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.

Migrant Worker Guidelines for Employers

This publication is to provide practical guidance for business enterprises on how to recruit and employ international migrant workers ethically and responsibly. The guidance offers concrete steps employers across various sectors can take to run their businesses in a manner that respects human and labour rights of migrant workers. The guidance is primarily for human resources and personnel engaged with migrant workers and can be integrated in existing company policies, procedures and practices.

The guidance builds on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and relevant international human rights and labour standards and frameworks on international migration. It has been developed as part of the IOM’s Corporate Responsibility in Eliminating Slavery and Trafficking (CREST) initiative, through an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process.

The guidance is accompanied by a set of supporting tools including checklists, guidance notes and other useful documents, to help employers develop and implement the system, principles and practices to manage the labour migration process.

Supporting tools

• Summary - Common challenges and Risks Experienced by Migrant Workers at All Stages of Labour Migration
• Checklist - Labour Recruiter Service Agreements
• Guidance Note - Recruitment Fees and Related Costs
• Checklist - Employment Contracts
• Checklist - Migrant Workers' Accommodations

Protecting Migrant Workers: The Case for a Core Rights Approach

This paper is part of the IOM Migration Research Leaders Syndicate’s contribution toward the Global Compact for Migration. It is one of 26 papers that make up a consolidated Syndicate publication, which focuses on proposing ways to address complex and pressing issues in contemporary international migration. The Migration Research Leaders Syndicate, convened as part of IOM’s efforts to extend policy and technical expertise in support of the Global Compact for Migration, comprises senior researchers from diverse geographic, disciplinary and thematic backgrounds. The Syndicate provides a channel for leading experts in migration to propose ideas to meet the ambitious goals outlined in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants of September 2016.

In technical papers such as this one, Syndicate members were invited to identify and propose ways to resolve key conundrums currently posing challenges to international migration governance. To hone their proposals, they benefited from the input of advisors with experience in bridging policy and research, whether as senior non-migration scholars, former policy makers or prominent practitioners. The papers are short and crisp contributions that provide evidence-based, innovative ideas to improve international cooperation on fostering safe, orderly and regular migration.

For Their Own Good? Addressing Exploitation of Women Migrant Workers

This paper is part of the IOM Migration Research Leaders Syndicate’s contribution toward the Global Compact for Migration. It is one of 26 papers that make up a consolidated Syndicate publication, which focuses on proposing ways to address complex and pressing issues in contemporary international migration. The Migration Research Leaders Syndicate, convened as part of IOM’s efforts to extend policy and technical expertise in support of the Global Compact for Migration, comprises senior researchers from diverse geographic, disciplinary and thematic backgrounds. The Syndicate provides a channel for leading experts in migration to propose ideas to meet the ambitious goals outlined in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants of September 2016.

In technical papers such as this one, Syndicate members were invited to identify and propose ways to resolve key conundrums currently posing challenges to international migration governance. To hone their proposals, they benefited from the input of advisors with experience in bridging policy and research, whether as senior non-migration scholars, former policy makers or prominent practitioners. The papers are short and crisp contributions that provide evidence-based, innovative ideas to improve international cooperation on fostering safe, orderly and regular migration.

Case Studies Illustrating How Fair and Ethical Recruitment Considerations Can Be Integrated in the Procurement of Labour Recruiters’ Services

Although present literature provides guidance on fair and ethical recruitment, there is a lack of attention on how the procurement of labour recruiters’ services can be leveraged to prevent forced labour and exploitation in global supply chains. Labour recruiters have been essential not only in meeting the global demand for migrant labour, but also in ensuring the rights of migrant workers and upholding fair and ethical recruitment principles. This study focuses on the procurement process as an early step in managing forced labour risks for migrant workers when engaging with labour recruiters.  
 
To provide practical examples on improving procurement practices and integrating fair and ethical recruitment standards in the supply chain management of business enterprises, this research uses case studies, key informant interviews, and desk reviews to identify common challenges and barriers to the adoption of ethical procurement practices.  
 
The identified challenges and successes from actual cases further guide the recommendations to mainstream ethical recruitment in the procurement of labour recruiters’ services. In line with IOM’s mission, this study provides a strong foundation for building the case for labour recruiters to fulfill their responsibility to respect migrant workers’ rights.

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.

