Migrant Workers

Migrant workers

Labour Education 2002/4 No. 129

Contents

Editorial V

Interview “Migrant workers’ rights are not negotiable”, by Manolo I. Abella 1

Global perspective Migrant workers: The ILO standards, by Cécile Vittin-Balima 5 Migration: Industrialized countries are the main winners, by Elsa Ramos 12 Freedom and migration, by Jean-Paul Marthoz 21 Migration and labour solidarity, by Patrick A. Taran 26 Globalization catches up with migrants, by Olivier Annequin 35 The feminization of international migration, by Gloria Moreno Fontes Chammartin 39 Migration, remittances and development, by Judith van Doorn 48 Migrants – worth more than development aid?, by Dominique Demol 54 Forced labour, migration and trafﬁ cking, by Roger Plant 58 Bringing back the know-how – migrants and technology transfer, by André Linard 66

Trade union concerns and actions Migrants get unions back to basics, by Natacha David 71 Need to know: Asylum, immigration and transport workers, by David Cockroft 76 Immigration and workers’ rights, by Sarah Fitzpatrick 79 HIV/AIDS super highways, by Jacky Delorme 85 Trafﬁ cking permeates Europe, by Samuel Grumiau 90

Trends in the regions Living on the edge – refugee and migrant workers in Africa, by David Ndachi Tagne 95 The union movement in Senegal and migrant workers, by Mamadou Diouf 99

III Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean: A view from the ICFTU/ ORIT, by Iván González Alvarado and Hilda Sánchez 101 Dreams turn to nightmares for Indonesia’s migrants, by Patrick Quinn 109 Labour migration in Malaysia – trade union views, by A. Navamukundan 115 Can migrant workers save an ageing Europe?, by Jonathan Equeter 120 Migration and integration – some EU pointers, by Ian Graham 125 Arab labour on the move, by Steve Ringel 131 Migratory problems in Russia, by Oleg Neterebsky 135 Editorial

“ e cannot bear all the misery in the world!” This simple slogan has Wlong been proclaimed in most industrialized countries. The misery to which they refer is that endured by the millions of people who come knocking on the doors of the richest countries to obtain a small piece of the development cake to which they have hitherto been denied. However, while misery is a very sad reality, the spectre of invasions en masse by foreign nationals seeking to grab nations’ riches is no more than a deceptive fantasy blithely dreamt up by reactionary forces and extremists bent on stirring up the xenophobic sentiments which they have long cashed in on at the ballot box. Nonetheless, there is no denying that nowadays immigration is analysed more frequently from the security angle than from the social view- point. The terrible events of 11 September in the United States merely reinforced that trend and unfortunately exacerbated people’s negative perception of the phenomena associated with immigration. Today immigration, once a favourite issue covered by labour ministries, falls under the competence of ministries of the interior or of justice. This short-sighted political approach, combined with the closure of borders, has achieved precisely the opposite of what it set out to do. And should we really be surprised? The nations in the West have as many holes in their fortress walls as Swiss cheese. Migrant workers are today at the mercy of mafi a-like groups specializing in human traffi cking, and the security forces appear to be conceding that they are powerless to stop them. It is easier to send back a few “illegal immigrants” than to dismantle the traffi ckers’ networks. Likewise it is easier to close one’s eyes to the exploitation of a vulnerable, malleable workforce than to take on the slave traders. Faced with the problem of immigration, leading politicians in one very large transition country are talking openly of setting up “education camps” for the few million foreigners who have “illegally” entered their country. Another country has just refused its immigrant workers the fundamental right to form trade unions to make their voices heard collectively. This fl ies in the face of recommendations made by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Surely it is high time to change course, otherwise the situation may spiral out of control and pose a threat to democracy. The general discussion about migration which will take place at the 2004 International Labour Conference in Geneva will have to set the record straight and above all come up with specifi c measures designed to step up the protection of migrant workers at a time when the need has never been so great. It is with this event in mind and in an attempt to launch already a debate within the trade union movement that this special edition of Labour Education is devoted to migrant workers. The analysis will have to be serious and the approach will have to focus on the human aspect. History shows that, conditions permitting,

V people will always prefer to stay in their home country. It also reminds us that not so long ago Europe’s countries were the main source of economic migrants and political refugees. People crossed the Atlantic in their millions in search of Eldorado. Today, thanks to its economic development, Europeans have a reputation for staying put. The same phenomenon has been noted in the famous “Asian tigers”, which have transformed themselves from countries that “exported” labour to countries that attract migrant workers. While the number of migrants has gone up in absolute terms (today numbering 175 million people living outside their country of origin, 100 million of whom are migrant workers), relatively speaking it has barely changed, for it currently represents 2.3 per cent of the world’s population, the level it was at back in 1960. And even though the situation may vary from region to region, at the global level migration has remained stable. This fact is rather surprising when seen alongside the development in wages. In the early twentieth century the per capita income in the wealth- iest countries was ten times that of the poorest countries. Today the ratio is 60:1! So there can be no denying that the beneﬁ ts promised by fervent supporters of globalization have yet to materialize. Poverty is one of the main factors responsible for waves of migration. But most immigrants will halt their quest for a better world in a neighbouring country which is often just as poor as their own. In fact 60 per cent of immigrants live in developing countries. Accordingly, the nervousness displayed by countries in the West may seem rather incongruous. All the more so since their demographic development – at least where Europe and Japan are concerned – will mean they need more bridges than barriers. For the United Nations estimates that unless Europeans are made to work until the age of 77, Europe will have to boost its capacity for welcoming migrant workers to more than 1 million a year, four times the level of immigration in the 1990s. By 2050, the population of Europe will be a mere 660 million, compared with 730 million today. So even if productivity is boosted by a record amount, there will be a drastic need for manpower. If neo-liberal pundits have their way, they would rather leave these future movements of workers to market forces, with all the attendant risks to which the invisible hand so dear to Adam Smith has accustomed us by regarding labour as a form of merchandize. But there is another option, namely that of managing migration humanely, along the lines proposed by the ILO. This approach is based on efforts designed to create decent jobs and at the same time attack poverty in those countries that have traditionally “exported labour”. The foundations of such an approach are respect for equal rights for immigrant and native workers, solidarity and cooperation between nations (hence also a serious increase in development aid), and the battle to eliminate exploitation and human trafﬁ cking and also to eradicate child labour. It will undoubtedly take some time to restore the image of migration and highlight the role it played in the development of the industrialized countries. Workers’ freedom of movement, the possibility of freely switching employers whenever they want, and the opportunity to become unionized and negotiate their working conditions are all key elements underpinning economic development. The contribution made to social security funds in their host countries, where the working popula-

VI tion is ageing, must be reiterated and acknowledged. In fact, studies show that the contribution made by migrant workers to social security coffers in the countries to which they emigrate exceeds what they take out of the system. Moreover, the exporting countries benefi t quite substantially too. Each year, remittances, the amount of money transferred (i.e. sent back home by migrant workers to their parents still living in the countries in question), exceed the sums allotted to development aid, attaining a level close to the sum total of all the world’s oil exports. In reality migration is a linchpin of development and growth for many countries, both in the North and the South. What still has to be done is to make sure that it takes place in a manner that fully respects fundamental human rights, failing which – as the slave trade reminds us only too well – it will merely bring about human suffering and the decline of society as we know it. Thus the dramatic increase in labour traffi cking is merely a refl ection of the hypocritical and restrictive policies that ignore – or pretend to ignore – the growing demand for labour in the industrialized countries. The result is that nowadays nearly 20 per cent of migratory movement is deemed “illegal”. This situation is creating a lucrative niche for organized crime in the form of people smugglers and procurers, a source of cheap labour for unscrupulous employers and a living hell for millions of men and women. As ILO Director-General Juan Somavia put it recently, “migrant workers provide essential services in their host countries where their work represents a kind of hidden economic subsidy. Whether they are employed in industry or agriculture, as domestic servants or hospital staff, they all contribute to our social well-being. Nonetheless, this contribution is rarely recognized and most of the time they are very badly paid”. The studies conducted by the ILO over the last ten years all lead to the same irrefutable fi nding: racial discrimination remains a major obstacle to the integration of immigrant workers, who are underpaid and exploited when in work and also the fi rst to be fi red in the event of a crisis. What is more, when immigrants have to fi nd another job, one in three searches will remain fruitless. “The same people who accuse them of abusing unemployment benefi t are those who refuse to employ them because of where they come from,” said ILO Executive Director Assane Diop recently in a speech delivered to an audience of European ministers. The peak of hypocrisy of the international community is that whereas the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was adopted by the United Nations in 1990, it has only very recently obtained its twentieth ratifi cation which will now allow this instrument to come into force. Similarly, the rate of ratifi cation of ILO Conventions designed to protect migrant workers is hardly encouraging. Two ILO Conventions – the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) – are aimed in particular at migrant workers. So far they have only been ratifi ed by 42 and 18 countries respectively. Both these international instruments advocate the protection of migrant workers, call for their equal treatment and encourage cooperation between the respective countries. Convention No. 143 extends its protection to workers in an “irregular” situation, who fall victim to abuse. As we stand on the threshold of the

