1. Introduction
The dangerous ongoing pandemic, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), reported in Wuhan city, China, in December 2019 and it is caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [
1]. The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) initially declared the spread of coronavirus as a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020. Later on, the WHO declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020 [
2]. The novel coronavirus is unique in nature because of high man-to-man transmission and has spread to 176 million people worldwide and caused 3.8 million deaths as of 15 June 2021 [
3]. This pandemic has changed the occupation and living style of billions of people around the world and raised questions of medical facility arrangements of the different countries of the world. The government of China started imposing restrictions and the lockdown in Wuhan city began on 23 January 2020, followed by India on 24 March and Saudi Arabia on 25 March 2020 [
4]. The main objective of the lockdown or curfew is to limit the spread of the virus by maintaining social distancing and creating medical facility on war footing. Lockdown; banned public gatherings; suspending religious activities; closure of business, schools, colleges, etc.; curfews; and restriction or suspension of all the travel domestically as well as internationally were followed by the majority of countries as preventative measures. The government of Saudi Arabia had suspended all its international flights on 15 March 2020 and resumes after 14 months on 17 May 2021; however, the suspension of flights will continue to 13 countries, including India due to the second wave of corona virus [
5].
The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a health emergency but also a labor market and economic crisis because of its effects on the business status of millions of individuals. The Saudi health ministry took the initiative to provide free corona vaccine and also offered free corona screening and health care services to all of its citizen, including migrants workers, and made vaccine compulsory for the health care workers participating in Hajj and Umrah (Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca) initially and later on made it compulsory for all male and female private and public sector workers to attend the workplace [
5,
6,
7]. COVID-19 immunization will be required to participate in any socio-cultural, commercial, economic, entertainment, or supporting affairs in Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2021 [
7,
8]. The government of Saudi Arabia is strict towards the enforcement of COVID-19 regulations to reduce its spread and violators are fined between Saudi Riyal (SAR) 10,000 to SAR 100,000; however, a second wave of COVID-19 hit the country in the beginning of February 2021 [
9].
According to Indian Census-2011, India had 45.6 crore migrant population (38%) and, according to the recent report published by “United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs—2019”, India continues to have the maximum of its people (17.5 million) living overseas and highest remittance receiving country (USD 78.6 billion). Saudi Arabia is the third top remittances sending country (USD 36.1 billion) in the world and ranked third (13 million) in largest number of international migrants in the world. India–Saudi Arabia shifted from the tenth (2000–2010) to seventh largest bilateral migration corridor in the world [
10,
11].
The COVID-19 pandemic had reduced the new international migration and increased the returnee migrants, which happens to be the first time in recent history. According to an estimate by World Bank, a total of 6,000,000 migrants were evacuated through special flights (Vande Bharat Mission) and Kerala was affected the most by 4,000,000 returnee migrants. The estimated remittances (World Bank) to India will fall by 9% in 2020 and 14% in 2021 and the flow of foreign direct investment will fall by 36% in 2020; however, India will continue to be the top remittance recipient country globally, with approximately USD 76 billion which will be 2.9% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The monetary emergency accentuated by COVID-19 could be long, profound, and inescapable when seen through a relocation focal point [
12]. The oil rich country and job-rich sector in Saudi Arabia was drastically affected by Corona virus because of the drop in trade, disruption of production, tourism (Hajj and umrah), and hospitality. Lockdown and travel restriction reduce the demand for oil globally, and consequently oil prices had fallen by 50% in March 2020. To recuperate the economic slowdown, the Saudi government allowed private sector companies to cut the salaries of the workers up to 40% for a period of six month and thereafter could also terminate the contract [
13,
14]. The majority of the migrant workers in Saudi Arabia are engaged in the construction sector, agriculture, hospitality, and domestic work, which are highly affected by the ongoing pandemic. The acutely affected migrants in the state during the pandemic are domestic workers, low skilled/low-income workers, contract terminated or completed workers, informal workers, women migrant workers, and salaried employees. In this context, the present study attempts to make a deeper analysis of economic and psychological impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on Indian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. The paper is coordinated as follows:
Section 1 is introductory,
Section 2 reviews the literature,
Section 3 describes the research gap,
Section 4 delineates the research methodology, and
Section 5 details the results and findings of the study. The last section, i.e.,
Section 6, concludes the paper. The limitations and future scope for work are also described in this section.
