Female Migrant Labourers & COVID-19 in Asia WEBINAR PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 2021 EDITED BY JASMIN LILIAN DIAB AND U BAVA DHARANI GENDER AND MIGRATION RESEARCH GROUP THINK TANK ON WAR, CONFLICT AND GLOBAL MIGRATION GLOBAL RESEARCH NETWORK Webinar Proceedings Female Migrant Laborers and COVID-19 in Asia November 2021 Edited by Jasmin Lilian Diab U Bava Dharani Organized by Gender and Migration Research Group War, Conflict and Global Migration Think Tank Global Research Network Copyright © 2021 by GRN – Global Research Network All rights reserved. This report or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the Global Research Network, except for the use of brief referenced quotations in another publication. 2 Content Contributors Carol Abdo Fayza Yassine Hiba Sinno Jana Al Hassanieh Jerome Saliba Karen Sweid Marie Jose Nassar Mohammad Al Abbas Nasir Soboh Nour El Kilani Palig Giritlian Rawan Haidar Taghreed Shaheen Winnie Faarvang 3 Abbreviations COVID-19: Coronavirus disease EMI: Equated Monthly Installment FDW: Female Domestic Worker GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council GRN: Global Research Network ILO: International Labour Organisation IPCIG: International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia MDW: Migrant Domestic Worker WPS: Wage Protection Systems 4 Table of Content Introduction Jasmin Lilian Diab and U Bava Dharani 6 Organizing Entity 7 Biographies 7 Power, Protection and Policy: The Condition of Domestic Workers in the Arab States during COVID-19 Shaddin Almasri 9 Indian Women Migrant Laborers in the Gulf Countries and the Impact of COVID-19 Divya Balan 13 Female Migrant Labor in Asia during COVID-19 U Bava Dharani 16 Discussion and Recommendations 19 5 Introduction Jasmin Lilian Diab and U Bava Dharani Co-Leads of Gender and Migration Research Group November 8, 2021 The webinar, organized by the Gender and Migration Research Group at the Global Research Network’s War, Conflict and Global Migration Think Tank, intended to shed light upon the impact of COVID-19 the rights, wellbeing and access to services of female migrant laborers in Asia, as well as the intersectional barriers to their freedom of movement and adequate labor conditions. Female laborers in Asia, a significant portion of which are Migrant Domestic Workers governed under the Kafala System remain at the mercy of a labor law often compared to ‘modern day slavery,’ as well as anti-immigrant sentiments and nationalist narratives. Following the surge in COVID-19 cases across Asia, these realities were only exacerbated, leaving many of these women stuck in legal limbo as they attempted to navigate national legal frameworks keeping them in host countries at the mercy of their employers at one level, and the inadequate application of basic human rights principles at another. A panel comprised of academic experts from the Migration field shed light on the aforementioned realities through a moderated online webinar that addressed realities within various parts of Asia including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). 6 Organizing Entity Global Research Network (GRN) The only organization of its kind, the GRN is an active online meeting place for early career faculty, researchers and doctoral students interested in new thinking about these issues. Members come from a truly global diverse range of backgrounds and higher education institutions. Our common goal is collaboration, which is needed more than ever as the greatest problems of the day transcend narrow fields of work. We also seek to support one another in a vocation that can be lonely, isolating, and intensely challenging. The GRN provides a new kind of interdisciplinary and inclusive space, facilitating long-term friendships, creative thinking, and genuine career support. Members are invited to reach out across national and institutional borders, and to share their experiences in life, study, and practice. The Network is for exceptional scholars but it is not elitist. It is inspiring but not intimidating. It offers an abundance of opportunities and perspectives that enrich the scholar, the work, and the field. GRN’s War, Conflict and Global Migration This think tank analyses the interrelated exploitation of human bodies and the environment in the context of war, conflict and global migration. Nature, conflict and migration are linked in many complex ways: social and political conflict is often an outcome of prolonged drought, resource extraction, agricultural distress and other human-induced or natural causes. These environmental and socio-political changes dictate many waves of migration and displacement – putting ‘illegal’ human bodies, including women and children, through extreme exploitative conditions of detention centers and labor camps. This think tank hopes to engage with the concept of exploitation in relation to domestic and international refugee law and climate migration. Through this platform, we coordinate diverse expertise from researchers, advocates and policymakers on issues of conflict and displacement. We work with researchers to bridge the gap between academia and policy in the areas of refugee law and migrants rights. 