A new online complaint system comes to the rescue of migrant workers and overseas Pakistanis
ISLAMABAD – A new complaint system has been announced that will facilitate migrant workers and overseas Pakistanis to make the complaints and grievances redressal system more effective.
Even though a significant share of migrant workers are victims of abuse, exploitation and unfair treatment from employers, recruiting agencies and other intermediaries many are discouraged from filing complaints against their employers or are left with unresolved cases and unfavourable outcomes. One common reason is that complaints mechanism are either lacking or very complicated to access.
Recognizing this, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MoOPHRD), has developed an online complaint system allowing migrant workers and overseas Pakistanis to submit legal complaints in cases where they face injustice during recruitment or employment, accompanied by a tracking system that will enable the complainant to track the status of their complaint. The complaint management system was demonstrated by Fayyaz Malik – Chief Policy Planning Unit, MoOPHRD, who ensured that the system will increase the efficiency and transparency of the complaints modality offered by the Government of Pakistan, and will contribute to safeguard the interests of all migrant workers.
The MoOPHRD officially launched the new online complaints system on the 10th February 2016 during a ceremony held at the B-Block, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad. The launch was witnessed by representatives of various government ministries, departments, UN agencies, INGOs and media.
Federal Minister for the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Pir Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi stated in his remarks that “the prime focus of his Ministry is to promote the welfare and protection of migrant workers at all stages of the migration cycle. While the Ministry has had a complaints system for many years, it is recognized that this system – which was paper-based and required the complainants to visit the complaints office in person – was not sufficiently responsive to the needs of migrant workers and overseas Pakistanis.
The new web-based complaints system will make it easier for users to submit their complaints as it can be filed from anywhere in the world as long as he or she has internet access.” he also mentioned that Ministry will form a steering committee consisting of all concerned stakeholders under the chair of the Joint Secretary of Emigration to look after the progress on the implementation of the online complaint system on a regular basis. He also stressed that a comprehensive awareness-raising campaign was needed in order to stimulate the use of the system among the intended beneficiaries’ end users through various means of communication.
Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar, Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis, Federal Ombudsman in his statement said that this was time to establish effective coordination mechanism among all those ministries and departments dealing with overseas Pakistanis grievances and there is also a need to raise awareness among end users.
Bernard Francois, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan emphasized on the need to make migrant workers aware of their rights to protect them from abuses and exploitation they usually face and also to reduce the cost of migration. He said that the EU firmly believes in the rule of law, applied to every dimension of law, and in particular labour law. He appreciated the MoOPHRD efforts to establish the online complaint system and hoped that with the new system, disputes and abuses will be better managed and hopefully resolved in a timely and friendly manner.
Belinda Chanda, Officer-in-Charge, ILO Pakistan congratulated the MoOPHRD on the launch of the new online complaints mechanism. In her remarks, she said that “The Online Complaint System is targeted at a peculiar category of beneficiaries-migrant workers, who are widely recognised as key contributors to Pakistan’s economy through their remittances estimated in the billions of dollars). The system therefore sets the Pakistani Government and key stakeholders on the course of improving access to justice for migrant workers. Therefore the ILO urges various stakeholders involved in facilitating safe migration, to work closely and coherently (together).”
Khizer Hayat Khan, Secretary, MoOPHRD thanked the ILO and the EU for the support in developing the online complaint system and requested the participants to help disseminate information about the existence of this new system.
The MoOPHRD developed the online complaints mechanism with the support from the ILO-EU funded South Asia Labour Migration Governance (SALM) Project. The project aims to promote the management of labour migration from India, Nepal and Pakistan to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), ensure effective protection of the rights of vulnerable migrant workers, enhance the development impact of labour migration and reduce unregulated migration.
The complaints system can be accessed here.