Results of research on migrants’ remittances released

Research on migrants’ remittances

On July 6, 2023, the results of the Lives of Migrant Remittances (LOMR) research were shared in a policy forum attended by representatives of the Indonesian government, media, and civil society in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The policy forum would be one of a series of knowledge-sharing initiatives to impart the results and recommendations of the LOMR to governments, migrant communities, and civil society in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.

The LOMR is a multi-year research project that delved into the remittances of Indonesian and Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong and their impacts on them, their families, and communities back home. It was a collaborative academic-community project involving Prof. Denise Spitzer of the University of Alberta, Prof. Julie Ham who was then with the University of Hong Kong, PILAR Hong Kong, a network of Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong, Migrante Philippines, a national organization of returned and prospective Filipino migrants and their families, KABAR BUMI, a national organization of returned migrants, their families and advocates, and the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM).

The research employed survey questionnaires among migrant workers in Hong Kong, focus group discussions in Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines, literature review, and case studies of migrants’ families in Indonesia and the Philippines.

In a nutshell, the research results showed that poverty-induced migration remains a reality and that the research’s evidence “does not support migration and remittance as a pathway to sustainable economic development.”

Prof. Spitzer stated in her presentation, “We often think of remittances mostly as financial resources that migrants send to families, but we argue that we have to pay attention to how remittances are birthed, grow, managed, and work, and maybe die. So we need to think about their lives. The generation of migrant remittances cannot be extracted from the conditions under which those remittances are produced. The promotion of migration as a means of poverty alleviation and the paucity of remunerative employment in home countries propel the movement of workers to seek employment abroad. Movement that is facilitated by the recruitment industry and governmental agencies. Obtaining overseas employment, therefore, requires payment of recruitment agency fees, which can be collected in advance of travel and during a period of employment.”

Some of the research’s recommendations include the need for governments to focus on reducing economic inequalities that compel people to migrate, strengthening migrants’ meaningful and effective participation in state policymaking, and championing migrant workers’ rights.

The LOMR research document is being finalized. It will be uploaded to the APMM’s website once it is ready.