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On the Canary Islands, the new wave of migrant arrivals is becoming a real challenge for the archipelago's long-standing culture of hospitality. The islands have been hit hard by the economic crisis that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, and is now facing the biggest migrant influx since 2006.

Alicia Surez works at the local television station of the Canary Islands, Radiotelevisin Canaria. The journalist is seen waiting on the quay of the port of Arguineguin to film the departure of a bus transporting several dozen migrants to their accommodation center.

The date is Wednesday, November 25. Since the beginning of the week, more than a thousand migrants from Morocco and West Africa have landed in the archipelago of the Canary Islands, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This brings the number of arrivals in total up to nearly 20,000 since the beginning of the year -- breaking previous records.

That day, however, Alicia Surez and her cameraman are the only journalists we see on site, except for one Spanish photographer representing a news agency. The atmosphere is strangely quiet, considering that thousands of migrants have passed through this quay in previous weeks and months. Many even camped out on the quay for weeks, as the government scrambled together a response.

Read more: Record number of 2,200 migrants arrive on Canary Islands on one weekend

"At the beginning of the crisis, many people arrived here without identification papers. But now, some come with papers because they know that this will eventually allow them to continue on their way," she told InfoMigrants, highlighting the face that the Canary Islands are regarded as a transfer point by most migrants, who actually want to reach continental Europe.

According to Alicia Surez, hostility towards migrants is increasing, while at the same time, the coronavirus pandemic continues to deprive the Canary Islands of tourists -- the main source of income for two million people who live across the archipelago of seven islands.

"Many people here don't have jobs. And some believe that the migrants will deprive them of government benefits, which is why racism is on the rise. There are a lot of videos being shared on social media that claim that migrants arrive here with the coronavirus, stay in hotels, and enjoy the swimming pools. But this is not true at all. All migrants are tested, and the pools are off limits to them."

Suarez adds that "we have forgotten that we ourselves are a people of emigration," referring to the history of the Canary Islands as the starting point for the search of the American continent.

Read more: Spain's Canary Islands still a magnet for migrants

There are about 15 hotels on Gran Canaria that presently accommodate migrants. They are paid 45 euros per migrant per night, according to Tom Smulders, head of the Canary Islands Hotel Federation. Some people are against this practice, he says, even though the population needs the money in the absence of tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alicia Surez says that attitudes differ between the north and the south of the island, where the majority of hotels are located. At the capital, Las Palmas, in the north of the island, the presence of migrants is less visible. "Last week, buses left for Las Palmas with migrants. Residents arrived with water, food and clothes to welcome them. The feeling there is different, as its a big city of 400,000 inhabitants."

Read more: Second camp set up on Canary Islands to ease first reception pressure

In Las Palmas, we meet Jos Segura Clavell, who worked as a lawmaker for the PSOE Party in neighboring Santa Cruz de Tenerife for almost 20 years. Today, he heads the Casa Africa, an organization designed to promote intercultural dialogue between Africa and the Canary Islands.

In 2006, during the previous wave of mass migrant arrivals, he was entrusted by the Spanish central government to manage the crisis that has since become known as "des cayucos", named after the boats in which more than 30,000 people landed on the islands 14 years ago.

According to Jos Segura Clavell, in 2006 "Spain was very actively involved in its decision-making, especially in terms of striking bilateral agreements with several African countries. The army responded from one day to the next. Within a week, a large camp was opened here in Las Palmas designed to house around 2,500 to 3,000 migrants. The judges were also very quick to react: In most cases, they were able to issue a repatriation document within 72 hours," he told InfoMigrants.

This time around, however, the coronavirus pandemic has prevented deportation, as the central government in Madrid continues to refuse the dispatch of special flights to take undocumented migrants to the Iberian Peninsula -- as was the case in 2006.

Read more: Babacar's story: 'I arrived in Spain, but I have not yet reached my destination'

For Jos Segura Clavell, the root causes of migration have not changed since 2006. The thing that the two crises have in common are "hunger, despair, violence, and the search for a better life," he said.