7 Biographies Dr. Jasmin Lilian Diab (Co-Organizer, Moderator and Co-Editor) is an expert in Migration, Gender and Conflict Studies. Dr. Diab is the Director of the Institute for Migration Studies at the Lebanese American University, where she also serves as an Assistant Professor of Migration Studies at the Department of Social and Education Sciences. In previous roles, she served as the Refugee Health Program Coordinator at the American University of Beirut's Global Health Institute, and a Research Associate under GHI's Political Economy of Health in Conflict Workstream. She serves as an Adjunct Faculty Member of International Migration and Refugee Law at the Global Institute of Law, and has served as a Guest Lecturer at McGill University on Refugee and Migrant Health. Dr. Diab is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University, a Global Fellow at Brown University's Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, a Scholar in Forced Displacement at University of Ottawa’s Human Rights Research and Education Centre, a Peace Responsiveness Expert at Interpeace, and the Co-Lead of the Global Research Network's 'Gender and Migration Research Group'. She is a Country of Origin Information Expert to AMERA International's 'Rights in Exile Program,' a Reviewer at University of Oxford's Journal of Refugee Studies, and an Editorial Board Member at Act for Displaced, the Journal of Internal Displacement, Marywood University's Journal of Applied Professional Studies and PLOS Global Public Health where she also serves as their Guest Editor on Humanitarian Aid, Conflict and Migration. Dr. Diab serves as an Advisory Board Member to People Beyond Borders, the Indian Society of Legal Research, and Rowman & Littlefield Press' 'Migration, Displacement, and Development' Book Series. U Bava Dharani (Co-Organizer, Panelist and Co-Editor) is an intern with the Stockholm Environment Institute Asia Centre. Her research interests include labor migration between South Asia and Southeast Asia, and how gender, climate change, race, financial investments and policy impact this. She holds a LLM in International law and LLB from SOAS, University of London. She has previously worked as a paralegal on criminal, civil, employment and family matters in Singapore. She currently serves as the Co-Lead of the Global Research Network's 'Gender and Migration Research Group' at the Global Research Institute’s War, Conflict and Global Migration Think Tank. Shaddin Almasri (Panelist) is a PhD candidate based in Krems, Austria. Her research interests are in aid policy, development, and refugee labor integration with a regional focus on the Middle East. Previously, she held research and advocacy roles at Oxfam in Jordan and at the WANA Institute, a local Jordanian think tank. She holds an MSc Migration, Mobility and Development from SOAS, University of London and a BA Economics from the American University of Sharjah. She has held a variety of roles in short term research projects spanning topics such as climate migration, refugee discrimination, stratification in labor migration policy and refugee access to self-reliance mechanisms. She is currently a PhD Migration Studies candidate at Danube University 8 Krems, where she is researching nationality-based discrimination in refugee aid and inclusion policies across Jordan, Turkey and Ethiopia. Dr. Divya Balan (Panelist) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Studies at Flame University, Pune, India. She teaches courses on International Migration, Diaspora, and Refugee Studies. Divya has served as a visiting fellow of the Institute for European Global Studies at the University of Basel, Switzerland in 2018. Recipient of several scholarships and research grants, she has published monographs, research papers in edited books and journals and thought pieces in international and Indian newspapers and magazines. Divya is an active public speaker on themes related to migration and governance. 9 Power, Protection and Policy: The Condition of Domestic Workers in the Arab States during COVID-191 Presented by Shaddin Almasri November 5, 2021 I. Migration, Labor and Social Protection Structures An estimated 75% of care work globally is carried out by women.2 This is now an essential contributor to global migration as made evident by its role in the feminization of migration. Arab states have a large stake in this too: 19% of domestic workers globally reside in Arab states. 3 However, this does not come without underlying issues. By and largely due to the individualized structure of Kafala employment systems in the Arab states (particularly GCC, Lebanon and Jordan), social protection is largely left up to the benevolence of the employer. This includes a variety of protections including healthcare, access to legal information and support. Even beyond the individualized nature of protection, very little protection for migrant workers is actually enshrined in labor codes. For instance, Jordan and KSA have separate instructions governing domestic work as this category of work is actively excluded from the general labor law. One may argue that the structure of the work relies on this exploitation: in Lebanon domestic work recruitment agencies protested and blocked inclusion into labor code as recently as November 2020, nearly one year into the pandemic. II. COVID, migration and social protection in the Arab states Systematically, there have been consistent civil society and research reports on the conditions faced by domestic workers globally and especially in the Kafala-system states. As stated prior, this system largely rests on the systematic exclusion of non-national workers from national labor protections. This especially showed its weaknesses during the COVID-19 pandemic social protection response. According to a report from the International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth, most social protection responses for COVID-19 in the MENA region excluded non- This intervention is derived from chapter contribution to an IOM project titled: “COVID-19 Impacts on Migration and Migrants from a Gender Perspective”. 