Migration and the global financial and economic meltdown

When the U.S. housing “bubble” burst in 2008, it set off an unprecedented financial and economic crisis in the world’s largest economy that was rapidly transmitted, in an era of financial and economic globalisation, to other parts of the world. The global recession has wiped out millions of jobs and thrown many more people into poverty. An important question is: what are the impacts on migrant workers and migrant women in particular who make up half of the migrant labour force?

Driven by processes of global economic restructuring, labour migration has increased steadily in the last three decades. In Asia – a migrant-receiving as well as a migrant-sending region – millions of women have been “pushed” by economic desperation and “pulled” by the “care deficit” and demand for cheap labour in industrialised societies into largely one-sided migratory flows from poverty-stricken to more affluent nations. Migrant remittances or the money sent home by overseas workers to their families, totalling a sizeable US$ 308 billion in 2008,[1] are important by-products of these movements. Remitted funds do not only support migrant families’ basic needs, they also generate much-needed foreign exchange for many developing economies.

As the current global economic downturn continues to dampen overall demand for labour and opportunities for migration, the extent to which the crisis has affected female and male migrant workers and their families – in terms of joblessness and deportation, deteriorating working conditions and decline in remittances – merits particular attention.

Migrant workers’ vulnerability

Migrant workers are among the most vulnerable in periods of recession. Because of their relatively weak bargaining positions, heightened in some cases by the absence of legal documentation, they are often the first to be retrenched. Moreover, mistaken perceptions that “migrants take jobs” and “compete for welfare benefits” stoke xenophobia and calls to clamp down on the entry of migrants in receiving countries.[2]

One out of ten Filipinos are working abroad. Data from the Philippine’s Department of Labor and Employment reveal that 4,000 Filipino migrant workers had been displaced as of 20 January 2009 due to the current crisis. The bulk had been working in Taiwan (Province of China) (3,494), while the rest had been employed in the United Arab Emirates (297), Brunei (69), and Macau (45).[3]

Bangladesh is another migrant-sending nation. The Bangladeshi Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training reports that 13,000 Bangladeshi workers were repatriated in the first two months of 2009 alone.[4]

In Malaysia, a country that has relied heavily on a large migrant labour force in pursuing an export-oriented growth strategy, around three million workers in a total workforce of 11 million are migrants and an estimated 800,000 are undocumented.[5] Indonesians and Bangladeshis comprise over half of the foreign workers in the country, with many of them involved in construction and manufacturing. At the start of the year, the Malaysian government announced that it would cut back on the number of migrants to 1.95 million in 2010 and 1.62 million by 2015; the visas of 55,000 Bangladeshi workers were revoked; and companies were instructed to follow a “foreign workers out first” policy in case of retrenchment.[6]

At the same time, Malaysia is an exporter of labour to neighbouring Singapore. Between 10 to 12 percent of the approximately 300,000 Malaysian foreign workers in Singapore are expected to be let go in the wake of the crisis.[7]

In Thailand, the crisis has caused substantial and adverse changes in the lives of migrants from beleaguered Burma.[8] Retrenchments have increased. Incomes have declined, affecting migrants’ ability to support their families. And labour mobility has been increasingly limited due to the scarcity of jobs.

Gender-based segregation in migrant jobs

While many migrant workers have lost their employment in the global recession, there appear to be differentiated effects on women and men due in part to gender-based segregation in jobs. Prevalent notions, for instance, of women as “caregivers” and men as better suited to tasks that deal with machinery and require brawn are reflected in job assignments given to migrant workers.

Female migrants are indeed noticeably present in domestic care services and skilled health care professions. However, they are also to be found in export-oriented manufacturing industries such as garments and electronics, particularly in Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand. Meanwhile, male migrants tend to be concentrated in construction, manufacturing and agriculture.