Bu the level of empathy among Canary Islanders may not be the same today as it was then, he explains. Many feel overwhelmed by COVID-19 and in particular the economic hardship caused by the pandemic. Others seem to agree and theyre not always Spanish:

Nourdine has been living in Las Palmas for 20 years, where he has been working for a shipping company that transports products between Africa and the Canary Islands. Originally hailing from Mauritania, he looks at the current development from a different perspective: "What worries me the most is that this latest wave is happening at a bad time," he told InfoMigrants.

"Everyone is suffering because of the situation with COVID-19. We suffer here, we suffer in Africa. There is this mental image there that here, life is paradise. But it is not paradise. It's a nightmare for everyone."

Read more: Back to Mauritania: Frontex repatriates migrants arriving on Canary Islands

Nourdine is 38 years old. He lived through the crisis of 2006, and stresses that "the two situations are not the same. In 2006, the economic situation was not the same. We were not stuck in a moment of distress and high alert. I think that plays a certain role. People simply were happier. They weren't locked up at home all the time. Their minds were a bit clearer," he said.

"We all want to be treated as human. But what do we do if we can't afford it?"

Nourdine originally came from Nouadhibou, the economic lung of Mauritania. In the years since his migration to the islands, he was legally able to study there -- something that was perhaps out of reach for him back home.

"We can't just keep signing agreements between two countries to send migrants back and forth. That's basically a game of ping-pong."

The record year of 2006 also saw the creation of the Federation of African Associations of the Canary Islands (FAAC), which brings together some fifteen associations from Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and the Gambia. Its president, Mame Cheikh, tells InfoMigrants that they "try to ascertain the needs of migrants, to facilitate the administrative work they face, and to help them according to their needs."

"When they arrive, we have to help them with their overall sense of orientation. Some people don't even know that theyre on an island. They think they can just take a bus to go to Madrid".

The Senegalese man says that his association has been distributing meals since the beginning of the pandemic, as many African families living in the Canary Islands have lost their jobs -- especially since many work in the informal sector.

He has also noted a rise in racism and xenophobia: "We are not in a normal situation. There is a sense of frustration that we have to live through each day. So, we do feel guilty about migration," he explains.

"But everyone talks about immigration and the arrival of young Africans. We only see the arrivals, but not the deaths at seas. Those who lose their lives cannot speak. There are families who don't know where their children are. If you went to Senegal right now, youd see that everyone there will know someone from near or far who died in this crossing."

Maurice Dupont arrives at the FAAC premises just as Mame Cheikh wraps up his observations. Dupont works as a physiotherapist in a hospital in Las Palmas and is here to offer his help. He has been living in Gran Canaria for 35 years, and in the last decade, has been assisting French-speaking migrants admitted to hospital. In particular, he offers his help in translating between French-speaking migrants and Spanish doctors. He says he wants to help wherever he can.

"When they arrive, I also ask them if their families are aware that they are alive. And if not, I help them contact them. Before, no one had a telephone. But now, with WhatsApp, it's much easier," he told InfoMigrants.

Maurice Dupont is also involved in helping FAAC with distributing clothes and garments to migrant, which -- due to the ongoing coronavirus situation -- has been a rather difficult undertaking in recent months, he explains.

We return to the small town of Arguineguin, where a mass is due to take place, highlighting the plight of migrants. Father Adrian from Germany is there to officiate the service.

About a hundred worshipers are seated on the benches listening to the priest, while an overhead projector shows images of migrants and rescue operations at sea. Father Adrian brings a Moroccan immigrant to the mass to share his story with the public.

The young man's name is Rachid. He is 20 years old, and came to the island from Agadir three years ago -- by boat. By now. Rachid speaks fluent Spanish, and is currently training in the hotel and restaurant business.

With a protective mask on his face, he begins to speak, but the poor quality of the sound system makes it difficult to understand what he tries to say. But that doesn't matter, according to Father Adrian; the important thing is to "show a face."

