a large response from readers, politicians and celebrities - including Prince William.  Predictably, feedback on the newspaper’s website ranged from people whose heart strings had been tugged, to others insisting poverty is mostly self-inflicted, and still more who told how their family had worked really hard to lift themselves out of poverty.  A frequent refrain in their responses was to blame someone.  Many culprits stand accused: government policies, bureaucratic local councils, laziness, a distorted welfare system, greed and hard-heartedness… the list goes on.

However, Prince William offered a more considered response.  “It is up to us, not just politicians and charities, to answer this challenge — wherever, whenever and in whatever way, small or large, we feel we can.”  Just before Christmas, he joined the director of Centrepoint, a homeless charity he supports, in sleeping rough for a night under Blackfriars bridge.  Afterwards he commented, “I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets.”

Responding to poverty relationally begins with choosing to do something that will reduce the gap between us and people much poorer than ourselves.  William’s mother, Princess Diana, was a superb example – listening, touching, empathising with some of the world’s neediest people, and in so doing, honouring the inherent dignity of each person and offering a moment of true relational support.

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Another journalist for a London weekly was deeply concerned about the plight of the poor in the city; as a writer and social campaigner he sought to highlight the living and working conditions of children especially.  His name was Charles Dickens, and I have selected one of his famous sketches for you to read, entitled The Drunkard’s Death, as a glimpse into the harsh reality of London’s poor 150 years ago.  Read it here: www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/charlesdickens/SketchesbyBoz/chap58.html

Walk the talk 

The responses from Evening Standard readers show our propensity for judging others – based on a minimum of facts.  With another month of Lent to run before Easter, how about giving up the habit of passing judgment?  Next time you are inclined in your heart to condemn another person in some way, decide instead to do something to understand their plight a little better.

The last word

From the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible (Luke 10, 33-35): “But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.  The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' “