Position: Consultant – Gender and Labour Rights for Migrant Women in India
Contract Period: July - December 2020
Location: New Delhi (the consultant will work remotely, but may be required to come to the office periodically for meetings)
Consultancy Fees: The consultancy fee will be within the range of Indian Rupees (INR) Rs. 60,000-75,000 per month depending on the level of experience. The fee will be subject to TDS. All programme-related travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with the organisation’s travel policy.
Organisation: Migration & Asylum Project (M.A.P), an initiative of The Ara Trust, is India’s first and only law centre for refugees and the foremost advocate for forced migrants in the region. The organisation recognizes law as a powerful tool for analysis, advocacy, and policy development, and adopts it to pioneer innovative approaches for promoting safe migration in South Asia. In the last 7 years, M.A.P has pioneered several innovative programmes for forced migrants that range from legal empowerment campaigns to financial inclusion. Please visit www.migrationandasylumproject.org for more information.
Project: In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, the lack of employment has forced many migrant workers, reliant wholly on daily wages for sustenance, to undertake arduous and usually very long journeys back to their villages, often on foot (due to the shutdown of public transportation). Thus, the crisis has brought into sharp focus the total absence of a social protection net for India's migrant workforce. While the government has now announced some relief schemes for these migrant workers, the vast majority may find it difficult to overcome the legal and bureaucratic hurdles before they can avail these. In this situation, given the scale of India's informal economy, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has predicted that as a result of the crisis and subsequent lockdown, about 400 million workers will fall deeper into poverty. Even with the slow resumption of economic activities, many may be unable to return to the workforce in the near future. Amongst this group, women and children, who are estimated to comprise as much as 60%, are even more vulnerable. Women usually earn significantly less wages than their male counterparts and are more prone to sexual and other kinds of exploitation at their workplaces. They also have the additional responsibility for the care and safety of their children, who often accompany their mother to her place of work.
To address the deep economic impact of the lockdown and to facilitate migrants to return to the workforce, the government is in the process of introducing some schemes/policies for this group. These include, implementing a food support programme, framing a National Employment Policy, setting up a 'Migrant Workers Welfare Fund', implementing the 'One Nation, One Ration Card' system, and enrolling migrant workers under the Ayushman Bharat schemes. The National Commission of Women, a statutory body of the government, is currently in the process of reviewing these laws and policies to ensure gender parity.
In light of these development, M.A.P believes there is an urgent need to provide timely and verified information about these policies to the community and their stakeholders. The position requires legal research, documentation, and coordination of civil society partners within a broad area of gender, migration and labour laws and rights.
Job summary: The Consultant, to be based in New Delhi, will conduct mapping and desk research; build a legal network, aimed at enabling women migrant workers to access statutory rights related to labour; coordinate with State authorities and civil society stakeholders to obtain and record information; and produce a high-quality evidence-based report. The longer-term objective will be to provide strategic support to design and implement a programme focusing on documentation and legal rights for women migrant workers in New Delhi.
Responsibilities:
- Undertake quantitative and qualitative research on women migrants’ access to documentation, public entitlements and other related issues;
- Map existing laws, rules, and regulations of the Central and Delhi governments for women migrant workers. This will include labour rights related to work conditions and pay, as well as rights related to health, nutrition, and reproductive rights including child care;
- Collate the above research and prepare documentation; prepare related briefs, reports, user-friendly information pamphlets, and presentations as required;
- Develop an advocacy road map for engagement with central/ state government agencies and authorities to secure the rights of and migrant women;
- Build alliances with relevant State authorities and civil society stakeholders working with the population of concern and take their input in collating the report; and
- Conduct a webinar with the necessary stakeholders to launch the project report and share the findings.
Desirable Qualifications:
- Master’s degree relevant to the area of study (e.g. international relations/law, social sciences, development studies etc.);
- A minimum of 3 years’ experience in the field of labour laws, migration and/ or related fields
- Previous experience of gender and/or migrant rights and its documentation, and/or independent research projects;
- Experience of working with civil society organisations and key affected communities in the field;
- Record of published work in books, working papers, journals, or commissioned reports;
- Excellent communication and writing skills in English;
- Ability to work independently under tight deadlines; and
- If situation allows, willingness to travel.
Please note that this position is for Indian Nationals only.
How to apply:
Interested candidates are requested to send a copy of their 1) resume/CV, 2) writing sample (published), and 3) a cover letter with their expected salary to rhuta@aratrust.in
The deadline for the application is 5 pm Indian Standard Time (IST), June 26th 2020. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The successful candidate will be required to join the team from July 2020.