Social Protection for Low-Income Migrant Workers: Economic Necessity and Human Right
Overview
This essay argues that low-income migrant workers are systematically denied access to social protection and public benefits despite their essential contributions to destination economies. The author contends that providing social protection to migrant workers is both a moral imperative and an economic necessity, as these workers support critical industries, pay taxes, and drive productivity while often lacking health and social security coverage.
What this essay covers
- Introduction and thesis on denial of social protection rights to low-income immigrants
- Barriers to access: skill and income-level restrictions imposed by destination countries
- Economic argument for social protection: migrant labor's contribution to national productivity and growth
Preview
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Immigration
Do you know that most low-income immigrants are denied employment and public benefits rights, including health and social security? The right to social protection is essential to low-skilled migrant workers and their families. This worker group requires short-term and long-term benefits in destination countries for optimum productivity. However, low-income migrant workers are often not covered by social security or health systems.
Social protection is a social and economic necessity for low-income migrants. Unfortunately, most countries limit access to social protection by barring migrant workers below a certain skill level or income level from joining social insurance schemes. Low-income migrant workers, like everyone else, need social protection to cover emergencies, such as sudden illness, with significant financial impacts.
This issue matters to me because social protection is a right that should be given to migrant workers. Moreover, denying low-income migrant workers social protection harms labor productivity and public health in the destination country (Seyfert and Quarterman). The important information to share with the public about the topic is the value of migrant labor to the country’s economic health. Low-income immigrants support many industries that cannot afford to pay native workers high wages. They also pay taxes and consume some of the income in the destination country. The government collects taxes and benefits from the productivity of these workers. If no one advocates for the social protection of migrant workers, the country’s overall productivity will plummet, and there will be higher cases of poverty.