How migration is a gender equality issue

Explore this interactive explainer produced by UN Women on women migrants and discover 9 impacts of migration on gender:

1. 1. Women migrant workers
2. 2. Migrant domestic workers
3. 3. Social protection
4. 4. Remittances
5. 5. Sexual and gender-based violence
6. 6. LGBTIQ+ migrants
7. 7. Human trafficking and smuggling
8. 8. Covid-19
9. 9. Access to information

Click here to discover the explainer.

Covid-19 and the transformation of migration and mobility globally - “Disposable” and “essential”: Changes in the global hierarchies of migrant workers after COVID-19

In this paper, Anna Triandafyllidou and Lucia Nalbandian explore how the pandemic has inverted previous hierarchies of more and less desired migrant workers. The paper considers two groups of migrant workers – previously in-demand high-skilled migrant workers and low-skilled temporary migrant workers in sectors now deemed essential – and asks two key questions: 1.) what are innovative ways to neutralize the impact of border closures for highly skilled migrants, and 2.) how can we learn from the pandemic and improve the way that migrant recruitment and employment in agriculture is governed?

This paper is part of a series of short “think pieces” by IOM’s Migration Research and Publishing High-Level Advisers on the potential changes, impacts and implications for migration and mobility arising from COVID-19. Designed to spark thinking on policy and programmatic responses to COVID-19 as its impacts continue to emerge globally, the papers draw upon existing and new evidence and offer initial exploratory analysis and recommendations.

Labour Migration Process Mapping Guide: Understanding and Assessing Human and Labour Rights Risks to Migrant Workers During Recruitment, Employment and Return

The Labour Migration Process Mapping Guide aims to help business enterprises identify, mitigate, and address human and labour rights risks faced by migrant workers in global supply chains. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to retrace the steps that migrant workers take from their communities of origin to their workplaces in destinations, and determine the effectiveness of existing recruitment management systems to prevent and address forced labour risks.

Designed primarily for business enterprises with complex international supply chains where migrant workers are present, the Guide builds on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and relevant international human rights, labour standards and frameworks on responsible business conduct.

Notably, the Guide was a collaborative effort developed in consultation with governments, civil society, migrant workers and the private sector, as well as by the collection of good practices by employers, multinational enterprises and labour recruiters.

Three supporting tools, which include effective interview techniques and key considerations to ensure migrant worker safety and well-being, are also attached in the Guide. They are:

• Migrant Worker Interview Tool
• Employer Management Interview Tool
• Labour Recruiter Management Interview Tool

Fair and Ethical Recruitment Due Diligence Toolkit by IOM

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Fair and Ethical Recruitment Due Diligence Toolkit was developed to support business enterprises in fulfilling their responsibility to respect human rights in the context of international recruitment. It provides practical tools that enterprises can use to conduct comprehensive due diligence in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Practice, and IOM’s Migrant Worker Guidelines (MWGs). It can be used by enterprises to develop or strengthen due diligence processes in directly recruiting and managing business relationships with labour recruiters and private employment agencies that place migrant workers.

The tools within the Toolkit contain detailed guidelines and practical recommendations on how the due diligence processes described in the UNGPs and MWGs can be operationalized. The tools include interactive features that will direct users to the next due diligence process or the corresponding actions that are recommended for them to take. Enterprises may directly use or edit the tools to adapt to the unique nature of their operations and business relationships.

Tools to operationalize fair and ethical recruitment due diligence:

1. 1. Embedding fair and ethical recruitment principles into policies and management systems
    
2. 2. Identifying and assessing adverse human and labour rights impacts on migrant workers

• Risk Assessment Tool
• Self-assessment Checklist

 

1. 3. Preventing and mitigating adverse human and labour rights impacts on migrant workers

• Corrective Action Plan Template (linked to the Self-assessment Checklist)
• Training Management Tool
• Pre-departure Orientation Checklist
• Post-arrival Orientation Template

 

1. 4. Tracking implementation and results

• Worker Interview Tool
• Fair and Ethical Recruitment Due Diligence Monitoring Tool

 

1. 5. Communicating how adverse impacts are addressed
    
2. 6. Providing access to remedy

• Grievance and Remediation Management Tool
• Grievance and Remediation Monitoring Tool

Access the full Toolkit here.

For questions, please email iom.dd.support@iom.int.