2 Diva Dhar (2020), Women's unpaid care work has been unmeasured and undervalued for too long, Retrieved at: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/womens-unpaid-care-work-has-been-unmeasured-and-undervalued-for-toolong#:~:text=Women%20perform%2075%20per%20cent,with%20just%2041%20million%20men. 3 ILO (2017), Domestic Workers and Employers in the Arab States, Retrieved at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---arabstates/---ro-beirut/documents/publication/wcms_619661.pdf 1 10 nationals as they were largely expansions upon pre-existing social protection systems.4 Only 25 out of 162 mapped C-19 social protection responses explicitly included (some) non-nationals.5 Reported social protection shortcomings during the lockdowns included worker dismissals, increased workloads, and wage theft. Two examples of mass worker dismissals that took place included an instance in KSA where nine African domestic workers dismissed and ‘returned’ to employment agency, then locked in their employment’s office basement with accusations of only one meal per day and forbidden access to healthcare.6 This was particularly precarious as one worker was pregnant. Another instance in Qatar took place where employers rounded up migrant workers and expelled them under the guise of taking them out for COVID-19 testing.7 And while one may argue that workers should have left these situations, it is important to consider that these opportunities were a lifeline for many, Furthermore, many could not leave due to the fear of being unable to return. This proved true in one case, where KSA initially forbade entry with the Sinopharm vaccine, which was the most commonly used in Asian countries. III. Shifts in protections still lacking Generally, special measures under COVID-19 largely excluded domestic workers and migrant workers in general. This means no access to cash assistance or to unemployment benefits. And while there have been attempts to correct these social protection misalignments for migrant workers over the past several years, they still largely fail to correct the issues involving migrant work. For instance, starting in 2009, GCC states, one after the other, began to implement wage protection systems (WPS), where payment to workers was to be regularized and tracked. However, this left domestic workers behind, as they are often locally paid in cash, or by holding payments with their employers. The only formal transfers are those conducted through remittances, which are not directed towards the workers themselves. Unified contracts for domestic workers have also been introduced across the Arab states, however these focus more on governing the work relationship and day-to-day between employers and employees. They do not include clear or enforceable mechanisms to protect workers if the already-weak standards of the contract are not observed. More recently, there have been reports about lifting Kafala systems in the Gulf, particularly in KSA and Qatar. In KSA however, the new liberalized system does not apply to domestic workers. In 4 IPCIG (2021), Next Practices—Innovations in the COVID-19 social protection responses and beyond, Retrieved at: https://ipcig.org/publication/30869?language_content_entity=en 5 Importantly, 11 out of 25 of these were in Jordan, but these mostly specified Gazan refugees and children of Jordanian mothers. These interventions were not explicitly targeted to migrant workers that are on a more ‘temporary’ status with less residency rights. More at this panel: https://erf.org.eg/events/covid-19s-socioeconomic-impact-on-migrants-and-displaced-populations/?tab=3&c=undefined 6 Ben Hubbard and Louise Donovan (2020), Laid Off and Locked Up: Virus Traps Domestic Workers in Arab States, Retrieved at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/world/middleeast/coronavirus-saudi-domestic-workers-maidsarab.html 7 Amnesty International (2020), Why do you want to rest? Ongoing abuse of domestic workers in Qatar, Retrieved at: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1329996/download 11 Qatar, it does, however they have not decriminalized ‘absconding’, meaning that domestic workers are still subject to criminal prosecution if they break contract and flee from their employers. Ultimately these do not represent a sustainable shift away from individualized protection approaches and requires a move towards centralized labor governance. 12 Indian Women Migrant Laborers in the Gulf Countries and the Impact of COVID-19 Presented by Divya Balan November 5, 2021 I. Context Among the various migration pathways between South Asia and West Asia, the India-Gulf corridor deserves particular regard. Indian migration to the Gulf was principally for economic reasons. Lured by the narrative of Gulf riches and prosperity of earlier migrants, Indians migrate to the Gulf in search of lucrative jobs to improve their livelihoods. The oil price boom in 1973 marked the beginning of the massive emigration of Indians to the Gulf, corresponding primarily to the tremendous economic prosperity and infrastructural development in the region. The migration of Indian women to the Gulf also gained momentum following the oil boom. The latest estimates show that 8.4 million Indians live and work in the Gulf countries, of which women accounted for around 39%.8 A significant economic contributor to both the regions, the Indian women migrant laborers are a heterogeneous group hailing mainly from the middle and lower-income households and engaging in all categories of work in the Gulf – skilled, semi-skilled and majority in low-wage, low-skilled occupations. Their migration is tied to the much-criticized Kafala system of contractual labor. They endure labor standard violations, abusive work conditions, exploitation, marginalization, discrimination, and other severe hardships at varying levels depending on their labor status. Some