COVID-19 and its Impact on Labour Migration: The Case of Asia


Published: Jun 30, 2021
Keywords:
Labour migration COVID-19 Asia origin and destination countries employability
Antonia Nefeli Karaleka
Abstract

Globalized economy relies on labour migration. In the current effort to rebuild the future in an early post-COVID world, the impact of this health crisis had on the international migration workers should be studied. For more than a year now, professionals of different skill levels have been obliged to either return to their home country or to stay trapped in their destination country unemployed or with little access to social security or the ability for self-protection by potential virus infection. The impact was huge both for the origin and the destination countries. One of the most important effects was on international remittances. Some initiatives were taken to manage this situation. This policy brief aims to enlighten new areas on which extra effort should be made regarding labour migration.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Articles
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Author Biography
Antonia Nefeli Karaleka, Hellenic Association of Political Scientists
Antonia Nefeli Karaleka is Political Scientist - Researcher, Managing Editor – EUREOPE Magazine: a bimonthly review.
References
Asian Development Bank Institute, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and International Labour Organization (2021). Labor Migration in Asia: Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis and the Post-Pandemic Future.
Foley, L. & Piper, N. (2021). Returning home empty handed: Examining how COVID-19 exacerbates the non-payment of temporary migrant workers’ wages. Global Social Policy, 14680181211012958.
Gagnon, J. (2021). Inequalities and international migration: securing benefits for all post COVID-19. OECD, January 18. Available at: https://oecd-development-matters.org/2021/01/18/inequalities-and-international-migration-securing-benefits-for-all-post-covid-19/ (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
ILO (2021). Labour migrants. Available at: https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/labour-migration/# (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
ILO in India (2021). Labour migration in South Asia. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/newdelhi/areasofwork/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
Impact of COVID-19 on Remittances (n.a.). Available at: https://www.knomad.org/covid-19-remittances-call-to-action/#:~:text=The%20Call%20to%20Action%20%E2%80%9CRemittances (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
International Labour Organization (2019). Preparing for the Future of Work: National Policy Responses in ASEAN + 6.
International Labour Organization (2020). Protecting migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic Recommendations for Policy-makers and Constituents. Policy Brief, International Labour Migration.
International Organization for Migration (2020). World Migration Report 2020. IOM.
International Organization for Migration (2020). Covid-19 and the transformation of migration and mobility globally – Temporary migration regimes and their sustainability in times of COVID-19. IOM Online Bookstore. Available at: https://publications.iom.int/books/covid-19-and-transformation-migration-and-mobility-globally-temporary-migration-regimes-and (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
Investopedia Team (2021). Gig-Economy, Business-Small Business. Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gig-economy.asp (Accessed: 06/06/2021).
IOM (n.d.). Mobility Impacts COVID-19. Availablea at: https://migration.iom.int/ (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
Irudaya Rajan, S., Sivakumar, P. & Srinivasan, A. (2020). The COVID-19 Pandemic and Internal Labour Migration in India: A “Crisis of Mobility”. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 63: 1021–1039.
Khadria, B. (n.d.). Skilled Labour Migration from Developing Countries: Study on India. Geneva: International Migration Programme International Labour Office. Available at: http://ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/publication/wcms_201778.pdf (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
Kyoung, G. & Kim, Y. (2018). India’s Internal Labor Migration Paradox. The Statistical and the Real. World Bank. Available at: http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/429181519662555108/pdf/WPS8356.pdf (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
Migration Data Portal (2021). Migration data relevant for the COVID-19 pandemic. March 10. Available at: https://migrationdataportal.org/themes/migration-data-relevant-covid-19-pandemic (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
Paliath, S. (2021). A year after Covid-19 lockdown, India still doesn’t have reliable data or policy on migrant workers. March 26. Available at: https://scroll.in/article/990527/a-year-after-covid-19-lockdown-india-still-doesnt-have-reliable-data-or-policy-on-migrant-workers (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
Pasricha, A. (2021). In India, COVID Resurgence Deals Second Blow to Migrant Workers. Voice of America – English, April 18. Available at: https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/india-covid-resurgence-deals-second-blow-migrant-workers (Accessed: 09/05/2021).
Rahman M.M., Yong T.T., Ullah A.K.M.A. (2014). Migrant Remittances in South Asia: An Introduction. In: Rahman M.M., Yong T.T., Ullah A.K.M.A. (eds.), Migrant Remittances in South Asia. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp. 1-30.
Ranjan, R. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on Migrant Labourers of India and China. Critical Sociology, 089692052097507.
Saddiqi, Z. A. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on labour migration governance, recruitment practices and migrant workers Rapid assessment Pakistan, March–November 2020. International Labour Organization.
Sasikumar, S. K. (1995). International Labor Migration Statistics in India. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 4(4): 555–563.
Yayboke, E. (2020). Five Ways COVID-19 Is Changing Global Migration. March 25. Available at: https://www.csis.org/analysis/five-ways-covid-19-changing-global-migration (Accessed: 09/05/2021).