Labour rules for workers abroad

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)?
• Employment in Israel
• News Summary: Labour rules for workers abroad
• Prescribed rules for workers abroad
• International practices
• Way forward

Why in news?

• With assistance from the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are hiring around 10,000 workers to go to Israel, mainly for construction work.

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)

• About
  • It is a not-for-profit public limited company that was established in July 2008.
  • The Ministry of Finance established NSDC as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
    • The Government of India, through the MSDE (Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship), holds 49% of the NSDC's share capital, while the private sector holds the remaining 51%.
  • Currently, the NSDC is under the MSDE.
• Goal
  • To improve the skills of people in India. It does this by encouraging private sector initiatives in skill development programs and providing funding.
  • To promote skill development by catalysing the creation of large, quality, and for-profit vocational institutions.

Employment in Israel

• Indian citizens working in Israel
  • There are about 18,000 Indian citizens in Israel, primarily caregivers employed by Israeli elders to take care of them, diamond traders, IT professionals and students.
  • According to a 2017 report prepared by the ILO, international migration has grown significantly in the last two decades.
  • The number of migrants from Asia to the Arab states has more than tripled, from 5.7 million in 1990 to 19 million in 2015.
• How safe is Israel right now?
  • Recently, the Israel Defense Forces spokesman had told media that there is not a place in Israel that is safe now due to Hamas.
  • According to some estimates, about 100 people who died in Gaza are migrant workers from Asian and African countries.
• Stand of Indian govt on employment in Israel
  • The MEA had said that India is satisfied with Israel’s labour standards.
  • Labour laws in Israel are very strict, robust.
  • It is an OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) country. Hence, labour laws are such that it provides for protection of migrant rights, labour rights.

News Summary: Labour rules for workers abroad

• The Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments have started the process of recruiting about 10,000 workers to go to Israel, primarily for construction activities.
• There are 2,000 openings for plastering workers, 2,000 for ceramic tile workers, and 3,000 each for iron bending and frame workers with monthly salaries of about ₹1.37 lakh (6,100 Israeli shekels).

Prescribed rules

• Registration on e-migrate portal
  • Workers going to conflict zones or places without sufficient labour protections are required to register with the Ministry of External Affairs’ ‘e-migrate’ portal.
    • The e-Migrate Project was launched in 2014.
    • The portal is a digital platform that aims to streamline the emigration process for Indian workers.
    • It allows workers to create profiles, register employment contracts, and obtain emigration clearance.
• Emigration Check Required (ECR) scheme
  • ECR scheme is a passport category for Indian nationals who want to work abroad.
  • ECR passports are issued to people who have not passed the 10th grade or higher education pass certificate.
  • To work in ECR countries, ECR passport holders must obtain an Emigration Clearance (EC) from the Protector of Emigrants (POE).
    • POEs are responsible for granting emigration clearance to intending emigrants.
    • The POEs perform functions assigned to them under the Emigration Act, 1983.
  • Currently, passports issued under the ECR scheme cover workers travelling to 18 countries.
    • Israel is not on this list and hence the e-migrate system will not be used for those going to Israel despite continuing violence due to Israel’s bombing of Gaza.
• Collection of service charges from workers
  • The Rules say that no recruiting agent shall collect from the worker service charges more than a maximum of ₹30,000.
  • These service charges shall include costs of domestic travel or lodging and boarding for conducting of interviews by the recruiting agent.

International practices

• The international practices for protection of migrant workers are governed by two conventions of the International Labour Organisation:
  • the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949
  • and Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975.
• While India has not ratified both conventions, Israel had ratified the 1949 convention in 1953.

Way forward

• ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 report
  • As per this report, global unemployment rate is set to increase in 2024 while growing social inequalities remain a concern.
  • It asked the countries to design sensible migration policies and skilling initiatives to support and develop local labour markets with growing populations.
  • To make this happen, they need to better predict the types of jobs needed in different countries and improve education and training in places where there are more people looking for jobs.
• 2019 report of the Parliament Standing Committee on External Affairs
  • The report had asked the Centre to draft a migration policy.
  • The panel said, it is concerned to note that the existing institutional arrangements for the protection, safety and welfare of Indian emigrants are based on inadequate data infrastructure.

Q1) What is Emigration Check Required (ECR) scheme?

The Emigration Check Required (ECR) scheme is a passport issued to applicants who have not passed their 10th standard or do not have certificates to prove the same.

Q2) What is International Labour Organization (ILO)? 

ILO stands for International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency that works to advance social and economic justice. The ILO was established in 1919 under the League of Nations and is one of the UN's oldest specialized agencies.

Source: What are labour rules for workers abroad? | Explained | NSDC | MEA