Push and Pull Factors of Migration: A Case Study of Brick Kiln Migrant Workers in Punjab

Migration is a global phenomenon caused not only by economic factor but many others like social, political, cultural, environmental, health, education etc. It generally takes place from the area of less economic opportunities and retarded social development towards developed and fast developing areas. Punjab is among the smallest states of the Indian Union but it has achieved great heights in many fields like agricultural sector, industrial sector and so on. To cater the needs of agricultural and the industrial sector large scale migration has taken place from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Very little has been done at micro level to inquiries into the characteristics of individual migrants and the factors influencing individual’s propensity to migrate. The present study is an attempt to fill up the important gaps and to make a modest contribution to an understanding of socio-economic conditions of brick-kiln migrant workers. Majority of the migrant workers were young in age, illiterate or having low level of education and belonged to SC/ST, large number of whom came from big families. 86 per cent of workers belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The wages of the workers were very low. They were provided rooms / huts by the employers within the premises of the brick-kilns. The majority of the brick-kiln workers migrated along with family. Further, almost all respondents kept their links alive with the place of origin. Majority of the workers were not registered as voter nor possessed ration card because they were not approached by the authorities. Those who possessed ration card were not getting regular supply of all the items supplied under the public distribution system. Majority of migrant workers were landless. The living conditions of the brick-kiln workers were very miserable. They were living in extremely dusty and unhygienic accommodation without water and electricity supply arrangements. The brick-kiln workers were not at all aware of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, and other labour laws. Facilities of canteen, rest rooms, first aid, medical and transportation were not available to workers. Migrant workers reveal no visible discrimination on account of wages, promotion and medical facilities. A better employment opportunity is the first and most significant factor with maximum percentage of variance, which motivates the workers to migrate. Better job opportunities, industrial development and comparatively higher wages in Punjab attract the brick kiln workers whereas lack of job opportunities at native place compels them to migrate. Fulfillment of self aspirations’ and ‘higher wages’ with percentage of variance equal to 11.02 have emerged as the second factors as a push factor .migration,pull factor,push factor,brick kiln workers

Foreign Labour Migration and the Economic Crisis in the EU: Ongoing and Remaining Issues of the Migrant Workforce in Germany

This paper provides an evaluation of the status of migrant workers in Germany amidst the global financial crisis. Findings of the study are drawn from the latest available data on the labour market performance of native-German and non-German migrant workers as well as other socioeconomic integration measures of the receiving state. Compared to the experience of migrants in most of the major receiving states of the EU, the status of the predominantly low-skilled sector-employed migrant workers in Germany, where primarily the skilled-workforce concentrated industries of high-value products is affected, has remained unchanged during the crisis. On the other hand, marginalisation of the ethnic and national minority population appears to be a persistent phenomenon marked by long-standing labour market exclusion. This is manifested in over two decades of double-digit unemployment rates of the foreign migrant population in the former ‘guest-worker’ importing country. This implies for the economy the need to settle long-term problems and implement strategies towards a better labour market integration of the minority migrant population beyond the recent recession.global financial crisis, low-skilled sector, migrant workers, guest-workers, labour market integration, minority migrant population

Trends in the Regulation of Hate Speech and Fake News: A Threat to Free Speech?

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution heralding the emergence and dominance of social media has always been viewed as a turning point in free speech and communication. Indeed, the social media ordinarily represents the freedom of all people to speech and information. But then, there is also the side of the social media that has been often ignored; that it serves as platform for all and sundry to express themselves with little, if any regulation or legal consequences. This as a result has led to global explosion of hate speech and fake news. Hate speech normally lead to tension and holds in it, the potential for national or even international crisis of untold proportions. It also has the likelihood to scare people away from expressing themselves for fear of hate-filled responses and becoming a source of fake news. Using doctrinal as well as comparative methodologies, this paper appraises the trend between states of passing laws or proposing laws to regulate hate speech and fake news; it also appraises the contents of such laws from different countries with the aim of identifying how they may be used to suppress free speech under the guise of regulating hate speech and fake news. It argues that the alarming trend of hate speech and fake news presented an opportunity for leaders across the globe to curb free speech. The paper concludes that the advancement in ICT helped in a great deal to advance free speech; it may as well, because of the spread of hate speech and fake news, lead to a reverse of that success story

The Impact of Culture and Religion on the Perception of Freedom of Expression Between Older and Younger Generations in South Africa and State of Kuwait: an International and Comparative Study

ABSTRACT THE IMPACT OF CULTURE AND RELIGION ON THE PERCEPTION OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION BETWEEN OLDER AND YOUNGER GENERATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND STATE OF KUWAIT: AN INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE STUDY by Dalal Albudaiwi The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2014 Under the Supervision of Professor Johannes Britz Freedom of expression as a right has been protected by many nations\u27 Constitutions and human right organizations. Freedom of expression has a long history in both the Western and Islamic worlds. Each viewed, defined, and analyzed the term differently based on their values and principles. Unsurprisingly, the Western and Islamic worlds do not completely agree on the meaning of freedom of expression. Though, they do share an agreement on certain aspects of freedom of expression. In particular, freedom of expression is to speak, write, act, and believe freely without causing harm to the society or any individual. The disagreement is on the limitations of freedom of expression. Further, it is central to mention that the existence of the Internet has impacted how people perceive freedom of expression in both worlds. On the other hand, as a basic human right, freedom of expression has been examined, analyzed, and compared substantially by legal experts. More importantly, several studies within the legal arena have compared the notion of freedom of expression among countries\u27 legislations. Therefore, freedom of expression has been studied solidly through the legal lens. However, social science scholars started to study freedom of expression when the Internet appeared. There are not any comparative studies in any social science field that examine freedom of expression among countries. More significantly, no studies relating between individuals\u27 cultural background and/or religious beliefs and how these individuals shape their perception of freedom of expression exist. For that reason, I plan to examine how culture and religion may impact how older and younger generations perceive the notion of freedom of expression in the digital-technology era. My study will compare South Africa as a Western-based values country and Kuwait as Islamic country. To better understand the influence of culture and religion on people\u27s perception of freedom of expression, I intend to describe the culture and the religion of both countries. Additionally, my research will compare legislations concerning freedom of expression and its limitations in each country and examine the views and perceptions of people. In order to examine the complexity of the topic of freedom of expression, I will conduct an international and comparative study through the mixed-methods research approach. Drawing from social science and information studies perspectives, I hope this study will lead to understanding of culture and religion\u27s influence on people\u27s conceptualization of the notion of freedom of expression in digital-technology era and hopefully reach valuable results that help legal experts better understand freedom of expression and its limitations