VII twenty-fi rst century, with globalization all the rage, isn’t it time to award all workers equal rights? Of course we can also look into the need to improve the ILO’s instruments, and the general discussion scheduled for June 2004 will have to make sure that it does just that. Some aspects of the phenomenon are new: the growing number of female immigrants, the proliferation of employment agencies, a dramatic explosion in human traffi cking. All this will have to be borne in mind. On the other hand, the rising demand for manpower by countries in the North offers us a unique opportunity to lay some healthy foundations for the debate. The ILO will aim to make the most of this opening by re- iterating both the human approach and the need to take account of the social dimension in our policies on immigration. This can be done by un- derscoring the role played by labour ministries as agents in the management of migratory fl ows, shoring up the social dialogue in both the host nations and immigrants’ countries of origin, and of course by respecting the fundamental rights of migrant workers everywhere, as demanded by the respective international instruments. As Manolo Abella, the chief of the ILO’s International Migration Branch, says (see page 1), the tripartite approach gives the organization an undeniable comparative advantage in its treatment of the issues at the heart of immigration. The fact that migrant workers are used as scapegoats remains a sad reality. As soon as economic or political crises are upon us, both in the North and in the South, the spotlight unfailingly shines on immigrant workers. Unfortunately, and – as we have seen – despite a whole array of international agreements, the rights of migrant workers are increasingly being fl outed. For all that, there is no need to promulgate new laws. Appropriate standards already exist. Naturally they can be improved, but governments should also have the political courage to ratify them and above all ensure that they are respected. That too is part of the human dimension of globalization.

Manuel Simón Velasco Director ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities

VIII Interview

“Migrant workers’ rights are not negotiable”

Manolo Abella is the Chief of the ILO’s International Migration Branch. He started his work on international migration in Asia and for a number of years directed the ILO’s Asian Regional Programme on International Labour Migration. He believes the ILO should take the lead in the debates on and in devising sustainable migration policies. He defends a rights-based approach and will be a key actor in the preparation for the general discussion on migration which will take place at the International Labour Conference in June 2004. Here, he responds to questions from Labour Education.

Manolo I. Abella Chief International Migration Branch ILO

Labour Education: Migration has become a circulation of workers and of people who, major political topic in many countries, yet at any given moment, are on the move. objective information about the actual num- Second, you have increasing numbers of bers, the trends and the needs of labour mar- people who remain “invisible” as they kets as well as on the fate of migrant workers are not counted in offi cial statistics, those seems to be scarce. Does the ILO monitor the whom we call “undocumented migrants”. situation? To give you an idea of how important this “invisible” part can be, the fl ow of undocu- Manolo Abella: The global migrant popu- mented migrant workers in the European lation was estimated in 2000 at 175 million. Union (EU) only is estimated to be about That includes workers and their families, 500,000 people a year while the total non- refugees and asylum seekers. Compared to EU migrant labour force stood at almost 13 the situation in 1990 there has been an in- million. If that could represent the average crease of 55 million over the last ten years. ratio of illegal migration for all regions, we While the annual growth in the migrant would have to estimate a worldwide total population was estimated at 2.3 per cent of 35 million irregular migrants. at the end of the 1980s, the fi rst part of the 1990s saw an average yearly increase of 2.6 What is the situation of migrant workers? per cent and we are now talking about a 3 per cent annual growth. So migrations are, Migrant workers are among the most in absolute fi gures, increasing and increas- vulnerable people in society, they are the ing faster, but remain somewhat stable in least protected. They often come to the comparison to the world’s population, host countries where they perform the which is itself growing. There are, how- jobs that natives no longer want to do, ever, two additional elements to consider. that is to say the so-called “three-Ds” jobs First, available fi gures concern people (dirty, degrading and dangerous). They are who have settled down in a foreign coun- regularly subject to abusive, exploitative try, they fail to take account of the growing and discriminatory treatment. The situa-

1 tion has somehow been made worse with of the migrant population are working on some aspects of globalization and trade lib- an irregular basis. This is one of the main eralization. For instance, faced with grow- concerns of the ILO as, of course, undocu- ing competition, small and medium-sized mented migrants are even more vulnerable companies and labour-intensive economic to exploitation. In addition to fostering ir- sectors do not have the option of relocat- regularity, this climate has contributed to ing operations abroad. Responses in these the opening up of a lucrative market for sectors have therefore included downsiz- the smuggling and traffi cking of migrant ing of manufacturing processes, deregu- workers. Women and children are espe- lation and fl exibilization of employment, cially victimized, many are traffi cked into with increased emphasis on cost-cut- conditions of slave labour and/or forced ting measures and subcontracting. In a prostitution. The human suffering, mal- considerable number of countries, these treatment and exploitation that ensue re- measures have expanded the number quire little explanation and have been the of jobs at the bottom of the employment focus of much media attention; and trade scale. Getting out of such a situation for unions have also denounced this situation. a migrant worker is increasingly diffi cult. The smuggling and traffi cking of migrant Migrant workers, contrary to what is often workers bear testimony that restrictive im- the perception in host countries, are well- migration policies have failed and at best educated and skilled workers who invest are a decoy. They have generated a “busi- heavily in their migration. They are ready ness” worth 7 billion US dollars for organ- to accept unskilled work in the host coun- ized crime. That is only second to the yields try but they hope to fi nd their way into a of drugs and arms smuggling. better situation, which unfortunately may not happen. On top of abusive conditions Do you mean that stopping migration is not and exploitation at the workplace, migrant helping to combat unemployment? workers face discrimination in the labour market. We found that 30 per cent of those All studies on this issue that I know of in- who had responded to advertisements for dicate that migrants and nationals are not jobs, never even got an offer for an inter- “substitutes”. One does not take the place view because their names were associated of the other. In Germany, the 4 million un- with a different ethnic group. employed will not all get jobs if migration doors are closed. The phenomenon The ILO’s estimates on migration seem to con- of increasing clandestine work makes you tradict the apparent determination of many think: Where are all these people? Why are governments in industrialized countries to these economies absorbing so many work- close their borders and limit the number of ers? Remember for Western Europe we are foreign workers admitted in their respective talking of half a million people a year en- countries … tering clandestinely. It is probably because the measurement of what is happening in In fact, the so-called “zero migration” pol- these economies is no longer accurate in icy never really worked and many of the re- particular due to the emergence of the in- strictive measures that are announced here formal economy. In fact, despite relatively and there, ostensibly to reassure local pop- high unemployment in a number of devel- ulations who worry about domestic unem- oped countries, foreign workers, particu- ployment, are often counterproductive. larly those who entered illegally, are able to Unduly restrictive immigration policies fi nd jobs easily. On average, for instance, a have led to an unprecedented growth in Mexican undocumented migrant worker to irregular forms of migration. The number the United States will fi nd a job within two of unauthorized migrants is increasing in weeks of his/her arrival. Similar evidence virtually every part of the world. It is esti- in Europe indicates that undocumented mated that perhaps no less than 15 per cent migrants are rarely “unemployed”.

2 Is there a direct link between the globalization ing and industrialized countries. The rich of the economy and increasing migration? countries are interested in hiring workers who are ready to accept jobs that nobody Starting from an economic analysis, the as- wants and developing countries want sumption is that if you have a greater lib- more employment for their people. There eralization of trade, the wages in the coun- is a shared interest in return. The sending tries that are trading will converge. And countries do not want to lose their bet- if wages converge there will be fewer inter-educated and skilled people whereas centives for people to move. So trade will the receiving countries do not want to see replace migration. That is the theory. But heavy cost of settlement of people. So yes, what has actually been observed by many there is defi nitely a shared interest in what is that more trade stimulates more migra- I might call temporary forms of migration. tions. And we have yet to see income con- Whether that is a win-win situation is a verge. The income difference between the question that I would leave to our constit- poorest and the richest countries is now uents to decide. For sure, migrant work- about ten times what it was in the 1950s! ers contribute to wealth production, consumption and social protection systems in Is this differential the main “push” factor when their host countries, and they bring skills, talking about migration fl ows? knowledge and experience when they return. In between, remittances are a valu- Not necessarily. Migration dynamics sug- able source of income for the countries of gest that “formal” or stable employment origin. must increase and that wages should rise in countries of origin for labour migra- There are many international organizations tion to stabilize or fall. However, formal dealing with migrations and issues related to employment is not increasing in most migration; is there a specifi c role for the ILO? countries of origin. On the contrary, the number of unemployed, underemployed The ILO is a rights-based organization. and informal wage workers, who group Our fi rst priority is to look after the mi- some of the lowest-paying occupations, is grants. Our Conventions are still very rel- growing and therefore tends to move more evant in this respect. The Migration for between jobs and cities. Having said that, Employment Convention (Revised) 1949, those who generally migrate are what we (No. 97), deals with equal treatment for mi- would call the richer among the poor. Be- grant workers specifi cally those who have cause in order to migrate you need to have legal status. The Migrant Workers (Supple- resources. You have to have information. mentary Provisions) Convention (No. 143) You have to have money to pay for your adopted in 1975 extends protection to ir- travel or to pay for the people who will regular migrants facing abusive situations. smuggle you into the host country. You While a few provisions of Convention No. could even say that if you make develop- 97 may now be irrelevant (such as medi- ing countries poorer you may decrease em- cal tests before departure), its very princi- igration. The more a country reaches a cer- ples are still very much topical. In addi- tain level of development, the higher will tion ILO standards, including core labour be the propensity of its population to mi- standards, do apply to migrant workers as grate; beyond that threshold they increas- well. One of the advantages of ILO stand- ingly tend to stay. ards is that they are applicable in many different situations, much more so than the In fact, what you suggest is that migrations International Convention on the Protection can be benefi cial … of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families of 1990, for in- There is certainly a convergence of inter- stance. At our general discussion in 2004, est in sharing labour between develop- constituents will have an opportunity to