2. Review of Literature
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia identified its first Corona virus positive case in Qatif (Eastern Region): a person returned from Iran through Bahrain on 2 March 2020. The Saudi government reacted accordingly by limiting domestic travel, suspending the e-visa program, closing schools and colleges, closing non-essential industries, and imposing lockdown in Qatif region on 8 March 2020, followed by a temporary ban on international flights on 15 March and domestic flights on 21 March [
15]. The Saudi government issued general guidelines as preventive measures to limit the spread of virus in the early stage by ensuring social distancing, measuring temperature before entering in public places, and mandatory of wearing face mask in public places. Lack of compliance was penalized with SAR 1000 (Saudi Riyal) [
16].
The undocumented immigrants (with no legal rights to reside in the country) in any country are at higher risk during the pandemic, as they are probably not getting the relief benefits provided by the local government and are living in fear of deportation. The Saudi government has decided to provide proper health care services to undocumented migrants without any legal action or deportation; however, not everybody is enjoying the legal access to health care facilities due to fear of deportation [
17,
18].
The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the worldwide economy as well as Saudi Kingdom’s economy. The most impacted sector, due to a ban on religious Hajj and Umrah, was the hospitality sector, especially in Makkah and Madinah. The International Air Transport Association estimates USD 7.2 billion loss of the Saudi aviation sector in 2020 due to suspension of international flights, which also affected the job status of 287 thousand people in this sector. Lockdown and suspension of international flights globally reduces the demand for oil to approximately 80 million barrel per day: consequently, the oil price was decreased by 58% in the beginning of 2020. The total decline in export of chemical and related industries due to blocked international trade were estimated to be more than SAR 10 billion in 2020 [
19,
20].
One study reveals that the wage cut among the gulf workers ranges between 25% to 50%, especially in education, hospitality, and other service-related industries, and income of foreign workers had substantially reduced (83% in Dubai and 35% in Jeddah) due to closure of industries as well as a drop in remittances to their respective countries by 44% during the initial wave of pandemic. Many migrants (from the Philippines, Pakistan, and Egypt) in Saudi Arabia do not want to return back to their respective countries because of the good health and emergency services in the destination country and poor medical services, high unemployment rate, and lower wage rate in their country of origin. In the same survey (N = 117), a majority of the studied migrants (89.7%) responded that they believe that gulf cities have effectively controlled the pandemic and 53% of respondents believe that locals’ attitudes towards the migrant did not change, 29.9% positively changed, and 17% reported negative changes in their attitude during the pandemic [
20].
The world economy is suffering from economic slowdown and an unemployment crisis due to COVID-19. One research survey by APCO worldwide (The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials) shows that 40% of Saudi citizens spend a lesser amount on the purchases of goods and services than before COVID-19; however, the majority of the respondents (81%) believe that the Kingdom will recover from the pandemic faster than other countries in the region because of the immediate action taken by the government [
21]. In order to recover the economy from the pandemic and overcome the effect on private sector, the Saudi government implemented a relief package of USD 32 billion, which will help the hospitality sector to recover. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also focuses on the SME (small and medium enterprises) sector by announcing a financial support of SAR 50 billion. To manage the budgetary deficit raised because of the fall in petrochemical revenue, the Saudi government chose to expand the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 percent to 15 percent and also attempt to help the economy by implementing technology-based solution especially for the education sector and e-businesses [
22].