Studies indicate that the current crisis has threatened the employment security of specific categories of migrant workers.[9] Jobs in the export sector – where both low-skilled female and male migrant workers are present – and in construction – where a preponderance of male migrants find employment – have been especially at risk. Meanwhile, jobs in the public health sector – usually held by skilled female migrants (e.g. nurses) – and even in domestic care appear to be relatively protected. Because of the “necessity of work” – that is, the need to keep up reproductive chores within households especially in recessionary times – health and domestic workers could be less impacted on by the current crisis.[10]

In the provinces of Chiang Mai and Mae Sot in Thailand, research shows that women migrant workers are bearing a disproportionate share of current economic burdens.[11] Semi-skilled factory workers in knitting factories – where women are in the majority – saw significant cuts in working hours and therefore in income.

Deteriorating working conditions, especially for undocumented women migrants

The above notwithstanding, the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women points out that, contrary to expectation, the current crisis could be affecting women’s labour migration to a lesser degree than men’s at the aggregate level.[12] This is based on the observation that more contractual workers in export-oriented manufacturing and construction appear to have been laid off compared with undocumented labourers – of whom women make up the majority. The conjecture is that contractual workers may have been replaced with “cheaper” migrant labour.

Nonetheless, according to the International Labour Organisation, “the deteriorating working terms and conditions of women employed in the informal economy also require monitoring…The plight of domestic workers not benefiting from the protection of labour laws in most countries deserve particular attention in times of crisis”.[13]

No large-scale deportations of migrants

Notably, large-scale deportations and repatriations, such as those that occurred at the height of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, have not taken place thus far.[14] This may be attributable in part to the global nature of the current crisis, which has adversely affected the demand for labour in both sending and receiving countries. Migrants could be hesitant to return home where the economic situation would still be more depressed than in their host countries. As previously indicated, those that have lost their contractual employment may have preferred to stay in their host countries, accepting “distress employment” or informal, irregular and precarious work.[15]

Women are still migrating

Indeed, more women are searching for employment in foreign lands in light of rising male unemployment or underemployment in their countries of origin.[16] While migrant outflows in some origin countries seem to have tapered off,[17] the World Bank points out that “new migration flows are still positive, implying that the stock of existing migrants continues to increase”.[18] Migrant outflows from the Philippines increased by 28 per cent in 2008 compared to the previous year with 1.38 million Filipinos leaving the country to find work.[19]

Remittances to households have slowed down

The current crisis is expected to make a dent on migrant remittances even though these are considered more crisis-resilient than other financial flows. Based on the 2008 trends – which indicated a slowdown in remittance flows in the second half of 2008 – the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development projects remittances to the Asia-Pacific region to decrease by 4.2 percent in 2009.[20] Since remittances help to augment household budgets, this could have potentially adverse consequences for children’s – particularly girls’ – access to food, schooling, health services and housing. Roughly 80 percent of funds remitted to households are spent for basic needs and services.[21]

Other experts posit, however, that the deceleration in remittance flows may be caused by a reduced confidence in transmitting funds home through the formal banking system following the collapse of major banks in some host countries.[22] Migrants could be remitting more money home through informal channels.

Compared to men, women migrants tend to remit money on a more constant basis.[23] Gendered ideas that women – even if they are unmarried – must sacrifice (i.e. work more and save more) for their families remain established. A study of Filipino domestic helpers in Rome reveals that women migrants often go to the extent of taking out loans at high interest rates just to send money to their families.24 The current crisis could intensify such behaviour.

The need for gender-responsive protection for migrants

The current global financial and economic crisis underscores the importance of protective policies for migrant workers in times of depression. Effective policies and measures to uphold migrants’ rights, especially in terms of working and living conditions in the event of retrenchment, must be put in place and their implementation must be strictly monitored. Particularly in Asia where migration is taking on an increasingly female face, such policies ought to be responsive to the differentiated experiences of female and male migrant workers.

But women migrants are not simply waiting for government protection. From Manila to Dubai, from Java to Holland, migrant workers are organizing themselves and actively working to defend their rights and realize their demands.