3 take a fresh look at Conventions on mi- tion in some parts of the world may not grant workers and hopefully fi nd ways be entirely resolved through migrations of improving their ratifi cation record. Be- but migration will defi nitely be part of yond that it is clear that member States feel the solution. Knowing that migration re- that the question of migration must be ad- mains a sensitive issue, the ILO has, how- dressed, perhaps because of the failure of ever, a comparative advantage. We know past policies and of important issues com- how to assess labour market requirements. ing up: ageing of the population in many We know what kind of instruments work industrialized countries, lack of employ- to provide better protection for migrant ment opportunities in developing coun- workers as well as national workers. Do tries, the treatment of migrant workers, not forget that migration policies will only in particular women whose numbers are be acceptable if they do not adversely affect increasing drastically, traffi cking, etc. Re- national workers. Tripartism gives the ILO member that a major incentive for traffi ck- a unique asset in dealing with migration, ing in labour is the lack of application and and social dialogue is a major ingredient enforcement of labour standards in coun- of any successful policy. Our constituents, tries of destination as well as origin. These trade unions and employers are central to include respect for minimum working con- developing sustainable migration policies. ditions, tolerance of restrictions on freedom of movement, long working hours, Is there room for changes in the way the ILO poor or non-existent health and safety pro- approaches migration? tections, non-payment of wages, substand- ard housing … All this contributes to ex- Certainly, there is always room for im- panding a market for traffi cked migrants provement. That is what our 2004 discus- who have no choice but to labour in condi- sion will be about. We will look at ways tions simply intolerable and unacceptable of maximizing the impact of our tools and for legal employment. Many of these situ- may consider updating the relevant stand- ations enter into the remit of the ILO. ards. There is, however, one thing that will not change: our central concern is the mi- But can the ILO make a difference? grant worker. Whether legal or illegal he or she is a human being and basic human We can convince our member States of the and worker rights must apply and must long-term interest of migrations. For in- be respected. This is our bottom line and stance the question of an ageing popula- is not negotiable.

4 Global perspective

Migrant workers: The ILO standards

The protection of workers employed in a country other than their country of origin has always had an important place among the activities of the ILO, since more than any other workers they are liable to exploitation, particularly if they are in an irregular situation and are victims of the trafficking of persons.

Cécile Vittin-Balima Senior Specialist International Labour Standards and Labour Legislation ILO Office in Harare

he situation of workers employed Specific standards relating Tabroad was addressed as soon as the to migrant workers ILO was founded in 1919.1 This concern of the ILO with the situation of migrant work- The International Labour Conference had ers was refl ected in the adoption, at the a dual objective in adopting instruments First Session of the International Labour on migrant workers: in the fi rst place, the Conference in 1919, of a Recommendation intention was to regulate the conditions of which already sketched out the two aims migration and, secondly, to provide spe- of the ILO in this fi eld, namely: equality of cifi c protection for a very vulnerable cate- treatment between nationals and migrant gory of workers. In this regard, the ILO’s workers; and coordination on migration standards have focused on two main di- policies between States, on the one hand, rections: and between governments and employers’ fi rstly, the Conference has endeav- and workers’ organizations, on the other.2 oured to establish the right to equal- The Declaration concerning the aims and ity of treatment between nationals and purposes of the International Labour Or- non-nationals in the fi eld of social se- ganization, or the Declaration of Philadel- curity, and at the same time to institute phia, adopted in 1944, also makes specifi c an international system for the mainte- reference to the problems of migrant work- nance of acquired rights and rights in ers.3 It should be added that this concern the course of acquisition for workers remains highly topical, since the ILO Dec- who transfer their residence from one laration on Fundamental Principles and country to another;5 and Rights at Work and its Follow-up, adopted by the International Labour Conference on secondly, the Conference has endeav- 18 June 1998, in the fourth paragraph of oured to fi nd comprehensive solutions the Preamble, reaffi rms the need for the to the problems facing migrant work- Organization to give special attention to ers and has adopted a number of in- this category of workers.4 struments for this purpose (including those containing only a few provisions relating to migrant workers).6

5 Relations with other ILO standards Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Conven- tion, 1989 (No. 169); and the Private Em- It should fi rst be recalled that, with the ex- ployment Agencies Convention (No. 181) ception of the instruments relating to mi- and Recommendation (No. 188), 1977. grant workers and other special categor- This list is by no means exhaustive. Men- ies, the Conventions and Recommenda- tion should also be made of the numerous tions adopted by the International Labour observations formulated by the Committee Conference are of general application, that of Experts during its supervision of the ap- is they cover all workers, irrespective of na- plication of the maritime Conventions. tionality, even though since the Organiza- tion’s inception there has been an aware- The specifi c case of Convention (and Rec- ness of the need to adopt instruments ommendation) No. 111. Under the terms providing specifi c protection for migrant of Paragraph 8 of Recommendation No. workers. 111, regard should be given to the provi- Therefore, although they do not spe- sions of Convention No. 97 and Recom- cifi cally cover migrant workers, the fol- mendation No. 86, relating to equality of lowing instruments either contain provi- treatment and the lifting of restrictions on sions relating to them, or the Committee access to employment in relation to immi- of Experts has on occasion referred to the grant workers of foreign nationality and specifi c situation of migrant workers in su- the members of their families.7 It should be pervising their application: the Minimum recalled that Convention No. 111 protects Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 all workers, therefore including migrant (No. 26); the Forced Labour Convention, workers. Although nationality is not one 1930 (No. 29); the Labour Inspection Con- of the grounds of discrimination formally vention, 1947 (No. 81); the Freedom of As- prohibited by Convention No. 111, migrant sociation and Protection of the Right to Or- workers are protected by this instrument ganise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); the Em- in so far as they are victims of discrimina- ployment Service Convention, 1948 (No. tion in employment or occupation on the 88); the Right to Organise and Collective basis of one or other of the grounds of dis- Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); the crimination formally prohibited by Con- Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 vention No. 111, namely race, colour, sex, (No. 100); the Maternity Protection Con- religion, political opinion, national extrac- vention (Revised), 1952 (No. 103); the tion or social origin.8 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105); the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107); Other standards in the field the Discrimination (Employment and Oc- of migration cupation) Convention (No. 111) and Rec- ommendation (No. 111), 1958; the Work- Although this section is limited to United ers’ Housing Recommendation, 1961 (No. Nations instruments, it should be empha- 115); the Employment Policy Convention, sized that the management of international 1964 (No. 122); the Minimum Age Conven- migratory fl ows features highly on the tion, 1973 (No. 138); the Human Resources agenda of a number of regional and sub- Development Recommendation, 1975 (No. regional bodies and that instruments and 150); the Occupational Safety and Health institutions designed to regulate the entry, Recommendation, 1981 (No. 164); the Ter- stay, treatment and departure of non- mination of Employment Convention, national workers have been established 1982 (No. 158); the Employment Policy in most regions of the world. It should (Supplementary Provisions) Recommen- also be pointed out that many States have dation, 1984 (No. 169); the Employment concluded bilateral agreements to regulate Promotion and Protection against Unem- the most signifi cant emigration and immi- ployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168); the gration fl ows.9