Another study estimates a total 21% loss of the expected earning of low skilled Indian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and a 36% loss adding recruitment cost and total remittances could fall by USD 2 billion due to COVID-19. This estimation was done by using simple estimation model and used the data collected by KNOMAD-ILO (The Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development along with International Labor Organization) in 2016-17 [
23].
Psychological impact (anxiety and depression) on well-being is normal during any pandemic outbreak. Coronavirus disease had to have severe psychological effects due to the uncertainty associated with it. It is important to focus attention on physical health along with measures to balance the mental status of the people. A sample study on psychological impact on the general population in the context of Saudi Arabia was carried out at the time of COVID-19 curfew and lockdown, and revealed that stress, anxiety, and depression were majorly found in medical workers, students, females, and persons with a mental disorder, and 1/4th of the sample population experienced moderate to serious psychological effects [
24,
25]. Another sample study for Saudi Arabia during the first wave of Corona virus disease stated that a marginal but substantial portion of the general population had found symptoms of anxiety and depression, and a majority of them reported symptoms of psychological distress [
26]. The emotional wellbeing in any society is defined by measuring distress, depression, anxiety, and behavioral control among the people. The emotional wellbeing in the general population of Saudi Arabia was found to be moderate during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was positively affected because the health authority of the Saudi government responded in a timely manner and adopted effective measures to control the spread of the virus [
27]. Job status of the workers (employed or unemployed) during the pandemic has drastically changed, which also influences the mental status of the people. The symptom of depression, as evidence from South Africa suggests, was less frequent among individuals who retained paid employment during lockdown than those who lost their job [
28].
The migrants in the society are more prone to have psychological distress during any outbreak because of the job insecurity and loneliness. A study assessing the psychological impact on Indian migrant-workers during COVID-19 lockdown reveals that the symptoms of anxiety and depression are severe in migrant workers. A majority of the respondents (73.5%) reported the symptom of depression, half of them were positive for anxiety, and nearly 51% of the migrant workers were found to have the symptom of both anxiety and depression [
29]. Another study about the low wage migrant workers in Singapore during the pandemic revealed they are at higher risk of bearing significant health, mental, and socio-economic effects [
30]. A study was carried out to understand the prevalence of anxiety, stress, and depression among repatriated Indonesian migrant workers during coronavirus pandemic. It was found that symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression were somewhat lower when contrasted with overall public and medical care in the country. The risk of anxiety and depression were found to be low in educated, young, and married people. The risk is higher among the people who had negative perceptions about the wellbeing and COVID sicknesses. Better health care services and improved quarantine facilities were found to be crucial to reduce psychological problems of repatriated migrant workers [
31].
4. Research Methodology
The present study assesses the economic and psychological impacts on Indian migrant workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the Corona virus pandemic. This study is quantitative in nature and depends on a sample-survey approach. Both primary and secondary information are utilized. Primary data were collected through a process of structured Google Forms questionnaire. The respondents of this study were Indian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia who were selected through non-probability snowball sampling techniques. This technique of data collection was used so that researchers could identify the Indian migrants in the Saudi Arabia due to COVID-19 related restrictions. The survey was in English language and titled as ‘COVID-19 Pandemic and Indian Migrants in Saudi Arabia’, and data were collected by sharing the link of the Google form through different social networking sites for literate migrants and through telephonic interview for illiterate migrants. The survey contained 29 open-ended questions, which required 4 to 6 min in total to complete. There were three segments in the overview poll.
Section 1 collected the information associated with the respondent’s profile (13 items) such as name, age, gender, religion, domicile, educational qualification, profession, working experience, monthly salary, remittances, number of dependent people, and other sources of family income.
