Forced
to work
Sri Lankan migrant women continue to work without a
break even in ill health:
New research reveals the huge physical and mental health toll
suffered by migrant women from poorer Asian countries like Sri Lanka who
go to the Gulf countries to work as cleaners and maids. Those
interviewed said their employers had denied them proper food and rest
breaks and they were forced to continue working when they were ill. One
woman told researchers how her painful burns were ignored and she was
given inadequate clothing for extreme cold weather. Another said that
when she was hit by a car, they applied cream to her injuries rather
than provide proper treatment. The women interviewed by researchers most
often reported injuries from heavy lifting and carrying, as well as
respiratory difficulties and eye damage from the use of chemical
cleaning agents.
Sixty domestic workers from Sri Lanka were interviewed before or
after they had worked abroad with nearly all of them going to Gulf
countries. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are the two largest receiving
countries for female domestic help from Sri Lanka. Nearly two thirds (65
per cent) of the 40 returning women said they were not permitted to have
time off when they were sick. Many also reported symptoms of mental
illness, such as depression and insomnia, with the study suggesting this
could be due to their living conditions abroad and the fact they missed
their families. The research concludes that the women knowingly
sacrifice their own health in order to send money to their families back
home.
The research is led by the University of Oxford, with the London
School of Economics and Political Science and the Centre for Women's
Research, Colombo. The researchers carried out in-depth interviews with
the migrant women, as well as representatives form trade unions,
national and local government representatives, recruitment agencies,
medical testing centres, and labour migration and health experts from
the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon.
The study suggests that the compulsory foreign employment welfare
insurance scheme run by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment falls
far short of what is required. Medical expenses were only available
after repatriation, as a result of illness or accident, pregnancy due to
rape (but not for those escaping from abusive situations in employer
households), and compensation for disability arising from accident or
injury at work.
The women had no choice but to put up with employer violations of
many of the health-related provisions in the standard employment
contract, such as adequate food and rest breaks, limitations on working
hours, and humane treatment generally, says the study. The researchers
argue that the Sri Lankan government needs to adopt a stronger approach
like that of the Philippines, which has employment contracts offering
more protections for its workers operating in some Gulf countries The
study says while the Sri Lankan government has tried to develop labour
migration and health migration policies, the sponsorship system in Gulf
countries that ties migrant workers to individual employers and the lack
of power that labour sending countries have with rich Gulf countries
means that in reality laws designed to protect the workers' health
rights are commonly flouted.
One worker who was interviewed by researchers said: 'When I came I
was like a skeleton, my son and husband could not make me out. Now I do
not feel weak at all.'
Another
complained after being hit by a vehicle, 'They didn't get treatment for
my injured shoulder that was swollen when the vehicle hit me. It was so
serious I could not even breathe. They fomented with hot water and
applied a cream. Not that much of care'
Another said: 'Some have gotten ill, some have become pregnant. They
cannot come back to Sri Lanka. They cannot stay in that country either.
Their situation is pathetic. The state should find out the condition of
these women. It is essential that such women are helped.'
Dr Hiranthi Jayaweera, Research Associate in the School of
Anthropology and former senior researcher with COMPAS* at the University
of Oxford, said: 'This study has focused on Sri Lanka, but there are
many other female migrant workers working as cleaners or as other
domestic helpers in the Gulf countries who are probably suffering the
same fate. Asia to the Gulf region is one of the world's largest
migration corridors. The health and labour rights of women migrating for
work abroad is largely ignored by many of their host countries resulting
in modern day contract slavery in many cases.
'Sri Lankan embassy staff, as well as those involved in the
recruitment, training, medical testing, and setting up of employment
contracts and insurance schemes with these workers need to be put in
place better protections. They need to make the migrant workers more
aware of their health entitlements according to the policies and health
systems in the different receiving countries. The health and basic human
rights of these women have to be given much higher priority.'
University of Oxford News Office |