6 The Universal Declaration of Human Contemporary trends Rights, adopted by the United Nations in in international migration 1948, naturally applies to migrants. Other United Nations instruments are Since the adoption in 1949 and 1975 of the more pertinent in relation to the protec- four instruments which form the basis of tion of migrant workers, such as the In- this section, the extent, direction and na- ternational Convention on the Elimina- ture of international labour migration has tion of All Forms of Racial Discrimination undergone signifi cant changes, which are (1965). Other instruments are relevant, not without consequences for the applica- but to a lesser extent, such as the Interna- tion of the instruments. tional Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), the International Extent of international migration. Interna- Covenant on Civil and Political Rights tional labour migration is currently a glo- (1966), the Convention on the Elimination bal phenomenon and few countries remain of All Forms of Discrimination against completely unaffected by it. However, it Women (1979), the Convention Against is diffi cult to establish with accuracy the Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or De- number of migrant workers in the world grading Treatment or Punishment (1984) today.12 However, it is clear that interna- and the Convention on the Rights of the tional labour migration has grown con- Child (1989). siderably since the adoption of the four After a very long drafting process, to instruments under consideration.13 The which the ILO contributed actively, the ILO recently estimated that over 96 mil- General Assembly of the United Nations lion people (migrant workers and their adopted on 18 December 1990 the Interna- families) are currently residing, legally or tional Convention on the Protection of the illegally, in a country other than their own Rights of all Migrant Workers and Mem- and are remitting each year some 73 bil- bers of their Families.10 However, the new lion US dollars to their country of origin;14 Convention had a lukewarm welcome while the United Nations reports 130 mil- from States. It only recently (December lion migrants, of whom 40 per cent are ir- 2002) obtained the twentieth ratifi cation regular, with the number increasing for all required for the Convention to come into categories taken together by between 4 and force.11 The United Nations launched a glo- 8 per cent a year. bal campaign in 1998 to promote the rights As the total number of persons involved of migrants, of which the principal objec- in migration processes has increased, the tive is to promote the ratifi cation of this number of sending and receiving countries Convention by the largest possible number has also risen. of member States of the United Nations. Finally, reference should be made to Direction of international migration. The the adoption on 15 November 2000 of the following few examples illustrate the di- United Nations Convention against Trans- rections taken by the phenomenon of mi- national Organized Crime and its two gration in recent years: additional protocols, the fi rst of which is intended to prevent, suppress and punish The fi rst example is the economic, so- traffi cking in persons, especially women cial and political transformation of the and children, and the second to prevent countries of Central and Eastern Eur- the smuggling of migrants by land, sea ope which, combined with ethnic and and air. social tensions throughout the region, has had the effect that countries which were previously merely affected by migration as countries of transit, have become migrant-receiving countries in their own right.

7 The second signifi cant development con- Another aspect which should be taken sists of the current trend in many into consideration is the fl exibility that migrant-receiving countries of devel- characterizes today’s labour market and oping preferential immigration pol- that affects all workers, including mi- icies, as a consequence of the rise in grant workers. Temporary migrant work- domestic unemployment rates and the ers who, by defi nition, occupy precarious establishment of regional groupings of positions, frequently change from one job countries.15 to another and from one category to an- Globalization, combined with the devel- other, such as self-employment, contract opment of communication networks work and salaried work. and in international transport, has had Recruitment practices have also a profound effect on international la- changed signifi cantly since the adoption bour migration, in the sense that it has of the four instruments under considera- increased the number of people who tion. The decline in group recruitment sys- are envisaging international migration tems, under government control, and the as a means of escaping poverty, unem- general decline in state leadership in the ployment and other social, economic world of work, have left a vacuum which and political pressures in their home has been rapidly and effectively fi lled by countries. private agencies specializing in the recruitment of workers for employment abroad.16 Nature of international migration. While As will be seen below, this development is at the time of the adoption of the 1949 in- not wholly positive. struments, the traditional distinction between immigration for purposes of per- Irregular migration. In recent years, illegal manent settlement and temporary immigra- immigration has become a matter of con- tion was clear, the crisis which affected the cern. The irregular entry, employment and main (European) receiving countries at the residence of foreign workers has emerged beginning of the 1970s blurred this initial as a disturbing trend, against which gov- distinction. ernments and the international commu- After tightening their border controls nity have endeavoured to take action.17 and freezing immigration, these coun- This type of migration is by its nature dif- tries found that many migrants initially fi cult to quantify and estimates are impre- recruited for temporary employment, in cise, with fairly disparate fi gures being fact, settled permanently in the host coun- put forward. The most commonly cited try and took the opportunity to bring their fi gure is of 30 million irregular migrants families. worldwide. As the ban on immigration for perma- Convention No. 143 and Recommenda- nent settlement has, with few exceptions, tion No. 151 were adopted in 1975 partly remained in force for many major migrant- with the objective of protecting irregu- receiving countries, the only remaining lar migrant workers against abuses of all means of migrating for many people is to types. resort to time-bound migration. An examination of the current immi- The profi le of migrant workers re- gration policies of most major migrant- cruited under temporary migration sys- receiving countries might lead to the belief tems has also changed. While in the past that migration has become essentially tem- most temporary migration fl ows consisted porary in nature and only concerns highly of semi-skilled workers, current immigra- qualifi ed foreign workers. However, this tion policies tend to focus on highly skilled does not necessarily refl ect the real situ- migrants. However, seasonal workers, pri- ation. In practice, it is found that the marily recruited for agricultural work, majority of migrant workers occupy continue to constitute an exception to this unskilled or semi-skilled positions, often rule. under illegal conditions.

8 Individuals who migrate or reside in to concerns, whether or not they are legit- a country in violation of immigration and imate, of public opinion preoccupied by employment regulations are very likely the presence of migrants) and, on the other to fi nd themselves in a situation in which hand, the fundamental human rights of in- they are vulnerable to abuse and exploit- dividuals who, out of choice or necessity, ation of all types, particularly in the case leave to seek work abroad. There is a re- of women and children. sulting tension between internal and external forces, which tends to accentuate even Women migrants. In general, the extent to further the prejudices, xenophobia and which women engage in international mi- racism of which migrants are often the vic- gration is not known. The use of gender- tims. Since its creation, the ILO has partic- specifi c language in the 1949 and 1975 in- ipated actively in this debate and has en- struments shows that at that time the typi- deavoured to fi nd a balance between these cal migrant was male and the stereotyped apparently confl icting interests through, view was that he was young and engaging among other measures, the adoption of in migration for economic reasons.18 international labour standards. Women have long been perceived The problems raised by international merely as accompanying their spouse in migration for employment are becom- the context of family reunifi cation. How- ing ever more complex and varied. In ever, it is reported that as many women as the framework of the process of the revi- men are currently migrating for employ- sion of international labour standards in ment and that they account for almost 48 which the ILO is currently engaged, the per cent of migrants worldwide.19 1998 General Survey of the Committee of Due to the nature of the work that Experts on the Migration for Employment they undertake, women migrant workers Convention (Revised) (No. 97) and Recom- can be particularly vulnerable when em- mendation (Revised) (No. 86), 1949, and ployed abroad. In recent years, the abuses the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Pro- to which women domestic workers are sub- visions) Convention 1975 (No. 143), and jected have attracted much attention. An- the Migrant Workers Recommendation, other cause of concern is the vulnerability 1975 (No. 151), showed: of women recruited to work outside their countries as sex workers.20 While some mi- that there are serious discrepancies be- grate specifi cally for this purpose, the tween national practice and the key vast majority are forced into prostitution provisions of Conventions Nos. 97 and networks upon their arrival in the host 143; and country. In many cases, the confi scation the impact of changes from the context of their travel documents and identity in which the ILO’s standards on mi- papers, large debts which may be owed to grant workers were adopted.21 the recruiter and the fear of being reported to the police place these women in an ex- For this reason, in March 2001, the ILO tremely vulnerable position. proposed to the Governing Body that a general discussion on the question of migrant workers should be held at a future Fundamental human rights International Labour Conference. This will of migrant workers and take place in 2004. state sovereignty

Many of those who are involved in the Notes debate on migration draw attention to the 1 For example, Article 427 of the Treaty of Ver- difﬁ culties that exist, on the one hand, in sailles, which laid the basis for the ILO in 1919, pro- reconciling the sovereign right of States to vides that “the standard set by law in each country protect their labour market (in response with respect to the conditions of labour should have

