Internal Migrant Construction Workers in Nepal: Tackling Exploitative Labour Practices to Enhance Migration’s Impact on Poverty Reduction

Abstract

Migration for construction work to urban areas has increased rapidly in Nepal since 1990 mainly due to rapid urbanization accompanied by growth in housing and physical infrastructures. This has provided employment and income opportunities for rural-to-urban migrants. Research conducted by the Migrating out of Poverty Research Programme Consortium in Nepal on the impact of such migration, demonstrated that migration has a positive role in helping householdsof migrant construction workers to escape poverty. However, due to a lack of adequate safety and social protection policies, the long-term health condition of workers could be compromised, of migrant construction workers to escape poverty. However, due to a lack of adequate safetyand social protection policies, the long-term health condition of workers could be compromised, potentially undermining the gains. Accordingly, appropriate policies to protect the workers from unsafe working and living conditions and their full enforcement are urgently required if such migration is to enhance the gains made in improving the livelihoods of migrant workers and their families.