Ghana TRIPS Over the TRIPS Agreement on Plant Breeders' Rights

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Thaddeus Manu, 'Ghana Trips Over the TRIPS Agreement on Plant Breeders' Rights', African Journal of Legal Studies, Vol 9 (1): 20-45, July 2017. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 31 July 2019. The final, published version is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/17087384-12342070. Published by BRILL.The premise under which the global IP system is validated has often focused on a traditional materialistic approach. While this seems to find legitimate support in economic reasoning, such a fundamental view also appears to contradict a related social norm claim which dictates that society ought to be shaped by appropriate values rather than economic rubrics. Although Ghana is not a signatory member of the UPOV Convention, there is explicit evidence that the PBRs Bill under consideration in Parliament contains provisions modelled on the UPOV Act 1991 rather than the potentially flexible and “effective sui generis system” in TRIPS. This paper aims to contribute to a recently active area of discussion on the topic by examining the consequences of stringent legislation on PBRs in the absence of adequate safeguard measures to protect public interests. Consequently, the hypothesis of this paper rests on the argument that every system needs checks and balances and the legislative system is no exception; therefore, social policy matters must be integrated into the so-called PBRs Bill in order not to undervalue public interests. To conclude, the author presents an argument based on a logical balance that ought to be found on the path to promulgating such legislation.Peer reviewe

The Criminal Liability for the Electronic Exploitation of Children under the Qatari Law: A Comparative Study

The study aimed at the status of the Jordanian gender and the gender aspect of children, which represents a problem in the General Electronic Law of 2014, the seventh gender in criminalizing the use of child sex, sex. And the research has reached the Qatari legislator to put in place special and independent texts that deal with crimes, sentences, the body, the body, the body, and the commercial aspect of human beings, any other unlawful information that is considered an offense that raises the criminal responsibility of the information network service providers, suppliers, providers and publishers if this is proven. Finally, the assistant researcher in the postal industry, the fifth stage, the second stage, technological production, the first stage, the first stage, the second stage Keywords: Child Exploitation Crime, Qatari Jordanian Law. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-25-06 Publication date:September 30th 202

Measuring Institutions: Indicators of Political and Economic Institutions in Namibia: 1884 - 2008

This paper presents a database on institutional measures for Namibia for the period 1884 to 2008. Using the techniques of principal components and factor analysis in aggregating these indicators, the study does two things. First, it illustrates a methodology for constructing de jure and de facto institutional measures by means of using pieces of legislation and quantitative data, respectively. Secondly, these indicators are used to assess the nature of political and economic institutional transformation from the colonial legacy to the modern outcome using Namibia as a natural experiment. The new indicators while covering a long time period (1884-2008), correlate fairly well with some of the widely used institutional indices produced by the Freedom House and the Heritage foundation.Namibia Institutional Indicators Political Freedom Property Rights Judicial Independence Political Instability

Sub-regional Meeting on Disability Legislation: Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities in Asia, UN Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, 23-24 June 2008

The Sub-regional Meeting on Disability Legislation, jointly organized by the ILO and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), took place in the framework of a technical cooperation project, “Promoting the Employability and Employment of Persons with Disabilities through Effective Legislation (PEPDEL)”, funded by the Government of Ireland. The meeting aimed to provide participants with an appropriate platform for discussion regarding the main legal issues in the field of employment discrimination law relating to disability and to sensitize them to key concepts in disability discrimination law and specifically the CRPD. Participants examined good practices in implementing disability discrimination legislation, with a view to facilitating the implementation of the CRPD in the Asian region. The meeting also provided participants with an opportunity for networking withlegal and other experts in Asia and beyond

Does Caste Matter When Doing Business in India? Socio-Legal and Economic Perspectives

Caste-based discrimination in India is associated with human trafficking, slavery and child labour in various sectors of the economy. This paper explores the implications of caste-based discrimination for multinational corporations operating in India through sub-contractors and supply chains in the light of extra-territorial antislavery and supply chain transparency laws passed in the USA, UK, France and Australia. We find that there are some de jure effects of these extra-territorial laws in combating bonded labour and child labour in India. Besides the socio-legal case, we also explore whether there is a sound business case for global corporations to engage with enterprises owned by people from the lower castes; officially designated as scheduled castes and tribes (SC/STs). Our findings indicate that despite social disadvantage, SC/ST owned enterprises have in recent years fared well on key economic indicators and offer good business prospects for global corporations to engage with them. We discuss our findings in the context of the role of the state, trade unions and industry association of SC/STentrepreneurs