9 due regard to the equitable economic treatment of Convention (No. 143) and the Migrant Workers Rec- all workers lawfully resident therein”. Similarly, the ommendation (No. 151). Preamble to the Constitution of the ILO lays down 7 In this respect, it should be noted that, in its Spe- the obligation for the ILO to improve “protection of cial Survey of 1996 on Convention No. 111, the Com- the interests of workers when employed in countries mittee of Experts recommended that the possibility other than their own”. should be examined of adopting an additional proto- 2 The Reciprocity of Treatment Recommenda- col to the Convention which could include, among tion, 1919 (No. 2). other matters, the possibility of adopting additional 3 Paragraph III(c): “The Conference recognizes grounds, including nationality, on which discrimina- the solemn obligation of the International Labour Or- tion would be prohibited under Convention No. 111. ganisation to further among the nations of the world See the section of this chapter on equality of opportu- programmes which will achieve […] the provision, as nity and treatment for more details on this additional a means to the attainment of this end and under ad- protocol to Convention No. 111. equate guarantees for all concerned, of facilities for 8 The concept of national extraction contained in training and the transfer of labour, including migra- Convention No. 111 does not refer to the distinctions tion for employment and settlement.” that may be made between the citizens of one coun- 4 “Whereas the ILO should give special attention try and those of another, but to distinctions between to the problems of persons with special social needs, citizens of the same country. particularly […] migrant workers, and mobilize and 9 Such agreements have the advantage that they encourage international, regional and national efforts can be adapted to the specifi c characteristics of par- aimed at resolving their problems, and promote ef- ticular groups of migrants and that both sending and fective policies aimed at job creation.” receiving countries can share the burden of ensuring 5 Four Conventions and two Recommendations adequate living and working conditions for these have been adopted for this purpose: the Equality of migrant workers, as well as monitoring and more Treatment (Accident Compensation) Convention actively managing pre- and post-migration proc- (No. 19) and Recommendation No. 25, 1925; the esses. The use of bilateral instruments as a means of Maintenance of Migrants’ Pension Rights Conven- regulating migration was fi rst developed in the 1960s tion, 1935 (No. 48); the Equality of Treatment (Social when the countries of Western Europe concluded a Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118); and the Mainte- series of bilateral agreements with countries which nance of Social Security Rights Convention (No. 157) were keen to provide a source of temporary labour. and Recommendation No. 167, adopted respectively Since then, bilateral agreements regulating migration in 1982 and 1983. have developed throughout the world, although Asia 6 appears to be the region which has had the least suc- In addition to the two principal Conventions and cess in using this method. The ILO has always con- Recommendations which are covered by this section, sidered that bilateral agreements are a good means namely: on the one hand, the Migration for Employ- of managing migration fl ows. The annex to Recom- ment Convention (Revised) (No. 97) and Recom- mendation No. 86 contains an elaborate model of a mendation (Revised) (No. 86), 1949 and, on the other bilateral agreement, and several provisions of Con- hand, the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provi- ventions Nos. 97 and 143 emphasize the role of bilat- sions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), and the Migrant eral cooperation in the fi eld of migration. Workers Recommendation, 1975 (No. 151). For the 10 sake of completeness, it should be noted that in 1926 This Convention recognized the provisions the Conference adopted the Inspection of Emigrants contained in existing ILO Conventions, built upon Convention (No. 21) and the Migration (Protection of them and in many ways went beyond them. It ex- Females at Sea) Recommendation (No. 26); in 1939, tends to migrant workers who enter or reside in the the Migration for Employment Convention (No. 66) host country illegally (and members of their families) and Recommendation (No. 61), and the Migration for rights which were previously limited to individuals Employment (Co-operation between States) Recom- involved in regular migration for employment. mendation (No. 62); and in 1947, the Social Policy While the long-term objective of the Convention is (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention (No. 82). to discourage and fi nally eliminate irregular migra- Convention No. 66 never entered into force due to tion, it also aims to protect the fundamental rights lack of ratifi cations and it was accordingly decided to of migrants caught up in such migratory fl ows, tak- revise it in 1949, when the Migration for Employment ing account of their particularly vulnerable position. Convention (Revised) (No. 97) and Recommendation Other signifi cant aspects of the Convention include (Revised) (No. 86) were adopted. In 1955, the Con- the fact that ratifying States are not permitted to ex- ference adopted the Protection of Migrant Workers clude any category of migrant workers from its ap- (Underdeveloped Countries) Recommendation plication, the “indivisibility” of the instrument and (No. 100); in 1958, the Plantations Convention the fact that it includes every type of migrant worker, (No. 110), and Recommendation (No. 110); and in including those that are excluded from existing ILO 1962, the Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) instruments. Convention (No. 117). Finally, in 1975, the Confer- 11 As is the case with the ILO’s instruments, the ence supplemented the 1949 instruments by adopt- majority of States parties to the Convention are coun- ing the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) tries that “export” migrant labour and that only ex-

10 ercise very little infl uence over the everyday life and the Gulf States, the ILO estimates that as many as 80 working conditions of most migrant workers, even if per cent of all foreign job placements are handled by they play an extremely important role in terms of the private agents. protection of migrant workers before their departure 17 However, it is impossible to fail to notice the and after their return. coincidence between extremely restrictive migration 12 In many countries, and particularly transition policies, on the one hand, and the explosion in the countries, incomplete or non-existent data make it number of irregular migrants, on the other hand. diffi cult to establish with accuracy the number of 18 By way of illustration, Article 6 of Convention migrant workers in the world today. Furthermore, No. 97 refers to “women’s work” and Paragraph 15(3) methods of collecting data often differ signifi cantly, of Recommendation No. 86 indicates that the family thereby reducing the relevance of statistical compar- of a migrant worker is defi ned as his “wife and minor isons between countries. Finally, data on irregular children” (emphases added). migration and illegal employment are sparse even 19 in countries with sophisticated data collection sys- In certain countries, such as Indonesia, women tems. Moreover, even where such data exist, there is account for as many as 78 per cent of workers migrating no general consensus on the defi nition of such key for employment abroad through offi cial channels. terms as “economic migrant”, “permanent migrant” 20 According to an ILO report (Lin Leam Lim (ed.): and “irregular migrant”. The sex sector: The economic and social bases of prostitution 13 The number of immigrants (non-national resi- in South-East Asia, Geneva, ILO, 1998), prostitution dents who have been in the country for more than and other “sex work” in South-East Asia has grown so one year) has increased regularly over recent years, rapidly in recent decades that the sex business has as- from 84 million in 1974, to 105 million in 1975 and sumed the dimensions of a commercial sector, one that 120 million in 1990. contributes substantially to employment and national 14 income in the region. Yet, there is no clear legal stance According to this estimate, the number of nor effective public policies or programmes to deal migrant workers is 20 million in Africa, 18 million with this phenomenon in any of the countries exam- in North America, 12 million in Latin America, 7 ined by the study. Governments are constrained not million in South-East Asia, 22 million (made up of only because of the sensitivity and complexity of the 9 million economically active persons accompanied issues involved, but also because the circumstances by 13 million dependants) in Western Europe, 9 mil- of “sex workers” can range widely from freely chosen lion in Central and Eastern Europe and 9 million in and remunerative employment, to debt bondage and the Middle East. conditions that are similar to slavery. 15 A preferential immigration policy means a mi- 21 These include, for example, the declining lead- gration policy favouring immigration by nationals ership of the State in the world of work, the emer- of countries from the region or from countries with gence of profi t-making private recruitment agen- which the region has particular ties, while making it cies, the rise in the number of women in the migrant more diffi cult for nationals of countries outside the worker population, the development of temporary region to immigrate. migration instead of permanent immigration sys- 16 By way of illustration, with regard to migra- tems, the rise in the phenomenon of illegal migration, tion for employment between Asian countries and the modernization of means of transport, etc.

11 Global perspective

Migration: Industrialized countries are the main winners

Trade unions do not regard migrant workers as a “problem”. Rather, they are seen as a consequence of unjust world economic policies. Most people stand to lose from the host countries’ refusal to ratify the international instruments guaranteeing equality of treatment between migrant and local workers.

Elsa Ramos Director, Equality and Youth Department International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)

he globalization of the economy has those in Europe, have mainly adopted a Tabolished many of the barriers to the closed-door policy towards immigrants international transfer of capital, technol- from poor countries who come to seek ogy and enterprises. But there is one big ex- their fortune. Thus, by drastically tighten- ception to this great opening-up – labour. ing its border controls, “Fortress Europe” Although they are the most directly con- thought it could keep out those who are cerned, workers certainly do still encoun- sometimes pejoratively called “economic ter frontiers, which restrict their basic free- refugees”. These government policies dom of movement. What is worse, those aimed at combating illegal immigration who do manage to overcome the obsta- have boosted the profi ts of the networks cles placed in their path at the borders are that smuggle or traffi c in human beings, increasingly deemed a “problem” by the but have certainly not stopped migrants great sages of globalization. The “migrant from arriving in Europe, where tens of labour question” has become a hot topic thousands of “undocumented” workers for the big international institutions. It live clandestinely, at the mercy of shady gives rise to fears within certain sections of employers. In this respect, it should be public opinion and to repressive attitudes noted, contrary to a widespread belief in on the part of many governments. But to the Western countries, the great majority of the trade unions, migrant workers are not migrants do not move to that part of the a problem. They are an inevitable conse- world, but rather to other regions of their quence of globalization, the result of pol- own continents. They are often low-skilled icies that cause the growing gap between workers, including a growing proportion the few wealthy countries and the vast of women. majority of poor ones. While it is every human being’s basic right to cross the borders artifi cially cre- Lack of political will ated by mankind, migration by workers should always be a matter of free choice, Underpayment, poor working conditions, and not an act forced upon them by pov- multiple discrimination – all too often, mi- erty and despair, as is generally the case at gration means exploitation. This is particu- present. Over the past few decades, most larly true of female domestic workers, who of the industrialized countries, particularly are more vulnerable because of their iso-

