IRIS Handbook for Governments on Ethical Recruitment and Migrant Worker Protection: Chapter 3 – Strengthening the effectiveness of inspectorates

This resource is the third chapter of the IRIS Handbook for Governments on Ethical Recruitment and Migrant Worker Protection. It provides governments with practical guidance on how to strengthen the effectiveness of inspectorates to ensure that migrant workers are empowered and protected during the inspection process.

The chapter covers a broad range of relevant topics including setting up an effective inspectorate in law and practice (legal framework, monitoring and enforcement strategy, resources, process and decision-making, collaborative approaches) and migrant-sensitive inspection approaches and methods (facilitative conditions for migrant workers, inspection modalities, interview techniques). Guidance is intended for government officials in their capacities as inspectors at various levels of administration (national, subnational) and across relevant portfolios (labour, migration, consumer protection, etc.). It can be applied in countries of origin, transit and destination.

The IRIS Handbook is IOM’s flagship global guidance tool for governments on ethical recruitment and migrant worker protection. It builds directly on the Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment: A Road Map towards Better Regulation with more detailed measures for consideration, and profiles relevant concrete actions that governments around the world have taken.

IRIS Handbook for Governments on Ethical Recruitment and Migrant Worker Protection: Chapter 2 – Implementing and improving licensing frameworks

This resource is the second chapter of the IRIS Handbook for Governments on Ethical Recruitment and Migrant Worker Protection. It provides governments with practical guidance on how to implement and improve the administration of private international labour recruiter frameworks, with an emphasis on ensuring recruiters are competent in and accountable to ethical recruitment principles.

The chapter covers a broad range of relevant topics including: knowledge of ethical recruitment standards (information and educational options); licence application and assessment (screening process, eligibility and requirements); licence features and conditions; and accountability measures (oversight and transparency).  Guidance is intended for government officials in their capacities as regulators and inspectorates of private labour recruiters at various levels of administration (national, subnational) and across relevant portfolios (labour, immigration, consumer protection, etc.). It can be applied in countries of origin, transit and destination.

The IRIS Handbook is IOM’s flagship global guidance tool for governments on ethical recruitment and migrant worker protection. It builds directly on the Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment: A Road Map towards Better Regulation with more detailed measures for consideration, and profiles relevant concrete actions that governments around the world have taken.

IRIS Handbook for Governments on Ethical Recruitment and Migrant Worker Protection: Chapter 1 - Adopting a rights-based regulatory approach to international labour recruitment

This resource is the first chapter of the IRIS Handbook for Governments on Ethical Recruitment and Migrant Worker Protection. It provides governments with practical guidance on how to adopt and strengthen a rights-based framework to regulate private international labour recruiters and uphold migrant worker protection. The chapter covers a comprehensive range of themes including: regulatory measures (key definitions and terms, legal status of labour recruiters, ethical rules of conduct); enforcement and oversight (mandating authorities and sanctions); and access to justice (complaint mechanisms and complementary measures). Guidance is intended for government officials in their capacities as policymakers and regulators at various levels of administration (national, subnational) and across relevant portfolios (immigration, labour, foreign affairs, etc.). It can be applied in countries of origin, transit and destination.

The IRIS Handbook is IOM’s flagship global guidance tool for governments on ethical recruitment and migrant worker protection. It builds directly on the Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment: A Road Map towards Better Regulation with more detailed measures for consideration, and profiles relevant concrete actions that governments around the world have taken.

Labour migration from Colombo Process countries Good practices, challenges and ways forward

Labour Migration from Colombo Process Countries: Good Practices, Challenges and Way Forward is the official background paper prepared by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to inform the Fourth Colombo Process Ministerial Meeting held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2011. The report takes stock of current labour migration trends in the region, offers an analysis of good practices and identifies the challenges Colombo Process (CP) Member Countries face and their policy options in the immediate and long-term.

Since 2005, CP Member Countries have taken concrete, pro-active steps to manage labour migration through amending existing regulations or adopting new legislation, creating new government structures dedicated to managing labour outflow, and signing bilateral agreements (BAs) and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with key destination countries. CP Member Countries have also launched innovative programmes and activities at different levels of government aimed at protecting labour migrants at home and abroad. 

Despite success in key areas, however, difficult challenges remain, especially in implementation. There is often a gap between the aims of programmes as laid out on paper and how they are ultimately applied on the ground particularly on four key areas: disseminating of information, managing of the recruitment process, providing welfare support to migrants at both ends of the migration cycle and maximizing the benefits of labour migration. Success in any of these four areas requires serious investments in capacity building centered on a three-pronged strategy aimed at generating critical information, knowledge and policy-relevant research, formalizing practical dialogues and forging meaningful partnerships.