among them are more exposed to precarious situations and abuse than others. Many women (married or unmarried) migrated independently for work, others followed their husbands to the Gulf, but they joined the labor force in due course of time. Another category of migrant women stays as homemakers. Most of these women are from the South Indian states of India – from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andra Pradesh and Karnataka. In contrast, the Gulf migration from the North Indian states is predominantly single male migrating to work in the blue-collar sectors of the GCC countries. This is illustrative of the point that a wide range of dynamics is involved in the Gulf migration of women from India. II. The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Indian Women Migrants in the Gulf The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the hardships of the migrant women cutting across all strata of labor. During the initial wave of the pandemic, for those in the skilled professions such as IT or clerical fields, whose economic and occupational statuses are better than the low-skilled 8 John Calabrese (2020), India-Gulf Migration: A Testing Time, Middle East Institute, Retrieved at: https://www.mei.edu/publications/india-gulf-migration-testing-time 13 workers when their job turned “work from home”, they struggled to have a designated workspace at their flats or to maintain a work-life balance. This was the case since their household chores doubled, especially with children at home and a beefed-up need of hygiene standards during the pandemic. Since migrant families are an extension of the Indian patriarchal family system (with adjusted social norms in the non-Indian settings of the Gulf), caregiving is considered the primary responsibility of women. These migrant women found it difficult to maintain work-life balance when their jobs were at stake and so much going on at the family side making, sure nobody fell sick. They also had to constantly be in touch with their elderly parents in India to ensure their health was not compromised in the pandemic. The fear of job loss and the financial concerns heightened among those working in the hospitality and other professional sectors when their employers stopped paying wages regularly, forced them to work extra without overtime remuneration, asked them to take unpaid leave or terminated them from jobs without any notice. In the case of women health care workers from India, their workload increased disproportionately dealing with the current pandemic, anxiety about own safety, stress due to overstretched clinical facilities, extended shifts and exhaustion, the physical exertion of wearing the protective gear, and the concerns about the well-being of the family members back in India have put a severe emotional and psychological toll on them. Considering the women migrants engaged in the low-skilled sectors, one particularly vulnerable group in the ordinary and COVID-19 pandemic situation was Indian migrant domestic workers. Highly dependent on their employers due to the Kafala system and working in the private spaces of employer’s houses, they are more prone to exclusion, discrimination, gender-based physical/emotional harassment and violence, limited or no access to essential services, restricted mobility and access to information and excessive workload with no options for a weekly off from work due to the pandemic related restrictions and lockdowns. The word ‘stranded’ that is frequently used in the context of lockdown has the real meaning when we look at the plight of these domestic workers. The inability to afford medical costs in the Gulf is a barrier to accessing health care even for professional women migrants. Limited access to safe transportation facilities where the staff had to travel in the same bus without adhering to social distancing protocols (for nurses, cleaning staff in hospitals and companies), many could not even take annual leave due to workload and out of the fear of job loss. Others considered it unwise to return to India at a time when travel options (Vande Bharat repatriation flights by the Indian government) were limited and expensive, as well as uncertainty around the possibility of re-entering the Gulf countries that are nationalizing its workforce. Financial constraints and the concerns around their pending EMIs and loans, children education, family medical expenses, being dependent on a single person salary if spouses lose jobs and remitting money to family in India were all major concerns for all categories of Indian women migrant workers. 14 In such situations, many migrant families have decided to send women and children back to India to cut the cost of living. Many of those working in the beauty industry also had to return to India due to the closing down of the parlors. Post-Gulf war, the current COVID-19 pandemic engendered the return of Indians from the Gulf under the Vande Bharat Mission in large numbers; about 716,000 as per the Ministry of External Affairs estimates.9 A substantial number of them are women, and they returned hurriedly without procuring salary arrears and end-of-service benefits such as bonus, PF and gratuity. However, they suffered on return to India as the country lacks any concrete policy on rehabilitation and reintegration of its returning citizens. 