Navigating risk and exploitation in the Indian urban labour: the experiences of women from Manipur

Abstract

Migration whilst a common feature of the modern world, is particularly marked in the context of developing economies and regions. The movement of people from the Indian state of Manipur to other metropolitan cities in India is one such example, with a significant increase in out-migration in the last decade. However, in India, with its diverse culture, religion, language, race and ethnicity, migrants often struggle to live in cities that are markedly alien to them. This research specifically explores risks, precarity and vulnerability to potential exploitation, and women’s migratory experience is one of the central themes. A qualitative approach was employed to understand the lived experience of migrant women from Manipur who work in the hospitality and service sectors, and also included insights from various professionals who support and respond to trafficking, labour and gender issues. The findings revealed how migrant women navigated the labour market, and their experience indicates some positive, but they also experience a continuum of exploitation. Migrant women labour is both valued in urban labour markets, whilst simultaneously they are exposed to a real risk of exploitation in economic sectors that are marked by high levels of informality. Although migrant women have a range of reasons for seeking to migrate, economic hardship in the family is the main reason that motivates their decision-making. How these women are recruited into jobs in cities far from their home state is one of the risk factors that contribute to their vulnerability to exploitation. In particular, migrant women are easily recruited into hospitality and service jobs, particularly in hotels, restaurants, spas and massage parlours. Once in the sector, they can be exposed to highly exploitative and precarious working conditions. This study provides evidence for advocacy in policy making to work towards an extension of labour standards, where new economic sectors, typically associated with female employment, sit outside the protective umbrella of state regulation, leaving women in sustained positions of precarity, which, in the worst cases can deteriorate into exploitation, including trafficking. Insights from professionals’ perspectives of trafficking and the socio-economic and cultural context of Manipur are presented as a backdrop to understand the broader structural issue and women’s position and to further initiate a preventative strategy.