Migrant workers face heightened risks from climate-related health hazards
Reports reveal the extent of migrant worker vulnerability to climate-related health risks, UN experts urge Malaysia to protect Bangladeshi workers, and trafficking victims are subject to systematic violations by authorities in north-east Syria.
More than 70 per cent of the global workforce is likely to be exposed to health hazards related to the climate crisis, with migrant workers at particular risk, according to a report published yesterday by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Existing occupational safety and health (OSH) protections are struggling to keep up, and workers in the informal economy, who may lack protections altogether and cannot afford to stop working, face the most peril, the authors say.
The ILO estimates that more than 2.4 billion workers are likely to be exposed to excessive heat at some point during their working life; currently 19,000 lives and two million disability-adjusted life years are lost annually due to UV exposure. Furthermore, work-based hazards linked to climate change, including air pollution, pesticide poisoning, and parasitic and vector-borne diseases, result in a range of dangerous health conditions in workers, with hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.
The report, published on Earth Day, highlights that migrant workers are frequently employed in high-risk physically demanding occupations such as agricultural and other outdoor work, and may face challenges in understanding OSH procedures and training materials due to language barriers, underscoring the importance of considering their particular vulnerabilities and needs in the context of climate change and workplace safety and health initiatives.
A study published last year by Equidem found that workers at the heart of the United Arab Emirates’ renewable and gig sectors had left homes in Africa and Asia because of the climate crisis, only to be subjected to labour abuse including occupational health and safety risks. It emphasized the gap between the need for effective mitigation and adaptation measures to protect workers from climate change hazards and the current response in terms of global OSH protections which, it said, have failed to keep pace with evolving risks.
Meanwhile, a newspaper investigation has revealed that thousands of deaths of Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia are attributed to “natural causes” or ascribed terms such as “cardiac arrest” or “respiratory arrest”, suggesting that no attempt has been made to investigate the underlying causes. Instead, human rights groups say that other factors such as harsh working and living conditions, including climate-related hazards, could be contributing to the mortality rate.
According to community-based migrant organization Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), the Bangladeshi population is affected twice over by the climate crisis because its land is geographically susceptible to climate-related disaster – 59 per cent of households in a region studied by the group have at least one member who resorted to migration to find work for their survival in the context of climate change, despite the risk of human rights abuses abroad. OKUP notes that the nexus between climate change and migration opens up an opportunity for advocacy for migrant worker protections.
Some countries have taken action by enacting legislation that calls for surveillance of workers regularly exposed to heat, excess sunlight, air pollution and other health hazards while, in other cases, collective bargaining agreements have helped mitigate the risks, says ILO. However, as climate change hazards evolve and intensify, it will be necessary to re-evaluate existing legislation or create new regulations and guidance. OSH considerations should be mainstreamed into climate-related policies, and climate concerns should be integrated into OSH practice.
Moreover, the current lack of monitoring and evaluation of policies and strategies may make it difficult for policymakers to determine the best course of action. Research is needed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of preventive OSH measures in different countries and sectors, including among vulnerable communities, and to estimate the economic costs and benefits of such policies and interventions.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
UN experts have expressed dismay over the situation of Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia who traveled there after engaging in the official labour migration process, saying the country should take urgent measures to protect them from exploitation, criminalization and other human rights abuses. Many migrants find that they do not have employment as promised and are often forced into overstaying their visas, thereby risking arrest, detention, ill-treatment and deportation.
People detained following the territorial defeat of the Islamic State (IS) armed group are facing systematic violations and dying in large numbers due to inhumane conditions in north-east Syria, Amnesty International has said in a new report. Tens of thousands of people, including many trafficked and exploited IS victims, remain arbitrarily and indefinitely detained, thousands more have been forcibly disappeared, and women have been unlawfully separated from their children.
Fierce fighting has been ongoing in Myawaddy, Myanmar, between resistance fighters and junta regime troops in recent days, forcing thousands of civilians to flee, many of whom have crossed the Thai border to seek refuge in Mae Sot. A major hub for online crime, people working inside compounds have been posting images and video of conflict from their windows, according to Cyber Scam Monitor.
Meanwhile, China’s foreign minister has expressed willingness to work with Cambodia to strengthen coordination and cooperation strategies, including the joint combating of illegal activities such as online gambling, telecommunications fraud, and human trafficking, and to eradicate criminal gangs.
Hundreds of UK civil society organizations have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, expressing outrage at the passage into law of his flagship Rwanda bill after months of parliamentary wrangling. The bill designates Rwanda a safe country to which to deport asylum-seekers, but the plan is fiercely criticized by rights groups, who say the law would enable the Government to forcibly expel survivors of trafficking and modern slavery despite the risk of further human rights abuses.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against Shanghai Select Safety Products Company and two of its subsidiaries, based on information that reasonably indicates the use of convict labour in the production of its work gloves. The merchandise will now be detained at ports of entry.
More than half of OSCE’s International Survivors of Trafficking Advisory Council (ISTAC) members have resigned their positions, with one former member saying their voices had been derided or sidelined. “As survivor leaders, we have a duty to advocate for the rights of survivors worldwide, not just our own. This [resignation] document exemplifies the ongoing struggle each survivor leader faces in demanding equal treatment as professionals and experts,” she said.
Justice and Care will launch its latest major report, Facilitation of Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children in the Philippines, via a webinar on 25 April, 15:00-16:00 BST. They will share key findings, and an expert panel will discuss their insights into the prevailing issues, with the full report released in the days following.
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is seeking applicants for various funding opportunities, for programs that enhance services for victims of human trafficking. OVC will host a pre-application webinar providing high-level information about solicitation requirements on 7 May, 15:00-16:00 ET.
We are currently looking to organize human rights defender safety training for some of our civil society partners. If you know of any resources or have contacts that could help with that, please let us know.
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