Background

International migration has become an integral part of the global economy. Together with their families, migrant workers represent most of the international migrants living outside their country of origin today. Yet, many people continue to move without access to regular migration options. The drivers of these movements and the means through which individuals end up in irregular status are multiple and complex.

Irregular migration is also a feature of mixed migration movements stemming from political, economic and climate disasters. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and COVID-19 pandemic highlight the multi-faceted nature of global crises, and their evolving impact on employment, livelihoods and migration flows.

As irregular labour migration will likely continue to be a part of global migration flows – the focus must be on prevention of irregular labour migration in abusive conditions, and protection of the rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation.

While the drivers of irregular migration flows are multifaceted, policies and practices adopted by states, irregularity and associated policy responses may push migrant workers into situations of vulnerability, including informal employment where they face higher risk of exploitation, lack of social protection, and suffer from a deficit of skills and jobs matching.

The ILO has developed a Compendium on this topic that explains the various situations that can lead migrant workers into irregular status; the rights of migrant workers in irregular situations; and the relevant international legal frameworks and guidance. It further identifies practices of States, employers’ and workers’ organizations that facilitate respect and promotion of the human rights of all migrant workers, regardless of status. The Compendium is not intended to be exhaustive but is instead a living document that will be regularly updated with new examples and experiences.

The ILO will host a Roundtable Discussion on “Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers in Irregular Situations” with the objectives of:

• - Sharing the ILO approach and International Labour Standards on the topic; and disseminating the research findings and emerging good practices documented in the Compendium

• - Hosting a diverse range of expert speakers to share their perspectives and approaches

Register here!

PROGRAMME

Moderator

Ms Miriam Boudraa, Senior Programme Officer. ILO International Training Centre (ITCILO)

Opening

Ms Michelle Leighton, Chief, ILO Labour Migration Branch

Mr Felipe González Morales, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants

Speakers:

• Mr Jared Beakley, Claim Investigations Employment Standards, Department of Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services, Canada
• Mr Maurizio Bove, Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, CISL, Milano Migration Policy Department. Italy
• Mr Ali Serhani, Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc, CGEM
• Ms Neha Misra, Solidarity Centre, USA
• Ms Michele Levoy, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Belgium

Closing remarks

Mrs Katerine Landuyt, Senior Labour Migration Specialist, ILO Labour Migration Branch

Key documents

• Compendium_Irregular migration and protection of migrant workers rights.ENGLISH.pdf (1.99 MB)

• Agenda Round table discussion on irregular labour migration.docx (808.48 KB)