Conduct a national-level research and policy study for ILO to prepare a background paper on “Mapping Migrant Care Workers from India”

 

Background

The ILO in India has been working consistently with ILO constituents to promote international labour standards and decent work for vulnerable workers, especially migrant workers. The care economy plays a critical role in promoting workforce participation at the destination and generating paid work opportunities for migrant workers in source countries. Migrant workers – especially migrant women – form a critical component of care infrastructures and workforces around the world (ILO 2024a)[1], yet remain vulnerable to being trafficked and exploited in the workplace.

Through the Migrant Care project, the ILO will continue to work towards strengthening policy frameworks and institutional mechanisms with increased access to information and capacity to promote decent work for migrant care workers from India. A national study mapping migrant care workers from India will inform key stakeholder dialogues to arrive at a set of policy recommendations and future advocacy.

 

Context

There is high demand for care work[2] in destination countries, for paid direct and indirect care work. Direct care work refers to personal care activities that are relational, while indirect care work comprises activities that enable well-being in the absence of direct personal contact, such as cleaning and cooking.[3]”. The share of men and women migrants, employed in the care economy in 2022 was estimated at 12.4 per cent and 28.8 per cent (ILO 2024c)[4]. One in eight nurses (13 per cent) are migrant workers (calculated as foreign born or trained) – a total of 3.7 million nurses globally.[5] 17 per cent of all domestic workers worldwide are migrant workers.[6] The demand for paid domestic workers remains high as women’s workforce participation in several destination countries depends on paid care workers. In addition, projections suggest that the global shortage of health workers will only increase in the coming decades.

Numerous intertwined factors contribute to these labour shortages; demographic changes coupled with the undervaluation of care work given its gendered nature, is reflected in the chronic decline and underfunding of public health services which in turn fuels poor working conditions. The perpetuation of this cycle has an ultimate negative impact on the quality of care provided to those in need and exploitation of migrant care workers in their workplace, which is usually under regulated.

Given the aspirations of migrant workers to earn decent wages, the high demand for jobs in source countries, vulnerable workers depend on a range on intermediaries, family, community members and placement agencies to access jobs, reach destinations and remit hard earned remittances. There are networks of unscrupulous recruitment actors in source and destination which take advantage of this demand leading to high recruitment costs, compelling workers to migrate through irregular pathways, leading to skill mismatch and grievances from employers and workers. Lack of information on challenges of language, cultural differences and gendered labour migration policies, further precipitates the misery of workers who have incurred high costs to migrate. 

To address these issues, some destination countries have institutionalised policies and programmes to support Indian migrant care workers and enable access to social security during their stay, while in other countries women care workers continue to be exposed to unsafe and irregular migration pathways, work in under regulated care sectors and have minimal access to grievance redressal, especially if they live and work in isolated workplaces. In India, concerted efforts have been made to upskill workers, promote fair recruitment through state-run recruitment agencies and prepare workers for the destination through language and pre-departure training. Protection of migrant workers through the Emigration Check Required (ECR) process has been aimed at preventing vulnerable workers from being exploited overseas.

A characteristic feature of women workers migrating overseas from India has been the spatially clustering from high-migration pockets in Southern states of India.[7] However, in recent years flows of ECR women migrant workers have been observed from different states in the western, central and eastern states as well. Historically, there have been many informal recruitment actors and private placement agencies involved in facilitating labour migration. While some research exists on the gendered patterns of overseas migration for domestic work[8], nursing[9] and certain aspects of recruitment dynamics[10] there is a dearth of exhaustive research on critical aspects of international migration for care work to provide evidence for robust policy making.

There is also limited publicly available data on migration flows, gendered dynamics of labour migration at the state and national levels, gender disaggregation of remittances, experience and skills of vulnerable workers, labour market projections of sectors of employment in the destination etc. which inhibits effective policy and programme design. Moreover, limited access of Indian migrant workers to collective bargaining and freedom of association has further invisiblized migrant workers in source and destination, with some media attention to situations of grave distress. Challenges of accessing social security in the destination and social protection coverage upon return persists, despite the existence of bilateral social security agreements and MoUs between source and destination.

 

 Objectives and scope of the study

To enhance knowledge and better inform policy processes, the Migrant Care project would like to carry out a national level study and policy research to map migrant care workers from India with specific focus on trends in employment and decent work in the care economy and provide an overview of care needs and coverage, skill development needs, and analysis of the impact of existing policies in promoting decent work for migrant care workers. In the form a of a background paper, the study will inform key stakeholder dialogues to arrive at a set of policy recommendations and future advocacy. Lead research expert/s involved in the study will be invited to participate in person and present findings of the national study.

The background paper (20,000 – 25,000 words) will address three basic questions;

• who goes, where and for what type of paid care work i.e. on demographic and socio-economic profile of women migrant workers and popular destinations;
• how do they go or what are the different types of routes taken; and 
• how do they surmount social and legal restrictions and who facilitates their mobility

The background paper will present a mapping of care workers undertaking international migration for paid care work by unpacking different types of paid direct and indirect care work, gendered dynamics of accessing paid care work. It will present available international migration data on sub-sectors (especially nurses, home care workers and domestic workers), skill levels, migration trends across different destinations including (but not limited to) countries in Europe, West Asia, North America, Africa and Asia.

The background paper will provide a comprehensive understanding of the socio-economic profile of migrant care workers based on available data, factors influencing their destination choices and understand the recruitment pathways to inform future interventions that decent work for migrant care workers from India.

It will provide an exhaustive review of available published research on international migration for paid care work from India, state level patterns and divergences, different types of recruitment actors and different employers (institutional and individual).