Juan, a resident of Arguineguin, says he admires the young man's courage: "He told us how his life was in Morocco. It was a very hard life. His family apparently sent him to Europe thinking it was the best thing they could do. But the reality of it turned out not to be so simple."

Juan doesnt ordinarily go to church; he says he is only a Catholic on paper. "But it breaks my heart to see on television what is happening in Arguineguin, Italy, and all over Europe. People here are divided, some are against migrants and others want to help.

"Meanwhile, the same thing keeps repeating itself over and over again. We cannot keep our eyes closed."

Read the original post:
Migration on the Canary Islands: A convenient scapegoat for social problems (Part I) - InfoMigrants

New York

As so-called essential workers fight for their rights on the job, they continue to be the most reliable fighters for COVID safety, PPE and a rational response to the pandemic.

New York laundry workers and supporters rally on Nov. 25. (WW Photo: Toni Arenstein)

From healthcare workers in California and Washington State, to nursing home workers in Illinois, to school bus drivers in Ohio, workers are striking, fighting back and organizing while COVID numbers increase exponentially and the White House ignores the crisis.

In New York, the front lines of this fight include the ranks of laundromat workers, 95 percent of whom are women and migrants. Their fierce struggle against workplace racism and exploitation now includes demands for PPE and proper ventilation.

On Nov. 25, the International Day of the Prevention of Violence Against Women, six migrant workers organized by the Laundry Workers Center launched a union drive at the Manhattan laundromat Wash Supply.

Dozens of supporters came out to support the launch of this campaign, including Workers Assembly Against Racism, Street Vendors Project, Food Chain Workers Alliance, City University of New York (CUNY) Internationalist Club and local clergy.

The Workers Assembly Against Racism (WAAR) had pledged at their most recent meeting to support this campaign. Held on Nov. 21, the assembly included reports from workers active in the New York teachers struggle; an activist involved in a strike authorization vote by CUNY teachers; an official with the Transport Workers Union; and a report on the upcoming Nov. 25 action by the Laundry Workers Center.

WAAR was formed in October, in the wake of a righteous call by trade unionists to conduct strikes and work stoppages against racism, with the purpose of expanding that call from the ranks of organized labor about 10 percent of the workforce to the rest of the workforce. Many unorganized workers take part in Black Lives Matter protests. WAAR activists have asked: Why not unite the anti-racist movement with the workers movement?

This focus includes supporting cutting-edge workers struggles. So on Nov. 25, WAAR sent ten of its members, many of whom have participated in the Black Lives Matter protests, to support the launch of the organizing campaign at Wash Supply, a campaign for workers rights as well as a fight against racism and sexism.

The laundromat is located on the upper west side one of the most expensive places to live in New York City, the center of world capitalism.

That wealth does not translate into decent wages for laundry workers. In fact, the workers at Wash Supply, all women, face intensified exploitation. They are paid below minimum wage. They work 60 hours a week with no overtime pay, no paid sick days, and no COVID safety precautions. They work under atrocious health and safety conditions in a tiny basement with no ventilation, no heat in the winter, no emergency exits and no PPE. The workers have even been forced to buy their own toilet paper just to use their workplace bathrooms.

Even taking an hour to eat lunch is a struggle, which is why the workers used their first full lunch hour on Nov. 25 to deliver to their bosses demands for a union, better conditions and better pay.

After a raucous protest that met in a nearby playground and then marched to the front of Wash Supply, the workers, all wearing the same color T-shirts and aprons stencilled with the words WE ARE THE UNION, went into the workplace to deliver their demands to the employers. They were joined by supporters from the rally, who jammed into the tiny basement behind the workers, overflowing onto the small stairway leading down to it.

One by one, the workers approached and confronted their boss to tell them they wouldnt accept humiliation, abuse or exposure to COVID any more. One worker said to her boss, When Im having lunch you come to us and tell us to stop and get back to work. Were sick and tired of this and we dont want to take it any more! The supporters standing behind her and her coworkers cheered.