Labour Mobility and Regional Integration in East and Horn of Africa

This report analyses the role of the East African Community (EAC) Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Common Market (CMP) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in the IGAD Region (FMP) in facilitating labour mobility in the East and Horn of Africa (EHoA) region. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the legal and policy context of protecting the rights of migrant workers in the EHoA region, focusing on the EAC CMP and IGAD FMP and national labour provisions of the case study countries, namely Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. It also discusses the opportunities and challenges of overlapping memberships for the implementation of the IGAD FMP and acceleration of the EAC CMP in relation to labour mobility and migrant workers’ rights based on the experiences of Kenya and Uganda. It also explores the impact of overlapping memberships and COVID-19 on labour mobility while taking into account gender considerations.

Migrant and cities: Research report on recruitment, employment, and working conditions of domestic workers in China

This study on domestic workers in China was conducted under the EU–China Dialogue on Migration and Mobility Support Project, a collaboration between the International Organization for Migration and the International Labour Organization, funded by the European Union. It examines the current situation of domestic workers in China with a focus on the case study of Beijing, including domestic workers’ recruitment, employment, working conditions, social security, accessibility to legal protection, and complaint mechanisms. The study identifies the gaps in the national policies and practices concerning domestic workers in China in light of international standards and good practices.

In addition, the study provides relevant policy recommendations to narrow the gaps with regard to international instruments and to promote the legitimate rights of domestic workers in China. The study is not only an illustration of the socioeconomic impact of migration on development – and urbanization in particular. It is an expression of hope that domestic work may transition from the informal to the formal economy and become a fully-fledged urban labour market in its own right in China’s near future.

Gender and Migration Data: A guide for evidence-based, gender-responsive migration governance

The purpose of this note is to provide concrete guidance to policymakers, national statistical offices (NSOs) and practitioners on why it is important to promote gender-responsiveness when collecting, producing, using, analysing and disseminating migration data for policy – and how. Gender and diversity analysis is one tool that policymakers, NSOs and practitioners can use to identify needs and address policy shortcomings as part of a gender analysis framework. 

This guidance note aims to address the migration data gaps in a manner relevant to all stakeholders, and promotes a whole-of-society approach. It is also meant to help operationalize IOM’s Migration Data Strategy and includes recommendations on enhancing gender indicators and gender-based methods in data production, protection, dissemination and use. The note provides succinct information on the extent to which gender is captured through macrolevel global data sets, along with a discussion of key issues relevant to gender and migration data.

The Guide is organized into three main sections: Section 1 presents the background on the rationale and the main goals of the Guide. Section 2 provides an overview of the international context and the state of the art in gender and migration data, and Section 3 offers guidelines for action at the national (and local) level to strengthen migration data work from a gender perspective.

Facilitating Journeys: The role of intermediaries in labour migration process from Nepal

What happens after the decision to migrate for work has been made? What steps do prospective migrants take, where do they obtain information and what services do they seek? This infographic is based on qualitative research amongst migrant workers that examines the wide range of intermediaries that workers encounter in their migration journey.

As part of its Integrated Programme on Fair recruitment (FAIR), a global programme supported by the Swiss Development Cooperation, the ILO in Nepal commissioned a study amongst prospective and returning migrant workers to document their experience and in particular their interaction with various intermediaries that are involved in the migration process. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews with 32 men and 9 women migrant workers, originating from 5 provinces, that were either abroad or had recently returned to Nepal.

This infographic illustrates the collection of narratives from migrant workers and builds a picture of their experiences after deciding to migrate. Who do workers interact with as they prepare their journeys? Where do they gather information? How do they prepare for interviews and who supports the processing of job applications and contracts? How are visas obtained, and where do workers receive orientation and training? What costs do these various services amount to? Furthermore, what network of intermediation and support do workers connect with one they have reached their destination? And, finally, who do workers turn to settle outstanding issues upon return to Nepal?

Analysis Report of Recruitment Reviews from Nepali migrant workers

This report explores recruitment practices of recruitment agencies based on the reviews from 1,593 reviewers provided to Recruitment Advisor.

The study found that:

- Sub-agents and middlemen continue to play an important role in facilitating the migration of Nepalis in foreign employment.

- Migrant workers are paying high recruitment and other related fees.

- Majority of migrant workers took pre-departure training.

- Migrant workers continue to be deceived about their job, salary, and benefits. 

- Passports of the workers were withheld by the employer. 

- Migrant workers were deprived of freedom of association and right to return. 

- Most migrant workers less informed about recruitment agency and employer.

The report also proposes ways forward regarding the identified problems.