Section 2 of the questionnaire (8 items) includes questions on the COVID-19 pandemic disruption of daily life, job status, salary reduction, and perception of the COVID-19 management by the government. The third section includes the questions (8 items) on psychological impact (depression, anxiety, and stress) during the lockdown due to the pandemic. The sample data of 180 Indian migrants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia belonging to different regions (states) were collected during the months of April and May 2021. The sample data consist of 98.8% male migrants and 1.2% female migrants. The majority of the working Indian migrants in the Saudi Arabia are male. According to UNDESA-2019, in total female migrants were around 30% of the total migrants; however, the majority of them are dependent and not working [
32]. This paper includes the sample of only those migrants who were working, and therefore the sample of female migrants is smaller. A five-point Likert scale was used to collect the perception towards COVID-19 management by the government and a two-point Likert scale was used to assess psychological impact on migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The collected data were scrutinized through the ‘statistical package for social sciences’ (SPSS) version 28 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) and descriptive statistics were used for all covariates and survey responses.
6. Limitations
The main limitations of the study are that it focuses on the Indian male migrants in Saudi Arabia with a sample data of 180, however the sample of female migrants are very less. It also uses few tests and strategies. The current study does not emphasis the effect on migrant’s family in India during pandemic. Apart from it, this study does not consider COVID-19 vaccination process, problems and its impact on migrants in Saudi Arabia. The future scope of study in this area needed to analyze the economic and psychological impacts of COVID-19 on female migrants, migrant’s wife, children or family. In addition to it, the similar type of study can be done considering the female migrants.
The policy implications from the findings of the research draw attention of the policy makers towards protective measures need to be implemented to save migrants during ongoing pandemic. The government should take some necessary steps such as financial benefit scheme to overcome the problems in the reduction of migrant earnings and remittances. Employment status of the migrants had drastically changed, which also drawing attention of policy makers to create more employment opportunities to reduce unemployment and underemployment. The government should not focus only on vaccination and physical fitness of the migrants but also need to find out the cure of the psychological impact arising during the pandemic.
7. Conclusions
The ongoing pandemic COVID-19 has severe economic and psychological effects on the world economy. This pandemic has changed the working environment and living style of the people across the world. This study analyzed the economic impact and health status of the Indian migrants in Saudi Arabia. The study revealed that majority of the migrants do not worked during the lockdown period and 42% of the migrants worked less than 8 hours in a day. Working experience of the migrants reveals a tendency is reduction in new international migration. Only 2.2% of the migrants reported work experience below one year, 35.5% were reported between 2 to 4 year and more than 60% of the migrants reported the work experience above 4 years.
During lockdown period migrants who were not working or working for less number of hours spent his maximum time on watching TV or surfing social networking sites. Majority of the migrants (48.9%) were earning below SAR 2500 (Saudi Riyal) and remitting below SAR 1000 in a month and majority of them were either 5 members family or more than 5. Around half of the migrants do not worked during the lockdown period and 42% of the migrants worked less than 8 hours in a day. Around 61% of the migrants reported an average loss in salary of below SAR 500 and 26% reported a loss between SAR 500 to 1000, however only 12% reported a loss above SAR 1000 during lockdown period of the pandemic. It has also been observed that number of migrants who were remitting below SAR 1000 had increased and remittances by middle income group were found to be decreased during lockdown period of the pandemic. The major reason of loss in salary and reduction in remittances were change in the employment status (reduced working hours, job loss, etc.) of the migrants. The perceptions of the migrants towards COVID management by the Saudi Arabia were found to be more positive than COVID management by the government of India. Chi-square test result showed there is significant difference in opinion of the migrant workers towards the COVID-19 management by the government of Saudi Arabia and India within different professions/occupations. The majority of respondents reported of feeling nervous, depressed, lonely, hard time sleeping and difficulties in concentrating, however majority of them also hopeful about the future. The problem of anxiety and depression were found to be more in the age group of above 40 than the age below 40. It was also been observed that migrants from Bihar were feeling less nervous, depressed and lonely than the migrants from other states of India. Not educated migrants were more affected of nervousness, depression and anxiety problem than the other migrants. The psychological problems are severe in case of the migrants above the age of 40 and migrants with higher number of family member, because of social responsibility and low capabilities to face interpersonal challenges.