Trade union leader and former MP Dr RC Khuntia in a panel discussion at Nepal arranged by the UNDP Asia Pacific Forum, UNIMO and ILO on the theme, “Future of South Asia Migrant Workers’, emphasized on the need to implement the UN’s non-binding convention for migrant workers.
30% of Indian population have migrated as inter-State migrant workers to different States and 25 million Indians are working as migrant workers in the Middle East, US, UK, Africa, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Out of 169 million migrant workers across the globe, 25 % belong to South Asia alone and India has the biggest share in the group but unfortunately neither the migrant country of origin nor the country of destination is serious about their wages, good accommodation, health, safety and social security, Dr Khuntia said.
The conference held for two days on March 21 and 22 saw participation of around 150 representatives from human rights organisations, trade unions, NGOs and civil societies.
