In December 2014, the two-day experts meeting on Realizing a Fair Migration Agenda: Labour Flows between Asia and Arab States was held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The purpose of the meeting was for leading experts to identify and discuss key issues and a way forward to realize a fair migration agenda in the Asia-Gulf Cooperation Council regions.The Fair Migration Agenda, as outlined by ILO Director General Guy Ryder at the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June 2014, calls for constructing an agenda for fair migration which not only respects the fundamental rights of migrant workers but also offers them real opportunities for decent work. This means a fair sharing of the prosperity that migrants help to create. This can be achieved through building migration regimes that respond equitably to the interests of countries of origin and destination, migrant workers, employers, and nationals.The current migration regime has created many opportunities for highly skilled workers in well paid jobs in Gulf States. However, the vast majority of migrant workers in Gulf States are low skilled and governed by the sponsorship system, and many migrant workers in the construction and service sector, especially in domestic work, experience decent work deficits and face abuse and exploitation, including in situations akin to forced labour.The meeting included participants from six GCC states (i.e. destination countries), and seven countries of origin in Asia, including five from South Asia and two from South-East Asia2. Government experts participated from United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, as well as from the Asian countries. Representatives from workers and employers ́ groups also participated, including ILO Governing Body members, along with leading scholars and ILO experts. There were 58 participants in total.The expert meeting was structured around five themes: fair recruitment; decent employment and working conditions for domestic workers and construction workers; recognizing the skills of potential and returning workers; increasing the development impact of migration; and promoting partnerships among government and social partners. These topics were covered in a background paper3 that served as a basis for discussions during the meeting. Leading experts in the region made a technical assessment of key issues and the way forward to realize a fair migration agenda. Participants engaged constructively in technical discussions, based on a good degree of consensus on the need to improve the governance of labour migration and ensure better protection of female and male migrant workers.
|
Publisher:
ILO
,
(2015
) |
Type / Script:
Publication
in English
|
Keywords:
LABOUR, LABOUR RELATIONS, LABOUR LAW, LABOUR MARKET, LABOUR POLICY, LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY, LABOUR MIGRATION, EMPLOYERS, WORKERS, MIGRANT WORKERS, FOREIGN WORKERS, WOMEN MIGRANTS, DEVELOPMENT, FORCED LABOUR, BONDED LABOUR, GENDER DISCRIMINATION, PROTECTION, DOMESTIC WORKERS, DISCRIMINATION, CHILD CARE, WORKING CONDITIONS, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, RECRUITMENT, EMPOWERMENT, REMITTANCES, MIGRANT WORKERS, INVESTMENTS
|
Thematic Group:
ILO
:
International Labor & Labor
|
Thesaurus:
12.04.00
- Labour Relations
|
Reference Link:
|
|
|
** This document has been:
1275
times viewed
6
times downloaded. Feeder:
PRAJU SHRESTHA
, Editor:
ALISHA THAPALIYA
, Auditor:
View Document History
|
|
|
|
|