In Japan, women migrants are campaigning for the recognition of their children as Japanese nationals. Domestic workers are fighting for their inclusion in the wage hike in Hong Kong. Migrant workers in Macau only recently started calling on for the scrapping of various anti-migrant policies. In the Philippines, Migrante International is now gearing up for securing representation in Congress to do what the government has long failed to do – address the needs of migrants and their families. These are but a few of the countless other actions that migrants are engaged in to secure a better future for themselves, their families and their fellow workers.

Endnotes

1    UNCTAD (2009), Trade and Development Report 2009, UNCTAD: Geneva, retrieved from http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/tdr2009ch1_en.pdf.

2    IOM (2009), “Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Migration”, IOM Policy Brief, retrieved from http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/policy_and_research/policy_documents/policy_brief_jan2009.pdf.

3    Awad, Ibrahim (2009), The Global Economic Crisis and Migrant Workers: Impact and Response, ILO: Geneva, retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/pro tection/migrant/download/global_crisis.pdf.

4    Awad, Ibrahim (2009).

5    Gibb, Heather (2009), “Impacts of the Economic Crisis: Women Migrant Workers in Asia,” paper presented at IWG-GEM Conference 2009: Gender and Global Economic Crisis, 13-14 July 2009, New York, USA, retrieved from http://www.nsi-ins.ca/english/pdf/Gibb_IWG%20GEM%20July%202009.pdf.

6    Awad, Ibrahim (2009); and Gibb, Heather (2009).

7    Abella, Manolo and Geoffrey Ducanes (2009), “The Effect of the Global Economic Crisis on Asian Migrant Workers and Governments’ Responses”, Technical Note prepared for the ILO conference on Responding to the Economic Crisis - Coherent Policies for Growth, Employment and Decent Work in Asia and Pacific, 18-20 February 2009, Manila, Philippines, retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_101729.pdf.

8    Aung, Khun and Soe Lin (2009), Critical Times – Migrants in the Economy in Chiang Mai and Mae Sot, MAP Foundation: Chiang Mai, retrieved from http://www.mapfoundationcm.org/eng/PDF/eng/critical_times_MAP.pdf.

9    IOM (2009).

10 IOM (2008), World Migration Report 2008, IOM: Geneva.

11    Aung, Khun and Soe Lin (2009).

12    Tolstokorova, Alissa (2009), “Financial Crisis and Migration Myths”, UN INSTRAW Paper, retrieved from http://www.un-instraw.org/grvc/index.php? option= com _content&view=article&id=40%3Athe-financial-crisis-and-migration-myths&catid=1%3Ablog&Itemid=10&lang=en.

13 Awad, Ibrahim (2009).

14    Awad, Ibrahim (2009).

15 IOM (2009).

16 IOM (2009b), “Regional Thematic Working Group on International Migration Including Human Trafficking Situation Report on International Migration in East and Southeast Asia”, IOM, 20 October 2008, retrieved from http://www.iom.int./jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/published_docs/brochures_and_info_sheets/iom_situation_report.pdf.

17    Awad, Ibrahim (2009).

18 Ratha, Dilip and Sanket Mohapatra (2009), “Revised Outlook for Remittance Flows 2009-2011: Remittances expected to fall by 5 to 8 percent in 2009”, Migration and Development Brief 9, 23 March 2009, retrieved from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/MD_Brief9_Mar2009.pdf.

19 Awad, Ibrahim (2009).

20 UNCTAD (2009).

21    Ghosh, Bimal (2006), “Myths, Rhetoric and Reality: Migrant Remittances and Development”, Brussels: , retrieved from http://www.thehagueprocess.org/News/news/documenten/Migrants’%20Remittances%20and%20Development.pdf.

22 Tolstokorova, Alissa (2009).

23 Panopio, Sandra (2009), “Gender, Remittances and Migration and the Financial Crisis”, UN INSTRAW Paper, retrieved from http://www.un-instraw.org/grvc/images/stories/documents/GMR___Financial_Crisis-1.pdf

24 Panopio, Sandra (2009).


Athena Peralta is a consultant for the Poverty, Wealth and Ecology Project of the World Council of Churches