Social Work Interventions: Promoting wellbeing and sustainable living conditions for Migrant Workers in Mauritius

Mauritius has a long history of labour migration and has always been an integral part in the socio-economic development of the country. Over the years Mauritius has put in place robust legal framework and has signed several laws to protect and preserve the rights of migrant workers. However, despite all these legislations to protect migrant workers, still there are lot of challenges in terms of poor living conditions, marginalization and exploitation that are still prevalent in our country. This study explores the essence of social work practices and having migrant social workers in enhancing the social and environmental wellbeing in promoting the sustainable living conditions of migrant workers in Mauritius. Qualitative methodology approach using the Grounded Theory by using semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty migrant workers coming from different countries and working in different sectors. Five key themes emanated from the results as follows: (i) Living conditions, (ii) precarious working conditions, (iii) marginalization, (iv) limited access to social support and (iv) psychosocial problems. The study emphasized on the important role migrant social workers can have in terms of advocacy for policy reforms and fostering integration of the migrant workers within the society. Moreover, Social workers can help in addressing the difficulties that the migrant workers endure within their stay in our country.