Tens of millions of migrant workers face lose jobs, face poverty: ILO.

ISLAMABAD -- Tens of millions of migrant workers, forced to return home because of the COVID-19 pandemic after losing their jobs, face unemployment and poverty in their home countries, the International Labour Organization has warned .

It is estimated there are 164 million migrant workers worldwide, nearly half of them women, comprising 4.7 per cent of the global labour force. While not all of these workers will return home - after losing their jobs or for other reasons - informal ILO research in more than 20 countries indicates that many millions are expected to do so, ILO said in a Press Release issued here on Thursday.

'This is a potential crisis within a crisis,' said Manuela Tomei, Director of the ILO's Conditions of Work and Equality Department. 'We know that many millions of migrant workers, who were under lockdown in their countries of work, have lost their jobs and are now expected to return home to countries that are already grappling with weak economies and rising unemployment. Cooperation and planning are key to avert a worse crisis.'

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