Strategy
Experiences and lessons learned
174. The report ILO Programme Implementation 2008–09 and an independent evaluation in 2008 drew the following main lessons for ILO work:
building and disseminating a global knowledge base on labour migration is essential to credibly guide and support policy advice and services to constituents;
coordination and coherence across the Office have not been commensurate with the cross-cutting nature of labour migration;
coordination with other organizations in the field of migration needs to be more deliberate and effective.
175. The strategy in 2012–13 will have a three-fold emphasis: (1) upgrading the knowledge base; (2) strengthening services to Members, in particular through products that cut across relevant outcome areas and the Office’s administrative boundaries; and (3) improving coordination and collaboration with major external agents.
Linkages to other outcomes
176. This strategy interfaces with other outcome strategies that directly affect labour migration and the protection of migrants. Cross-Office collaboration will be strengthened on the following issues in particular:
the extension of social security to migrants (outcome 4), for instance in the context of the proposed third edition of the World Social Security Report;
skills development and recognition (outcome 2) for migrants and returning migrants;
labour administration and labour law (outcome 11), for instance via the development of guidelines and training modules for labour inspectors;
discrimination at work (outcome 17), for instance via the dissemination and promotion of tools on equality of treatment and non-discrimination;
international labour standards (outcome18), with a special focus on the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), in countries that have expressed interest in their ratification in 2010–11;
employment promotion and sustainable enterprises (outcomes 1 and 3), for instance via continued work on remittances management and migrants’ contributions to a transition from informality to formality;
decent work in economic sectors (outcome 13), targeting, for instance, migrant fishermen and health workers;
greater understanding of the specific factors that may turn a migration process into a situation of forced labour or trafficking
(outcome 15), with a particular focus on irregular or unlicensed private recruitment
agencies and the need to provide adequate information to potential migrants.
Knowledge development and sharing
177. New data on temporary (including seasonal) labour migration schemes will be collected via interviews with migrant workers, their employers and labour administration officials in at least two regions. Working conditions, social protection, skills development and the use of remittances will be covered. The information will be compiled and issued, and will also take the form of short policy briefs. Analysis will feed into the cross-Office research on employment recovery with quality jobs and achieving income-led growth and rights at work.
An expert group of interested international agencies will be convened on statistical standards to be applied to labour migration, building on current discussions around
―migration profiles‖ proposed by the European Commission.
Gender equality and non-discrimination
178. Migration policies are not necessarily gender-neutral. In many instances legal migration channels are only opened for occupations strongly dominated by either men or women workers. The Office will pay special attention to address these and other gender-related issues in its policy advice to constituents.
Updates of the good practice databases on (i) labour migration policies and programmes and (ii) integration and anti-discrimination will address issues of equality of treatment between migrant workers and local workers, as well as between women and men migrant workers, and will provide practical guidance for their integration into workplaces and societies of destination.
Building the capacity of constituents
179. The Office’s support to constituents will focus on advisory services and on strengthening capacity to formulate legislation, implement policies, set up governance and administrative institutions, and ensure gender-responsive approaches to labour migration. In so doing, the Office will work with Ministry of Labour departments, inter-ministerial bodies, tripartite consultation bodies and parliamentarians. The latter may be instrumental in supporting necessary legislative amendments for the protection of migrant workers. Assistance will be provided in monitoring recruitment processes, migrant workers’ rights, terms and conditions of employment, linking migration policies to labour market policies, addressing migrants’ social security, reducing the risks and costs of labour migration, and promoting the reintegration of returning migrant workers. Work will address making transfer services for migrant remittances
more accessible, less costly and less risky.
Advice will be provided on linkages between remittances and financial services, including savings and credit cooperatives and microfinance agencies. In coordination with the Bureaux for Employers’ and Workers’ Activities, particular attention will be directed at mobilizing and building the capacity of the social partners on issues such as migration policy and regulation, employment, and the representation of men and women migrant workers. Training activities on labour migration, with annual sessions in several languages, will continue to be implemented in collaboration with the Turin Centre, as will capacity-building components of technical cooperation projects.
