This report was published in The Hindu on 27/06/2022
A recent study by the Centre for Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies, Kochi, has highlighted the importance of providing pre-departure and skill training to prospective women who want to migrate to foreign countries as domestic workers.
Such training programmes are important for the women workers to ensure better working conditions and wages in their foreign destinations.
The study said “we should learn from the experiences of the Philippines and Sri Lanka, which provide comprehensive training to equip women domestic workers to meet the challenges in foreign countries and seek better wages.
NoRKA’s role
NoRKA can play a crucial role in delivering training for Kerala women who want to work as domestic workers in foreign destinations.
Such pre-departure and skill development programmes should be held regularly, the study said.
The study titled ‘MIgration of Women Domestic Workers from Kerala to the Gulf: Challenges and Policy Options’ was led by Rakkee Thimothy, a fellow of the CSES.
The study is based on secondary data, literature, and interviews with domestic workers who migrated from Kerala to the Gulf.
The study said that there was a “rigid legal structure governing migration of women from India.”
Besides, India also tries to control the recruitment of domestic workers to countries by imposing a total ban on recruitment to certain countries or imposing additional conditions, the study added.
The study stressed the need for focussing on migrant-friendly services at different stages of the migration cycle so that they are made more accessible to the vulnerable section.