9 Ministry of External Affairs: Government of India (2021), Indian Workers Returning from Gulf Countries, Retrieved at: https://www.mea.gov.in/rajyasabha.htm?dtl/34119/QUESTION+NO188+INDIAN+WORKERS+RETURNING+FROM+GULF+COUNTRIES 15 Female Migrant Labor in Asia during COVID-19 Presented by U Bava Dharani November 9, 2021 I. Introduction to Migrant Labor in Singapore In Singapore – currently there are about 240,000 female migrant workers, a majority work as domestic help, and the remaining of the about 880,000 migrant workers are male and predominantly work in construction, shipyard or other infrastructure projects.10 Singapore typically accepts female migrant labor from an approved source country or region as laid out by the Ministry of Manpower. The most popular countries are Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Since the pandemic started, many have returned to their home countries and it’s been widely reported that there has been a “shortage” of migrant workers – both female and male. Essentially, migrant workers who work in Singapore will need a work permit visa. This is for a term of two years. Usually, the employer would apply for this on behalf of the worker, in the case of female domestic workers (FDW) – usually a leader of a family would be the one who applies for this. As opposed to, for male migrant workers it would be the company that employs them. Once they are in the country, there are different laws that govern male and female migrant workers. Female workers are required by law to stay in their employer’s house, while male migrant workers live in dormitories (built for them in the peripheries of the country) or private accommodation. Here already we can see the FDW are especially isolated from one another, while male migrant workers are isolated from the community. II. Female Domestic Labor By law, FDWs are required to be screened for pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections every six months, and if the results are positive, they will be repatriated. There is no such requirement for male migrant workers. Although both male and female migrant workers cannot marry local Singaporeans, in which case their work permit will be cancelled. Now what is very interesting is, the FDW sexuality is hyper visible – meaning the law makes sure it must be monitored, however, these laws tend to go on assumptions. Assumptions such as all migrant workers are inherently heterosexual, cis-gendered people. Another example that shows this is the regulations that govern Pink Dot in Singapore (which is like the Singaporean version of pride) – only Permanent residents or Singaporean citizens are allowed to enter this parade every year. Does that not mean anyone who does not have the relevant visa is not allowed to be present at one of the few spaces in the country where gender and sexual diversity is tolerated? News about 10 Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (2018), Thematic Report on Domestic Servitude of Migrant Women and Girls, Retrieved at: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Slavery/SR/DomesticServitude/CSO/Reply%20HOME.pdf 16 the treatment of FDW has had significant political impact on bilateral relations between Southeast Asia countries. Although it must be added that this is usually for a short term. In 1995, a Filipino domestic worker, Flor Contemplacion killed her employer and employer’s child and for this given the death penalty by the Singaporean courts. Upon closer investigation, it was found that Flor had been abused very badly by her employer and family.11 The killing of Flor led to political demonstrations in the Philippines. President Ramos recalled the Filipino ambassador to Singapore, and many bilateral exchanges between the countries were cancelled for the following years. More recently, in 2014, a Burmese FDW broke her legs trying to escape her employer’s home and this caused tension between Myanmar and Singapore. However, these tensions tend to quiet down and bilateral relations presume between countries with no concrete safeguards put in place for FDWs. This is something that happens not just in Singapore, but between other Southeast Asian countries. For example, Dr. Shanthi Thambiah has discussed how Malaysia and Indonesia have had strained relations in the recent past, when news started circulating of an Indonesian domestic helper being badly abused by her Malaysian employers. This sometimes even leads to complete suspension of sending female migrant laborers across the borders. It is interesting to note that these are all countries that are in close proximity to one another, usually sharing borders. I have not seen this happen with regards to the treatment of male migrant workers. I think this shows how gendered bodies are more sensationalized and are more readily claimed by the paternalistic state figure. We have very emotional responses by ministers, and national newspapers – followed by sometimes seizing of sending migrant female labor over for a short term. However, the more fundamental issue which is that there is no clear definition or protection afforded to migrant labor, especially female domestic labor is not addressed. III. The COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted some key issues in how gendered labor is looked at differently. The COVID-19 crisis hit the male migrant population the worst – most of the cases in the country are from male migrant workers, specifically those who were living in dormitories. These dormitories are known to be very tight spaces that are poorly ventilated. About 152,000 male migrant workers had COVID-19 – according to data made available.12 Due to this, dormitories were completely shut down and male migrant workers were not allowed to leave their quarters. However, for female migrant workers – because they are isolated from each other and living with their employers. Even collecting data is challenging. Moreover, with the whole country Working from home – the stress on domestic help has increased significantly. However due to care work or domestic not being recognized as labor, it has been challenging to measure this stress. Terms that are