The study with include policy research to map migrant care workers from India with specific focus on trends in employment and decent work in the care economy, care needs and coverage, skill development needs, and analysis of the impact of existing policies in promoting decent work for migrant care workers.

The paper will include a brief overview of India’s policies and processes covering the recruitment, deployment and return of overseas Indian care workers.

The paper will refer to ILO international labour standards, key ILO conventions, General principles and operational guidelines for fair recruitment and other ILO resources relevant to migrant care workers.

The background paper will include a set of recommendations for further research and critical policy interventions needed. 

It will include relevant case studies, text boxes, tables and graphs as agreed and follow the ILO house style manual.

The Migrant Care project will facilitate a virtual roundtable each with key Indian trade unions and employer representatives (registered recruitment agencies) for inputs towards the national study with participation of the research team (a rapporteur report for each roundtable is expected) to be held in September/October 2025.

 

 

 

Time frame

Estimated Start date of agreement: First week of August 2025

Estimated end date of agreement: First week of February 2026

• Review of existing data and secondary literature – August 2025
• Participation and rapporteur reports for ILO virtual Roundtables (finalized dates will be informed at least two weeks in advance), In-depth interviews with migrant care workers and other key informant interviews – September and October 2025
• Supplementary analysis of data and interviews – October 2025
• Drafting the full background paper – October and November 2025.
• Expected due date of final draft paper for review – November 24, 2025.
• Incorporating ILO’s comments and final background paper – December 15, 2025
• Submission of final expenditure statement and supporting documentation by January 10, 2026.

 

Expected deliverables

1. An inception report including indicative report structure, research questions, research methodology, work plan, list of proposed interviewees and draft questionnaire/ questions for key informant interviews
2. A background paper based on the national study and policy research
3. Key informant interview transcripts (Upto 10 transcripts in English)
4. 2 rapporteur reports based on proposed ILO virtual Roundtables
5. A detailed PowerPoint presentation (20-25 slides) on key findings of the national study and policy research

 

Essential qualifications of Research Team

A research team comprising lead research expert/s and necessary research assistance of 3 months is envisaged. The lead research expert/s must hold a PhD in a relevant discipline, have over 15 years of experience in research/teaching at a reputed Research Institution/ University and an established publication record on international labour migration, particularly care-related sectors such as domestic work, nursing, home-based care etc. CVs must include links to at least 10 peer-reviewed articles published on international migration of care workers from India.

Research assistant/s supporting the project must hold an MA in a relevant discipline with 2 years of relevant research experience and good knowledge of written and spoken English as well as the local language specified.

 

Project management

The National Project Coordinator (NPC) of the ILO Migrant Care project with support from the Labour Migration Specialist, DWT South Asia will receive and review deliverables in the form of inception report and draft background paper. Rapporteur reports and key informant interview transcripts will be submitted no more than 10 days after the roundtables and interviews are held. Final deliverables will be accepted only after comments and suggestions from the NPC and Labour Migration Specialist have been included.

The ILO NPC may facilitate/ participate in meetings, requests for support in accessing relevant data for the purpose of this project, not limited to training of researchers, finalisation of methodology, meetings with key informants, review workshops etc. The lead expert/s will inform the NPC of scheduled meetings/ trainings 4 weeks ahead of planned date to ensure sufficient time for the NPC to make herself available and plan travel and other work arrangements.

 

Proposal submission

Please submit a proposal of approximately 1,500-2000 words including the following components:

• Site of research: Understanding of the country context and the rationale for states covered[11]/ where research will take place
• Principal research questions: Outline the principal questions the study will address
• Methodology and data: Describe the research methods, data sources and sample characteristics to be used

Attach CVs (not more than 5 pages each) of lead research expert/s and a short paragraph highlighting their relevant qualifications and experience for conducting the proposed research. Please include links/references for at least 10 relevant peer-reviewed publications for each lead research expert/s.

Submit a clear, detailed including per day rate/ monthly salary of lead experts, research assistants (if any), necessary travel and with a justification of estimated costs.

Please note that the lead research expert/s will be invited as resource persons at a national level and/or state level multistakeholder dialogue and are expected to present key findings of the national study and recommendations which will be organised in Delhi in late January/ early February 2026. Related travel and accommodation costs for in-person participation are to be included in the budget proposed and will be reimbursed as per actuals.

Send your proposals (technical proposal, budget and CVs of Lead Research Expert/s) to: wadhawan@ilo.org

Proposal deadline: Proposals with supporting documents must be submitted electronically on or before midnight on 27 July 2025.

 

Technical evaluation criterion

The weight assigned for the final evaluation is 80% for technical proposal and 20% for financial proposal by QCBS evaluation, 20 points being the maximum allocated.

Methodology (20)

Understanding of the tasks (20)

Expert/s qualifications (15)

Samples of similar assignments (10)

Relevant experience (15)

Budget (20)

 

Payment schedule

1. First Payment: 30% of total amount payable upon receipt of the counter signed of the original implementation agreement and inception report based on discussion with NPC on or after August 18, 2025.

2. Second Payment: 50% of total amount payable upon submission of full draft background paper and rapporteur reports of two virtual Roundtables on or after November 24, 2025.

3. Final Payment: 20% of total amount payable following submission of final background paper and signed Statement of Expenditure along with interview transcripts, PowerPoint presentation, copies of original bills, invoices, tickets etc to the satisfaction of the ILO on or after January 15, 2026.

Note: A minimum expenditure of 80% from the amount advanced is required to be utilised for processing the next payment. In case the actual expenditure is less than the 80% of the amount advanced, the underspent amount advanced will be deducted from the next payment.