Background
Nepal has a strong history of labour migration to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, India and more recently Malaysia. The majority of migrants are male and work in the construction or service sectors. According to the National Labour Force Survey for 2017/18, Nepal has a total of 762 thousand labour migrant returnees.
How it fits with our research
Initially, Nepal was selected as a case of 'low reintegration governance' for the Reintegrate project. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased needs of return migrants and the government implemented the a Reintegration Directive in 2021. There has been little implementation thus far, but this presents a new form of reintegration governance for investigation. In addition, returnees have been active in Nepal to formulate their own organizations and advocate for returnees’ rights, exemplifying reintegration governance from below.
What’s being researched
We will investigate three communities in Nepal to understand reintegration dynamics and governance.
Who we are working with
In Nepal we are working with Social Science Baha and their Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM). CESLAM is a research centre established in January 2011 under the aegis of Social Science Baha that aims to contribute to the understanding of labour and movement.
