Immigration law reform can help workers avoid cyber-slavery

The Emigration Act, enacted in the pre-globalisation era, is inadequate when it comes to addressing the complexities that mark modern labour migration

Over the last few years, instances of skilled Indian workers being trafficked, enslaved, and brutalised in cyber-scam operations across the Golden Triangle — Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos — have been on the rise.

India’s failure to classify Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos as Emigration Clearance Required countries is a glaring policy gap (Shutterstock)

In these cyber-slave camps, they endure forced labour, physical abuse, and psychological torture. Some manage to escape, risking their lives or paying extortionate ransoms, while others return home empty-handed scarred by their ordeal.

Despite thousands being rescued or repatriated — earlier this month, hundreds were flown back on Indian Air Force flights — the trafficking pipeline remains intact. Unemployment and outdated emigration laws influence labour migrants to seek jobs in extremely dangerous workplaces.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for July 2023–June 2024 underscores the absence of sufficient secure, sustainable livelihoods. Indeed, the manufacturing sector, which should be the backbone of employment generation, has shown no growth in job creation compared to previous years.

The chilling testimonies I have recorded from Indians coerced into fighting for the Russian army in Ukraine reveal that they migrated due to lack of employment opportunities at home. So did those who were in Israel when the war broke out after the terror strike by Hamas. The same applies to those who migrate to Southeast Asia and get enslaved in camps run by cyber-scam operators.

Additionally, the problem also points to a failure of India’s migration policies. The country’s outdated emigration law is not just failing its citizens, it is also actively facilitating irregular migration and exposing thousands of workers to severe exploitation.

The Emigration Act of 1983, enacted in the pre-globalisation era, is woefully inadequate when it comes to addressing the complexities that mark modern labour migration. It does not provide stringent oversight of recruitment agents, fails to regulate job contracts effectively, and lacks provisions to combat emerging threats such as cyber slavery, forced criminality, and coercive military recruitment.

India’s failure to classify Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos as Emigration Clearance Required countries is a glaring policy gap. The Emigration Act requires Indian workers with lower educational qualifications or those migrating to countries with poor labour protections or significant security risks to obtain emigration clearance before travelling to high-risk destinations. There are 18 countries on the ECR list, which includes six countries in the Gulf region, Sudan, and Malaysia.

However, the Golden Triangle countries — although they are now hubs of human trafficking and cyber slavery — remain off this list. This means Indians can travel to these countries without clearance, making it easier for traffickers to lure them with fake job offers and false promises of high salaries.

Many of these migrants get trapped in cyber scam operations, where they are forced to commit online fraud under brutal conditions, enduring physical abuse, mental torture, and 24/7 surveillance.

With no comprehensive safeguards in place, thousands of Indian workers, skilled and otherwise, fall prey to traffickers and fraudulent agencies offering overseas jobs. The lack of government intervention and legal protection leaves migrants stranded and exposed to abuse and criminalisation. The chances of redress are limited in these countries.

Despite repeated reports of such exploitation, the Union government is yet to implement any meaningful preventive measures to prevent their occurrence.

Instead, it reacts only when public outcry or diplomatic pressure forces the repatriation of these workers. This reactive approach does little to dismantle the trafficking networks that continue to thrive due to weak emigration policies.

Multiple media reports, survivor testimonies, and diplomatic interventions have exposed the trafficking and brutality meted out to Indian workers in these countries. If the immigration law is not reformed and adequate protections are not brought in, the government will be failing thousands of Indians whose economic vulnerability is being exploited by traffickers.

Rejimon Kuttappan is a labour migration researcher and author of Undocumented: Stories of Indian Migrants in the Arab Gulf. The views expressed are personal