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. 

Read on...

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.”