The turnout made it clear to the bosses that these six workers had community support. The need for this was obvious. The manager held her cell phone up while being confronted by the workers, making it clear she was videoing them. One of the main rally slogans, The community is watching on signs and chanted by the protesters let the bosses know that any retaliation for the workers demanding their rights would be met with swift fightback.

A rally announcement by Laundry Workers Center leaders served to back up that promise. Rosanna Rodriguez announced to the crowd that one of the LWCs other campaigns the Justice for Beatriz Campaign, at the New Giant Launder Center in Queens resulted in victory, with the worker involved recovering stolen wages and returning to her job with better working conditions.

See the original post:
Migrant workers tell bosses: Were fed up with racism, COVID and exploitation! - Workers World

Any Venezuelan nationals found entering the country illegally will be deported.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley made the declaration during an interview on CNC3s The Morning Brew on Tuesday.

Further, those registered under the migrant registration process last year, if found to be assisting other Venezuelan nationals to enter Trinidad and Tobago illegally, will be deregistered and deported.

The Prime Minister noted that even as migrants continue to come to the country illegally, Government will not be holding another registration exercise.

He reiterated the governments stance on the matter.

"We have not taken a decision to register more Venezuelans. What we have also done, and the policy still stands at the time of registration if you were not among those who were registered who were here, who have come in over a period of time, if you were not among them and you turn up in Trinidad and Tobago, we will exercise our right to deport you. But, of course, it is on a case by case basis."

Rowley said Government took a humanitarian approach in having a registration exercise to allow Venezuelan nationals to live and work in T&T for a period of a year but the handling of the situation cant be based on an emotional response.

He said the country is doing what it can as it continues to treat with the migrant crisis.

Go here to see the original:
PM to illegal migrants: 'We will deport you' - Loop News Trinidad and Tobago

Note: This is the second in a two-part series on the need for a country-level employment policy. Read the first part here.

Pressures on politicians around the problem of jobs are rising. These pressures are visible in employment playing an increasingly pivotal role in state elections. This is not surprising given that youth unemployment (15-29 year olds) had tripled between 2012 and 2018 from 6% to 18%, and graduate unemployment from 19% to 36%.

As larger numbers of youth enter the labour force, and find themselves increasingly jobless, they are finally making themselves heard though only just.

These pressures have, however, not transcended into policy making. Lawmakers dont transmit the political pressures they face from the electorate to policymakers to address unemployment. Policy makers the administrative arm, policy advisers, academics, multinational and local public policy consultants almost seem derisive of any proposal that assures even obliquely, good quality employment to the electorate. So, governments avoid hiring directly on their rolls.

Companies avoid increasing headcount just like the government. Labour-intensive work is outsourced by the private sector and by the government. As a result, jobs that provide some social security, which are essential in government or large companies, are eschewed across the board. Contractual jobs that mostly rob labour of its early opportunities to build up savings in pensions or provident funds are encouraged at all levels. India is the only G20 country with 91% of those who have work (or workforce) dont have any social security.

The current governments response to the demand for jobs has been two-fold. First, it denied the existence of the problem. It actively rubbished all available evidence including its own data that there was a jobs crisis.

Also read: What Should Be an Acceptable Employment Rate for India?

Secondly, Prime Minister Modi and his cabinet colleagues shifted the narrative by saying that we should create job providers and not job seekers. The best interpretation of this is that we need more enterprises who can hire people. But who or what would make those enterprises? The proposed Mudra loans could not and did not create adequate entrepreneurs who could hire others in large numbers. And so the jobs problem remained unresolved.

Despite governments measures (e.g. MUDRA) to promote self-employment, the number of youth engaged as self-employed declined from 81 to 63 million during 2005-12 and further to 49 million during 2012-18. This is despite 95% of MUDRA loans were in the smallest Shishu category.

Simultaneously, an increasing number of lawmakers have been making announcements recently that they cannot provide jobs. This raises an important question if the government cannot create jobs then how can young graduates do that?

The smart twist in the narrative just shifted the goal post to an impossible position. Young graduates were confused if not disillusioned by the new narrative. It did not solve their problem but created a new one how does one become an entrepreneur and provide jobs to others?

