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Fair recruitment and decent work for women migrant workers in South Asia and the Middle East - Global Component - Midterm Evaluation
- eval_number:
- 2681
- eval_url:
- https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/2681
- lessons_learned:
- themes:
- theme:
- Clothing industry
- category:
- Sector
- comments:
- Approximately 4,000 young girls are trained and placed as sewing machine operators by Gram Tarang each year. Post placement support is now extended through a âÂÂbuddyâ programme whereby more enterprising girls represent their roommates to solve problems faced at work or in the hostel. WIF is supporting further post-placement support through the creation of emergency teams that can intervene 24/7 in case of crises and setting up Tarang Vani, an interactive mobile phone service that helps motivate workers to stay.
- challenges:
- Despite the training in soft skills that all trainees receive to help them cope with the urban, industrial context, about 60% drop out of work in the first six months. Nostalgia and the inability to adapt to the pressure of assembly line production, as well as demands by the family for their return are the causes of this. As vocational training providers receive the training fee from the government on condition that the trainees are placed for at least four months, they give priority to keeping good relations with the employers and feel that linking their trainees to large unions may harm placement prospects.
- success:
- The âÂÂbuddyâ programme helps build solidarity among the workers without posing a threat to the employers. But it alone has not been successful in ensuring retention. Given the important role that mobile phones now play for young persons, Gram Tarang plans to use them as a means to communicate success stories of migrant women, provide entertainment through songs and skits that reflect the working lives of those who call in and allow participation of listeners by allowing them to record messages that can then be broadcast. About 2,400 telephone numbers of former trainees have received a message concerning the launch of Tarang Vani on November 2 and skits, songs, beauty tips, etc. have been uploaded in modules for the listener to choose from. In this way, Gram Tarang hopes to create a digital community as an informal worker organization.
- context:
- The government SKILL INDIA programme focuses on the garment sector as a means of increasing womenâÂÂs participation in the workforce. But most young migrant women drop out of the job after six months, thus losing the opportunity to build their own futures and contribute to the wellbeing of their families and communities.
- description:
- Vocational training and placement even in decent working and living conditions is not sufficient to reap the benefits of migration. Post placement support is necessary particularly for young, rural women being trained and placed in an urban, industrial setting. Such support can create an informal network of industrial workers in enterprises where formal unions do not yet exist. Gram Tarang, Odisha, a recognized vocational training provider, provides post placement support to the workers from Odisha that it places in the apparel industry in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It does not promote union membership as this would be unacceptable to the employers it works with. Instead, solidarity among the girls is created through a buddy programme. This is now being augmented by the planned creation of a digital community using mobile phone technology that does not require smart phones.
- administrative_issues:
- WIF is investing 17,300 USD in the server and content creation for Tarang Vani and another 2,300 USD in training 50 emergency leaders who will intervene rapidly in case any of the Gram Tarang ex-trainees requires urgent health care. Post placement support contributes to the twin objectives of the project, namely, empowerment and organization of young migrant women.
- url:
- https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/lessons/232175
- location:
- country:
- Jordan
- region:
- Arab States
- country:
- Lebanon
- region:
- Arab States
- country:
- Nepal
- region:
- Asia and the Pacific
- country:
- Inter-Regional
- region:
- Inter-Regional
- country:
- India
- region:
- Asia and the Pacific
- country:
- Bangladesh
- region:
- Asia and the Pacific
- eval_title:
- Fair recruitment and decent work for women migrant workers in South Asia and the Middle East - Global Component - Midterm Evaluation
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