Partnerships
180. Cooperation and partnerships with the UN system, intergovernmental bodies and regional organizations will be emphasized. Participation in networks with other organizations, universities and researchers will increase the knowledge base, while advancing the ILO tripartite approach to labour migration and awareness about relevant labour standards and other ILO instruments. Active membership in the Global Migration Group, which is increasingly developing into the mechanism coordinating migration-related work within the UN system, will provide the ILO with an important opportunity to advance the implementation of the Global Jobs Pact. For example, the ILO will seek support from other Global Migration Group members to promote the implementation of the principles set out in Conventions Nos. 97 and 143 and the ratification of these instruments, as well as to raise awareness concerning the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration. In its capacity as a member of the Global Migration Group, the ILO will also contribute to the next UN High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, to be held in 2013. The ILO will also continue to be a partner in the EC–UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative, which should be extended beyond 2011.
Communication
181. The ILO online information and its databases on labour migration will continue to be updated, and increased efforts will be devoted to making information, tools and resources developed in the regions available on the ILO website. Information on labour migration issues, feature stories and practical experiences will be disseminated to enhance the visibility of the ILO’s work in this area, particularly on the occasion of special events such as the International Migrants Day on 18 December.
Technical cooperation
182. Technical cooperation projects will continue to be one of the main vehicles for providing policy advice and technical assistance on labour migration governance and the protection of migrant workers, as well as on related topics such as social protection, international labour standards, skills development, financial remittances and the linkage between labour migration policy and wider domestic labour market policies. Based on the evaluation of, and lessons learned from, earlier technical cooperation projects, effective models of interventions will be selected and applied more widely to deliver on labour migration issues in DWCPs. Public–private partnerships will be sought to fund certain projects, for instance to assist employers in
hiring (more) migrant workers in sectors where labour shortages exist in destination countries.
Opportunities to expand and leverage resources at the global and national levels will continue to be explored.
Risk management
183. One main risk is that the limited capacity of the Office will make the ILO seem less relevant than other organizations, which in turn could result in labour migration being increasingly perceived as a security issue. To mitigate this risk, the Office will prioritize work on areas of comparative advantage, which are the normative framework provided by international labour standards, support to its tripartite constituency, and an integrated approach to labour migration intersecting labour mobility, labour markets and economic progress.
Indicators
Indicator 7.1. Number of member States that, with ILO support, adopt gender-sensitive labour migration policies to protect migrant workers that reflect the ILO Multilateral Framework and the provisions of relevant international labour standards
Measurement
To be counted as reportable, results must meet at least two of the following criteria:
A gender-responsive policy to improve the protection of migrant workers is developed, as documented either through legislation, a national development plan, government regulations, or a bilateral agreement/memorandum of understanding between the country of origin and the country of destination.
The policy specifically addresses at least one of the following areas: increased equality of treatment and non-discrimination for migrant workers in the workplace; safe recruitment of migrant workers; integration in workplaces and societies of destination;
expanded social security coverage for migrant workers; expanded and improved labour inspection coverage of workplaces where migrant workers are employed; measures to prevent migrant workers from falling into situations of trafficking and forced labour.
Ministerial or inter-ministerial capacities to administer labour migration and/or a national tripartite mechanism in charge of monitoring the implementation of the policy are/is established or revitalized, as documented through evidence of recurrent meetings.
A national mechanism for the collection and monitoring of up-to-date sex-disaggregated data on migrant workers is established or upgraded.
Baseline Target
3 member States 8 member States, of which 2 in Africa, 1 in the Americas, 1 in Arab States, 2 in Asia, 2 in Europe
Indicator 7.2. Number of member States that, with ILO support, adopt gender-sensitive labour migration policies and practices that reflect the ILO Multilateral Framework with a view to promoting productive employment and decent work for migrant workers Measurement
To be counted as reportable, results must meet at least two of the following criteria:
A gender-responsive policy or national programme to improve access of migrant workers to productive employment and decent work is developed, as documented either through a national development plan, local or regional development plans and programmes, national labour laws applicable to migrant workers, or integration laws and policies.
The policy or programme specifically addresses at least one of the following areas: skills development and training; prevention of deskilling; recognition of diplomas and competencies; brain drain; accommodating remittance flows and/or their productive use; the link between remittances and socially responsible financial institutions; productive employment of migrant workers upon their return;
the link between migration policy and meeting labour market needs.
Government institutional capacities to administer labour migration policy are established or revitalized, in particular effective labour inspection services to monitor decent working conditions in the workplace in destination countries.
Government institutional capacities to administer policies and programmes for return migrants are established or reinvigorated, in particular effective employment services for vocational guidance, placement and labour market reintegration.
Baseline Target
3 member States 6 member States, of which 1 in Africa, 2 in the Americas, 1 in Arab States, 1 in Asia, 1 in Europe