If Indian policy makers continue on this path of evasion and avoidance of the problem of employment and if it continues to ignore the rising political pressures faced by politicians, we should expect Indias employment rate to continue to fall.

The fallout of this will be a more intensive rise in political pressures on politicians to provide government jobs or to increase reservations for select groups. Interestingly, these pressures have not become too nasty. India has not witnessed any overt social unrest around jobs. This can possibly be explained by the management of this pressure through transfers of some kind. Several schemes of central and state governments in recent times have increased government transfers to households.

Also read: Jobs Crisis Brought on By COVID-19 Requires a Healthy Dose of Tripartism

When jobs cannot be provided, lawmakers either promise or actually make direct income transfers. If India continues to fail to provide jobs, the pressures to provide direct transfers will rise. But, if the government continues to succumb to income transfers, it could fuel a further fall in Indias woefully low labour participation rate (LFPR, if the cash transfer is significant relative to household income. This would have been case with the Congress manifestos NYAY plan of 2019, which planned to give Rs 6000 per month to 20% of Indias poorest households.

While the worlds LFPR (or the share of working age population looking for work) is about 65%, in India that rate was 43% in 2004-5, 38.6% in 2011-12, and 36.9% in 2017-18, according to the National Sample Survey. This is driven by womens falling LFPR. The path that Indian law makers and policy makers seem to be taking in doggedly avoiding the path of increasing good jobs is dangerous.

It is imperative that politicians and policy makers acknowledge the rising political tide of demand for jobs. This tide is for real.

India does not have to wait till this tide translates into social unrest. It is therefore important for lawmakers to increase the pressure they apply on policy makers to find solutions to the problem of jobs.

We have seen the political masters in UPA apply pressure on the government to bring in legislation in the form of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act which has been a saviour in the recent pandemic induced lockdown and the migrant crisis. Similar pressure is necessary at all levels of government from the Central government to gram panchayats to ensure that India reverts to its growth path with equity, where the employment rate plays an important role in the expected deliverables.

Here is a point worth considering. Every investment proposal has (or should have) an employment impact associated with it. Make this employment creation as a mandatory requirement. If a project fails to deliver the promised employment then the project should be classified as a non-performing asset.

Santosh Mehrotra is editor, Reviving Jobs:An Agenda for Growth (Penguin, 2020). Mahesh Vyas is CMD, Centre for Monitoring of the Indian Economy.

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How Can Employment Be Put at the Centre of the Indian Policymakers Agenda? - The Wire

The Modi government has proposed thatemployers will have to pay for migrant workers trip to home, which can be a train (not below Second Class Sleeper), bus or other modes of transport, once a year.

As per the new draft of labour lawspublished by the Union Labour Ministry, the employers can pay a lump sum amount every year to inter-state migrant workers to travel back home. To avail should have worked for that particular establishment for at least six months in the preceding year.

Along with this, the draft also states that the ministry will establish a toll-free helpline number.

With respect to contract labourers, the draft proposesthat a contractor shall fix the wage periods which will not exceed one month. Contractors are bound to pay wages before the end of the seventh day after the day of the wage period. It has to be paid through bank transfer or electronic mode only.

The draft also mandates that companies will have to conduct annual free health check-ups for every worker above the age of 45 years. It also states that a single electronic registration for licensing will be set up by the company.

The barrage of changes was made in light of the migrant crisis which saw lakhs of labourers struggling to get back to their home states during the nationwide coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The government faced criticism from all fronts after it was not able to provide data on how many migrants died or lost their source of income during the exodus where workers were forced to leave factories, business on foot in the absence of food, shelter and income.

The draft rules come under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Act, 2020, which deals with the safety, health and working conditions of construction workers, miners, inter-states migrant workers, audio-visual workers, journalists, salespersons, contract labourers and workers at the dock.

The ministry has sought objections and suggestions from the public on the draft proposals within 45 days.

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Employers may soon have to pay for migrant worker's trip back home once a year - Deccan Herald