usually covered in labor law – such as being given pay for overtime, how do 11 Capital Punishment UK (n.d.), Flor Contemplacion - A diplomatic incident., Retrieved at: http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/flor.html 12 Andreas Illmer (2020), Covid-19: Singapore migrant workers infections were three times higher, BBC News, Retrieved at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55314862 17 these terms apply to domestic work? Moreover, the Ministry of Manpower advised FDW to stay indoors during their legally prescribed weekly one-day leave during the national lockdowns. There are these rules that the Ministry released that if during this day off, an employer asks the employee to work, they need to be duly compensated. However, in reality how do you implement this or observe this. That is the issue with not just COVID-19 regulations but general regulations that do not consider the power dynamics that exist when a FDW inhabits such an intimate and private space of their employer. How does one document narratives from FDW regarding the pandemic, when it is difficult to even collect data on the number of COVID-19 cases within the community? This only shows how challenging it is to properly gather and mobilize the community. Or even to collect more nuanced narratives of their journeys and experiences. For example, it is very common for FDW to work in the Gulf for a while before coming to Singapore or Malaysia or vice versa. There is almost no official data I have come across that tracks their journeys to these different countries and comparing their experiences. 18 Recommendations for Ensuing Access to Justice for Female Migrant Workers in Asia during COVID-19 Compiled by Jasmin Lilian Diab and U Bava Dharani from panelists' interventions November 12, 2021 I. Overview The webinar shed light upon the intersectional plight of female migrant workers across Asia amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And while the contexts could not be more different the countries discussed, underlying and overarching themes of injustice taint labor laws (or lack thereof) in each of these contexts. The panel highlighted the fact that vulnerabilities have been exacerbated as a result of the international community's struggle to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic with immense implications on human rights and people's overall mental and physical wellbeing – particularly female migrant laborers governed under the Kafala system. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that no matter how developed or developing a country is, that a lack of preparedness, an absence of an intersectional approach as well as a lack of leadership and political will can carry dire gender-centric implications. The following recommendations are derived from each of the panelists’ interventions. These recommendations should be considered as “preliminary reflections” that are still in the pipeline as we move closer to life in the post-COVID-19 era. - Recommendation 1: Inclusion of migrant workers in national labor protection laws Migrant workers are not given equal protection in national labor laws. Moreover, recruitment of migrant workers – especially female migrant workers – is individualized through the Kafala system in the Middle East, and the work permit system in Singapore. This means that access to social protection such as healthcare and grievance mechanisms are entirely controlled by the employer. The state needs to regulate and enforce social protection and labor rights of migrant workers to ensure the fate of migrant workers is not in the hands of employers. As seen during the COVID-19 crisis, this leads to unfair dismissals, wage theft and over-working. - Recommendation 2: Inclusion of domestic labor in foreign labor reforms There have been reforms in foreign labor management laws in different countries; however, these laws are inherently gendered and exclude the domestic work sector which is dominated by female migrant workers. The wage protection scheme (2009) in GCC states aims to ensure regularized and tracked payments to migrant workers; however, it does not include cash payments of salary. Due to domestic work being a highly informal sector, many female migrant workers are paid in cash. The social protection offered for fair and consistent pay does not consider the realities that female migrant workers face. In Singapore, the Workmen Injury Compensation scheme (2019) which aims to compensate 19 foreign workers for injuries sustained during/related to their work does not include domestic work either. This means that the female migrant labor force is not properly recognized by the few national laws that are supposed to protect migrant workers. The lack of recognition from laws makes it more challenging for female migrant workers to collectivize and make demands. - Recommendation 3: Reintegration programs for female migrant workers in their countries of origin need to be strengthened Many migrant workers have decided to return to their home countries due to the precarity of their visas and employment overseas due to the COVID-19 crisis. Countries such as India have launched programs such as Vande Bharat Mission to facilitate the return of an estimated 716,000 Indians from the Gulf. However, these programs do not cover efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate returning migrants properly. This further adds to the stress and precarity – such as, loans, children education and family medical expenses – that migrant workers are subjected to. There needs to be increased dialogue between sending and receiving countries to ensure that female migrant workers have skills and resources to reintegrate into their home communities. 20 21