12 lation, their direct dependence and their Migrants banned from unionizing! continuous presence at the workplace. On the principle that all workers should be One of the most effective ways of prevent- treated equally, the International Confed- ing migrant workers from being exploited eration of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has is to allow them to exercise their right to thrown its full weight behind the strug- join a union without hindrance. Two of the gle for the ratifi cation and application of ILO’s core Conventions – the Freedom of three ILO Conventions that concern mi- Association and Protection of the Right to grant workers. These provide for equality Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and of treatment between locals and migrants the Right to Organise and Collective Bar- as regards working conditions, pay, social gaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) – guar- security and trade union rights. They are antee these rights.2 They have been ratifi ed Conventions No. 111 on discrimination by 141 and 152 countries respectively, but (employment and occupation), No. 97 on many instances show that their application migration for employment and No. 143 on leaves much to be desired. The ICFTU’s migrations in abusive conditions and the latest annual report on violations of union promotion of equality of opportunity and rights notably criticizes Malaysia, whose treatment of migrant workers. Unfortu- Human Resources Minister declared that nately, the last two of these Conventions foreign workers are not entitled to join un- have not drawn many ratifi cations – just ions – even though the law only prohibits 18 for Convention No. 143 (including only them from holding union offi ce. One of the four OECD countries) and 42 for Conven- conditions laid down in the work permits tion No. 97. Is it really asking too much issued to foreign workers by the Malay- of the so-called “host” country govern- sian authorities is that they may not join ments that they should, by ratifying these a union. In its defence, the Government Conventions, guarantee straightforward maintains that migrants are protected by equality of treatment for all workers on the labour courts, but this protection is far their territories? from effective, as is shown by the tardiness Governments’ lack of political will is of the courts’ rulings or the failure to im- even more graphically illustrated by the plement them. slow pace of ratifi cation of the Interna- Even in some countries that have rati- tional Convention on the Protection of the fi ed Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, such as Rights of all Migrant Workers and Mem- the Philippines, foreign nationals may nei- bers of their Families.1 Adopted with much ther form nor join a union unless a recip- pomp and circumstance by the UN General rocal agreement with their country of ori- Assembly in 1990, it only recently (Decem- gin states otherwise. In Gabon, the provi- ber 2002) obtained the twentieth ratifi ca- sions of the Labour Code are not applied tion needed to enter into force. Most of the in sectors and regions where there are large ratifying countries so far are exporters of la- concentrations of migrant labour. Migrant bour. This Convention guarantees the basic workers cannot exercise their right to or- rights that make migrant workers equal to ganize without suffering reprisals from all others, and this is an insistent demand their employers, but employment condi- of the trade union movement as a whole. tions, particularly wages, health and safety The ICFTU and its affi liates are playing an regulations and dismissal procedures, are active part in the international campaign to far less favourable for this major migrant increase the number of ratifi cations and to workforce than for the Gabonese workers. secure the full implementation of this in- Things are even worse in Oman, Qatar, strument. The unions are also asking gov- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emir- ernments to ensure that, at the very least, ates, where migrant workers constitute its key provisions are put into effect with- the majority of the workforce (including out delay on their territories, whether they many women) but unions and other forms have ratifi ed the Convention or not. of workers’ organization are prohibited.

13 Who could resist the temptation? fi ce to combat the discrimination that all too often restricts employment opportu- Public opinion in Western countries some- nities for migrant workers. In Europe, for times fears – quite wrongly – that the ar- example, numerous studies have shown rival of immigrant workers will pose a that despite legislation, migrant workers threat to jobs and security. However, all are more vulnerable to dismissal and re- this needs to be thought through to its ceive fewer social benefi ts than do others. logical conclusion: bearing in mind the Of course, this is less true of migrant work- resources currently at their disposal for ers who are union members, as the unions travel, unless wealth is shared out more inform them about their rights. fairly between all the world’s inhabitants, the poorest will go on taking all possible risks in order to reach the Western Eldor- Host countries are the big winners ado, regardless of how strictly its borders are controlled. To explain this reality more Faced with a chronic shortage of labour in clearly to Western public opinion, just several sectors of their economies, Western picture the following situation: if West- countries have now reopened their borders erners earning 1,000 euros (€) (approxi- to certain kinds of worker, generally those mately US$990) a month could be con- who are skilled or highly qualifi ed. How- vinced that by trying their luck in some ever, trade unions insist that this reopen- far-off land, they would have a chance of ing of legal immigration should not serve increasing their income ten times over, in as a pretext for greater repression against other words of earning €10,000 (US$9,900) clandestine migrants. They have the same a month, how many of them would resist rights as all other workers and the union the impulse to go and spend a few years movement is campaigning for their situa- there, even if it meant doing less pres- tion to be regularized. That said, as a result tigious jobs than back home? This is the of this new immigration policy in Western kind of temptation that haunts the nights countries, thousands of Indian information of many people in the less well-off coun- technology specialists as well as, for exam- tries, people who earn perhaps €50 or €100 ple, Filipino and South African nurses have a month and who know that by going to a left their countries to take up employment developed country they will have a chance in Europe, especially Germany and the of earning €1,000. The difference is that the United Kingdom. These migratory fl ows migrant workers are often living in abject are often portrayed as benefi ting everyone: poverty in their countries of origin, which the host countries, which thus receive the is not generally the case for Western work- manpower that they need in order to de- ers earning €1,000 a month. velop their economies and maintain their Some employers see the arrival of mi- prosperity; the countries of origin, which grants as an opportunity to hire workers in some cases actually make great efforts at lower wages and worse working con- to encourage such migration, so that they ditions than for local workers. They know can subsequently benefi t from these work- that migrants, confused by their new envir- ers’ remittances in hard currency (transfers onment, can be more easily manipulated amounting to US$73 billion a year, accord- than local workers. Effective legal guar- ing to World Bank estimates); the workers antees are therefore needed concerning themselves, who acquire experience and equal pay and working conditions. With- earn a higher wage than they would back out such safeguards, recourse to foreign home; and their families, who receive a labour will in practice lead to an erosion proportion of these wages. of labour standards and a deterioration in This looks like a very promising mech- conditions for all workers, with the attend- anism, but in fact there are several span- ant risk of increased racism within the host ners in the works. One of them is the “skills society. But legal protections will not suf- drain” suffered by the countries of origin.

14 Frequently evoked but never solved, this like the United States, immigrant workers problem is highly visible in the Philip- pay 18 times more in tax than they receive pines, a country that trains many nurses in social benefi ts. And this even though with the aim of enabling them to go off the migrant workers’ home countries have and work in the West. In rural regions of borne all the costs of their initial training. the Philippines, it is now diffi cult to recruit Lost within a system entirely subordi- nurses because most of them are obsessed nated to the law of supply and demand, with fi nding a job in a Western country. and deprived of any possible assistance How many families in the Philippines from international agreements, most mi- today have been torn apart by the depar- grant workers are currently left to fend ture of a mother or a father for the West? for themselves. They therefore fall prey to Who cares about the rise of excessive ma- people smugglers who are in cahoots with terialism amongst the relatives back home exploitative labour placement networks, when they receive the currency sent by the supplying a workforce which is sometimes migrant? Sending its native population actually ordered, in small quantities, by the abroad is not a good way for the Philip- host country. The legitimate aspirations of pines to curb unemployment and raise its the workers themselves, who are most di- standard of living, because the money that rectly concerned, are almost never taken they remit serves mainly to make the bal- into account. Despite the benefi ts that they ance of payments look better. Ultimately, derive from them, all too many host coun- these policies simply produce greater in- tries still balk at granting migrant workers equality of development. The same goes and their families the rights to which their for all the sending countries. entitlement is internationally recognized, Sometimes, there is also the problem notably the freedom to join a union, the that migrant workers’ qualifi cations are payment of insurance, pensions and ben- not recognized in the host country, where efi ts, and the right of family reunifi cation. they consequently may have to take jobs These rights can only be fully recognized that are underpaid in relation to their if migrations by workers become legal. The skills. All very profi table for their em- entire trade union movement will continue ployers, who thus have a highly skilled to put all its strength into the campaign to workforce at all hierarchical levels, but is make these aims a reality. this really a coherent model of migration management? Migrant workers also have to face the mendacious arguments peddled Notes by the parties of the far right. Contrary to 1 The full text is available online in English at http: these xenophobic theories, migrant work- //www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/m_mwctoc.htm ers often put more into the economy of the and in French at http://www.unhchr.ch/french/ host country than they get out of it. For ex- html/menu3/b/m_mwctoc_fr.htm ample, several studies show that a foreign 2 Article 2 of Convention No. 87 states: “Work- household living in Switzerland makes an ers and employees, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to annual contribution equivalent to 3,900 the rules of the organization concerned, to join or- Swiss francs (US$2,600) to the country’s ganizations of their own choosing without previous social security funds and that in a country authorization.”

