Emigration policy in the offing?

The government(s) of Pakistan have always been proud and thankful to the remittances sending overseas workers. There is no doubt that remittances have been a lifeline for the country’s foreign exchange. But it is ironic that such an important segment does not have a policy that gives out a general action plan or policy response for emigrants. While there have been a couple of failed attempts (2009 & 2013), there has been no formal emigration policy in Pakistan. The Emigration Ordinance 1979 is the basic legal framework that governs out-migration i.e., emigration of workforce for employment overseas. Beyond these, the successive governments did not have a migration policy and regulations governing the overseas migration system in Pakistan until recently.

The overseas migration process is led by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD), and the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) was formed as the regulatory body to oversee the overseas migration process. Other departments of MOPHRD are the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) for managing the welfare fund and other services for the overseas Pakistanis and their families residing in Pakistan; and Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), the official manpower-exporting agency to deal with the demand for Pakistani workers by foreign governments.

While there exists the basic legal framework and the institutional structure for the regulation of migrants, it should not have taken 40 years for an approved emigration policy but only in 2020, the MOPHRD finalized and approved the National Emigration and Welfare Policy for Overseas Pakistanis. The policy has been prepared with technical and expert support from the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). Follow the space this week for what the policy has to offer.

Let’s look at key reasons why there has been a dire need for representation for migrants. Regulating, streamlining, simplifying as well as facilitating the labour market including the out-migrants has benefits that the country hasn’t tapped completely. But then in this country – and many other developing countries, labour rights are not among the top priorities among the employers and the policymakers, and also somewhere on a lower rung for the civil society.

The 1979 ordinance needs to be supplemented with additional information, requirements, and demands of the whole migration process. Though here were some major amendments made in 2012-13, it still lags behind aspects of data collection and dissemination, overseas worker training, gender diversity etc. Also, healthcare is not the focus for overseas Pakistanis, which needs to be addressed with the current available health-care services varying greatly and coverage limited especially during the pandemic.

Pakistan is among the top migrant exporting countries with over 10 million Pakistanis already out of the country for work with majority to the GCC countries. Most of the migrant are semi-skilled or low-skilled, which makes them particularly vulnerable to poor working conditions, poor safety, poor social and welfare benefits and poor workers’ rights. Their situation was exacerbated with COVID-19 pandemic as they were also unemployed or stuck or laid off, or deported.

Then there is a huge number of Pakistanis crossing borders informally or illegally; at the same time, there are also informal and illegal recruitment agents, employers and illegal sources of remitting money on the host countries. The lack of regulation only further aggravates the lack of social, medical and financial support to these overseas Pakistanis.

There is also a need for policy on connecting institutions with global actors in the overseas migration process, including overseas employers and governments; better coordination of departments on complaints handling mechanism.

Also, there is a need for a policy to address all the important labour issue such as labour rights, trafficking diversity for which the country has signed and ratified several international frameworks.