Problems of the Migrant Workers: A Case Study of Kathmandu District.

Abstract

The United Nations Multilingual Demographic Dictionary defined migration as follows: “Migration is a form of geographical mobility or spatial mobility between one geographical unit and another, generally involving a change in residence from the place of origin or place of departure to the place of destination or place of arrival”.

Migration involves three types of change- change in the area of out-migration, change in the area of in-migration and change in the migrants themselves. Generally people move from rural to urban areas. The factors influencing the decision to migrate are varied and complex. People adopt migration as a viable economic strategy, mainly because it offers a way out of the existing structural trap and new possibilities to improve their economic conditions.

Nepal is presently experiencing a considerable volume of internal and international migration. The rural economy has failed to absorb a large number of laborers, whereas the urban economy has become a labor demanding area, preferably seeking for cheap labor.

Kathmandu valley have most of the facilities including the higher education, transport, communication, small handicraft industries and hospitals therefore it has become the most favorite destination for migration The capital city has increasingly become the major employment centre, especially for teenagers and youths working in carpet and garment industries, restaurants, hotels, retail shops, trekking centers and bus terminals.

Kathmandu district was selected for the study. The data for this study was collected from 50 respondents in Kathmandu district by purposive sampling method. Workers working in different informal sectors were interviewed for the study. Information was gathered in written form by the researcher. The interviewed respondents were from different 26 districts of the country. The general objective of the study was to find out the problems faced by migrant workers in Kathmandu district and the specific objectives were to find out the socio-economic condition, causes of migration of the workers and to examine various types of risk associated with their work participation.

It was found that migration from rural to urban areas is entirely age selective. The study revealed that male predominates to in-migration in Kathmandu. Household poverty and lack of employment opportunities were found to be the major factors behind rural urban migration.

A majority of migrants reported that agriculture is the main occupation in the origin. About 64 per cent of migrant’s family can not survive throughout the year with primary occupation. As a result, they have to take loan and have to do labour work as secondary occupation. The migration of respondents is also associated with the size of land holdings. Most of the workers did not know about the type of work they have to perform before leaving their origin. They keep on shifting their job from one place to another. According to the workers, their work duration depends on their relationship with employer and the wage rate they get from the employer. Of the total, 70 per cent of the workers reported that their salary is not enough to feed their family. Except from salary, majority (68 per cent) are not provided any additional incentives such as food, clothes, accommodation, medicine, bonus etc.

Workers are not satisfied with their occupation because of the type of work and low remuneration. They were willing to have a different occupation which could bring a good salary for them. Workers were also found to be interested in taking different skill development training which would be helpful for them in income generating activities. It is difficult for the workers to invest money in training programs due to poor economic background. So, they want help from the government sector or other related organizations on this regard.

Nepal is facing the problem of mass poverty mainly caused by unemployment, underemployment and low wage rate of the employed population. Therefore, economically disadvantaged groups should be approached with income enhancing programs, which would allow them to become less reliable on the urban employment. The Government must give the priority in distribution of land to the landless people and poor empowerment policies have to be launched for their betterment. The basic needs and the facilities like transportation, communication, education, health, and drinking water should be provided to the people at their usual residence to discourage internal migration. Since the primary occupation of the rural people is agriculture, emphasis should be given in this sector by providing vocational training, introducing high yielding varieties of seeds and by providing agricultural inputs like improved seeds, fertilizers, agricultural tools and equipments at low price. To reduce the disguised and seasonal unemployment small scale industries should be developed based on labor intensive technology. When people get all the facilities and opportunities in their local area as in the urban areas then they stop migrating to other areas and this would automatically reduce the problems of migrants, the origin and the destination which is caused by the migration process.