15 Appendix

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions No to racism and xenophobia! Plan of action for trade unions

Basic principles to combat racism and xenophobia, in every form, shape and place. The Congress dele- The following are the basic principles un- gates represented the 156 million working derpinning the trade unions’ fi ght against women and men members of the ICFTU’s racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia 221 affi liated national centres in 148 coun- and related intolerance: tries and territories. In accordance with the Congress resolution, an International Trade unions stand against racism and Workshop on ‘Trade Unions Fighting Rac- xenophobia as a matter of fundamen- ism and Xenophobia’ (Aylmer, Canada, 5- tal principle. The promotion of human 9 May 2001) drew up this Plan of Action rights, equality and diversity is an infor the trade unions, at national, regional tegral part of the trade unions’ daily and international levels, to fi ght racism struggle for freedom, equality and jus- and xenophobia more effectively in our tice for all. communities, in the labour market, in the Trade unions take an explicitly anti- workplace and within the trade unions. racist approach in the development and implementation of their policies, programmes and action. Plan of action Trade unions recognize the central role Combating racism and xenophobia to be played by those affected by rac- in our communities and in society ism, xenophobia and ethnic discrimin- At national level ation in developing, implementing and monitoring relevant policies, pro- Trade unions urge governments to: grammes and activities, paying special attention to the most vulnerable ratify and implement the UN Conven- groups: women, youth and persons tion on the Elimination of All Forms of with disabilities. Racial Discrimination (1965); Trade unions recognize the crucial im- ensure equality of treatment for peoples portance of integrating a gender per- of colour, ethnic minorities, indigenous spective when developing and imple- peoples, migrants and refugees as re- menting policies, programmes and ac- gards access to social services and provi- tivities in the fi ght against racism and sions (health, housing, education, etc.); xenophobia, in order to address more grant political rights for migrants and effectively the issue of multiple dis- refugees; crimination against women. provide free language training for mi- The ICFTU 17th World Congress (Dur- grants and refugees, with special atten- ban, South Africa, April 2000) re-affi rmed tion to women, together with a training the solid commitment of the trade unions allowance;

16 set clear targets for the appointment of Combating racism and xenophobia people of colour and indigenous peo- in the labour market and in ples to senior levels of the civil and pub- the workplace lic services and the judiciary. At national level Trade unions call on the media to play Trade unions urge governments to: a positive role in sensitizing the general ratify and implement international public to the nefarious impact of racism, Conventions, notably the Interna- racial discrimination and xenophobia on tional Convention on the Protection of the whole of society. Migrant Workers and Members of Their Trade unions are committed to: Families; the core ILO Conventions, in undertaking awareness campaigns on particular the Discrimination (Employ- the issue of racism, xenophobia and ment and Occupation) Convention, religious intolerance through demon- 1958 (No. 111); the Equal Remunera- strations, public meetings, assemblies, tion Convention, 1951 (No. 100);* the the press and media, etc., at the same Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Conven- time raise public awareness of the vital tion, 1989 (No. 169); the Migration for contribution that migrants, people of Employment Convention, 1949 (No. 97) colour, indigenous peoples and eth- and the Migrant Workers (Supplemen- nic minorities bring to society, enrich- tary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. ing our cultures and strengthening our 143); and to fully respect and promote economies; the ILO Declaration of Fundamental networking with and actively support- Principles and Rights at Work and its ing organisations of migrants, ethnic Follow-Up (1998); minorities, peoples of colour and in- introduce and implement mandatory digenous peoples, taking into account national affi rmative action legislation the specifi c and multiple discrimina- and programmes to end discrimination against women; tion against and promote equality of actively campaigning for reform of opportunity and treatment for mi- the educational system and revision of grants, workers of colour, indigenous school textbooks and education mate- peoples and ethnic minorities; rials to ensure a non-racist perspective actively promote and provide resources and to promoting understanding and for campaigns and programmes to com- appreciation of different cultures. bat racism in the labour market and at the workplace, which would include, i.a. race-awareness courses for workers At regional and international levels and employers; ensure strong monitoring and enforce- The ICFTU, GUFs (Global Union Feder- ment frameworks for new legislation ations) and their regional organisations and programmes; will: establish a national observatory to facilitate exchange of good practices to monitor the impact of racism on the la- combat racism in our communities and bour market, disseminate best practices in society amongst affi liated organisa- and provide regular reports to workers tions; and their trade unions, as well as to em- call for the protection of the civil rights ployers and companies. of prisoners, taking into account the over-representation of people of col- Trade unions must: our within the prison system in many negotiate the inclusion of clauses in parts of the world. collective agreements aimed at end-

17 ing discrimination against and ensur- general; particular attention to be paid ing equal opportunities and treatment to women and youth; for migrants, workers of colour, indig- support language training initiatives enous peoples and ethnic minorities, for migrant workers, whilst at the same i.a.: time counter attempts by employers to ● provision of vocational and long- use the language issue to discriminate term training on racial grounds. ● paid leave for language training, including in the workplace ● implementation of affi rmative ac- Migrant workers tion measures Trade unions must: ● leave for religious and cultural reasons urge governments to legalize undocu- ● clear grievance procedures in deal- mented workers; ing with and compensating victims lobby for legislation to protect those of racism working in the underground economy; ● anti-racism and cross-cultural edu- work with communities to provide sup- cation and training for all workers port and legal assistance for undocu- and staff, including at management mented workers; level undertake special campaigns to organ- work for recognition of foreign creden- ize migrant workers, including those tials and qualifi cations; development of who are undocumented; bias-free national standards of assess- be actively involved in shaping immi- ment for various professions and oc- gration and migration policies in order cupations; to protect the interests of working peo- lobby for strong and effective pro- ples and their families; active labour legislation, including if from the sending and receiving coun- employment equity and pay legisla- tries, work jointly to protect and defend tion; burden of proof to be placed on rights of migrant workers (through the employer/company accused of ICFTU and its regional organisations); discrimination; network with organisations and/or groups of workers facing multiple At regional and international levels forms of discrimination with a view to developing a joint strategy and action The ICFTU must: programme; lobby strongly for the establishment of seek a partnership approach with em- an international observatory for moni- ployers to combat workplace racism; toring the impact of racism in the la- call for the establishment of specifi c bour market, share best practice and work and career development pro- provide regular reports to workers grammes for workers of colour, indig- and their trade unions; enous peoples and ethnic minorities to strengthen cooperation with the ILO on prepare for improved promotion op- the campaign for the ratifi cation and ef- portunities at all levels; fective implementation and monitoring set up mentoring programmes involv- of ILO conventions; ing trade unionists to assist migrants, work closely with international non- indigenous peoples, workers of colour governmental organizations (NGOs) and ethnic minorities to access trades, which defend and promote the rights professions and the labour market in of peoples of colour, indigenous peo-

18 ples, migrants, refugees and ethnic union staff, both executive and admin- minorities; istrative; in collaboration with GUFs, open dia- coordinate strategy for affi liates to logue with governments and academ- carry out joint work with anti-racist ics on the establishment of interna- groups at the community level. tional standards for the recognition of foreign credentials, qualifi cations and At regional and international levels training; with the GUFs, call on the UN to or- The ICFTU and its regional organiza- ganize a North/South summit on mi- tions undertake to: gration. disseminate the conclusions of the In- ternational Workshop and the Plan of Action to affi liates, governments and Transforming our unions community groups with the purpose through equality in diversity of developing joint action; At national level establish an ICFTU/GUF anti-racism body (task force/committee/working Trade unions must: party), with adequate resources, including staffi ng, to carry out its func- be aware at all times of the primary role tions and to meet on a regular basis; of those directly affected by racism in developing, implementing and moni- organize an international anti- racism toring trade union anti-racism policies, conference within the next three strategies and programmes; years; integrate anti-racism awareness ses- actively promote the exchange and dis- sions in all trade union training and semination of good practices and case education policies, programmes and studies among affi liates; activities at all levels; assist unions in drawing-up anti-racism democratize union structures for the guidelines and plans of action; full integration of people of colour, actively promote diversity in decision- migrants, ethnic minorities and indig- making bodies and staff, including enous peoples at all levels in order to through adoption of positive action strengthen union policy development, measures; organisation and mobilisation of work- implement and monitor recommenda- ers, and implementation of policies and tions of the 7th World Women’s Con- programmes; ference of the ICFTU (Rio de Janeiro, develop and implement positive action May 1999) under the section: “Organ- programmes to remove barriers to ac- izing for Equality: Migrants and ethnic cess to leadership positions of workers minorities”; of colour, migrants, ethnic minorities ensure that the anti-racism dimen- and indigenous peoples; sion is an integral part of the ICFTU set up and strengthen special structures and GUF policy and action on child to combat racism and xenophobia; labour; develop and implement mentorship ensure that the anti-racism dimension programmes for target members to is an integral part of the work of the give them support and integrate them ICFTU Youth Committee at all levels, into the movement; in particular in involving fully young implement positive action measures workers in the fi ght against racism, – including internal equity audit – of xenophobia and related intolerance.

19 Note Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Equal Re- muneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), the Abolition * The so-called core labour standards are con- of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), the Dis- tained in eight Conventions: the Forced Labour Con- crimination (Employment and Occupation) Conven- vention, 1930 (No. 29), the Freedom of Association tion, 1958 (No. 111), the Minimum Age Convention, and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

20 Global perspective

Freedom and migration

Migration draws together the great issues, weaknesses and doubts of this new century. Developmental failures, simplistic notions about a “clash of the cultures”, the resurgence of ethnic nationalism, the extent of democracy or authoritarianism in the sending and the receiving countries – they all jostle and merge within the globalized roamings of people and peoples.

Jean-Paul Marthoz European Information Director Human Rights Watch Brussels

ell before the attacks of 11 Septem- provided by the American judicial sys- Wber 2001, immigration had come to tem, bear witness to this “security fi rst” dominate the political agenda. This was approach.1 The European Union’s rhet- equally true in the North, where populist oric, measures and plans have generally political parties made it one of their main followed the same trend towards collec- campaign themes, and in the South, where tive suspicion of migrants from the Arabo- the economic crisis and civil wars intensi- Moslem world. fi ed xenophobic reactions to communities of foreign origin. Thus, in Argentina, Bo- livian nationals suffered racist attacks by Great questions ultranationalist politicians who sought to blame them for unemployment and crime. Faced with migration, every country starts And in Bolivia, Colombian migrants were to ask itself some fundamental questions subjected to denigration campaigns and about its own identity, its social consensus suggestions of “collective guilt”. In Côte and its most characteristic values. “How d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), meanwhile, mi- can respect for universal values be com- grants from Burkina Faso were stigma- bined with recognition of ethnic, religious tized and threatened by a central author- and communitarian specifi cities?” won- ity obsessed with its own concept of “Ivo- dered Le Monde des Débats. “This question rianness”. worries our societies, which are more and The attacks in New York and Washing- more open not only to individuals but also ton further exacerbated the existing nega- to widely differing groups and above all, tive perceptions of these migratory move- like it or not, to migrants.”2 ments. Migrants, whether clandestine or The presence of “different” communi- legal, had long been accused of increasing ties, when they are numerically signifi cant, people’s sense of insecurity. Now, migrants inevitably raises the question of a nation’s have suddenly become suspects. political identity. Whether it is based on In the United States, the arrest of more French-style republicanism or on the com- than a 1,000 nationals of Arab or Moslem munity structures of the English-speaking countries after 11 September, and their im- world, its philosophical, cultural and po- prisonment without the legal guarantees litical foundations are tested and some-

21 times called into question. Points of con- dramatic fl ights and human catastrophes. fl ict abound, and they often touch upon Refugee camps become pawns in the game. values and principles that are held sacred Armed groups battle for control of them, by the majority or minority communities. in order to seize humanitarian aid and re- They also concern basic rights, such as cruit new fi ghters. This transformation of women’s rights and freedom of expres- refugee camps into violent, arbitrary ghet- sion, religion and association. toes inevitably pushes people into further exodus. They move away from the combat zones – often towards the industrial- Migration and repression ized countries.4

In this equation of freedom and migration, the aim of the present article is not Democracy and development to describe the abuses to which refugees and migrants are subject in the countries The links between migrations or popu- of arrival, but, fi rst and foremost, to con- lation movements and politics are some- sider the situation in the sending countries times hidden and more diffi cult to pin- – the reasons, other than free choice and point. Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel the lure of Eldorado, that move individuals Prize in economics, has shown how an ab- and groups to leave their native land. sence of freedom can also indirectly cause Attacks on freedom lie at the core of mi- situations which, in turn, set off forced grations. History is littered with great pop- migrations. This cause-and-effect link ap- ulation shifts caused by political factors, plies particularly to famines. In demo- repression or pogroms. From the expulsion cratic countries, where information circu- of the Moors and the Jews by the Spanish lates and the authorities are accountable crown after the fall of Grenada in 1492 to to public opinion, famines have to be pre- the exodus of the Eastern Christians sub- vented. In dictatorships on the other hand, jected to violence by Moslem authorities such as Ethiopia in 1984, censorship and a or populations at the end of the nineteenth repressive state apparatus allow famines to century, from the exile of the Republicans develop, thus creating internal or external after the Spanish civil war in 1939 to the migratory movements.5 forced population transfers under Stalin, Indeed, after being portrayed as a hin- from the fl ight of the leftists persecuted by drance to economic “take-off” and devel- the Latin American military dictatorships opment, democracy came to be seen by a of the 1970s to the expulsion of hundreds growing number of writers and interna- of thousands of West African immigrants tional institutions from the early 1990s on- by Côte d’Ivoire in 1985, political violence wards as a condition and lever of develop- is one of the main causes of mass depar- ment. In particular, freedom of expression tures. The war in ex-Yugoslavia during the and of the press has been described as a 1990s added a horrendous new brutality to decisive factor in creating the space for the this formula by integrating forced migra- discussion, transparency and responsibil- tion into military strategy and introducing ity that development requires. This theory a policy of “ethnic cleansing”. was put forward in particular by the Presi- The absence of freedom together with dent of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, insecurity and vulnerability in the face of in a speech given in November 1999 to the armed groups – state, paramilitary or re- World Press Freedom Committee in Res- ligious – are primary reasons for exodus. ton, United States. “Freedom of the press Combined with war, as in the confl icts that is not a luxury,” he declared. “It is not an are consuming the failed states3 (Demo- extra. It is absolutely at the heart of equit- cratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra able development, because if the poor are Leone, etc.) or in the Colombian troubles, not liberated, if they do not have the right political violence creates a whole series of to express themselves, if the press does not

22 shed light on corruption and unfair prac- the same policy of “colonization” and in- tices, we cannot build the consensus nec- ternal migration in its central highlands, essary for change.”6 triggering protests and exile among the A lack of freedom can push into exile mountain-dwellers.7 precisely those people who could have been the most decisive protagonists of economic development. The “brain drain” Repression and environmental exodus suffered by many countries in the South cannot be explained solely in terms of re- “Environmental exodus” is a dramatic il- searchers’ wish for better economic condi- lustration of this link between repression tions. Another important factor is the sti- and migration, telescoping the political fl ing nature of closed, violent or repressive and economic dimensions of the phenom- societies. For example, over the past few enon. The degradation of the environ- years, Colombia has lost tens of thousands ment in many regions of the world unof professionals, researchers and intellec- derlies population movements that swell tuals, driven to despair by the climate of the number of internal exiles or refugees. violence there. “Dams, urban sprawl and pollution have already driven 25 million people worldwide into exile,” noted Le Courrier interna- Forced displacement tional in 1996. “Even more than confl icts, this environmental degradation will soon In authoritarian countries, the absence of be the top cause of emigration, particularly freedom also enables the authorities to or- in the countries of the South.”8 ganize, or even force, population move- In many countries, however, environments that fuel confl icts with the local pop- mental degradation is possible only be- ulations and thus, in turn, lead to renewed cause of the violence used against those exodus. Forced population shifts were a who reveal and denounce this destruction characteristic of the Stalinist system, whose – such as journalists, indigenous commu- heritage still weighs heavily on the coun- nities and trade unionists. This is what tries that emerged from the implosion of happened in Chiapas, Mexico, during the Soviet Union. Governments, to prevent the 1980s, when landowners backed by pressure on resources and particularly on the militias and the authorities took ad- land or water in a given region, may also vantage of fuzzy property laws in order press populations to settle in other parts to push Indian populations out into mar- of the country. Usually, this is to the detri- ginal rural areas. It is also true of Amazo- ment of the native populations. One such nia, particularly in Brazil, and of Malaysia, drama took place when Amazonia was where forest industry companies resorted colonized, from the 1960s onwards. The to violence in order to silence the environ- aim had been to solve the problem of the mentalists and journalists who were de- landless peasants in the north-west of the nouncing their practices. Such environ- country, but without going to the trouble mental degradation and the reduction in of a real land reform. In fact, what Brazil- exploitable resources are in themselves fac- ian governments did was to contribute to tors that provoke wars and therefore fur- the destruction of the Amazon forest and ther migrations.9 the massacre of the Indians. In Indonesia, the central government in Jakarta facilitated migrations towards the Criminalization less populous islands of the archipelago. This led almost immediately to insuper- Migration has therefore been thrust into able tensions with local populations who the very heart of a new global phenom- had different ethnic, linguistic and reli- enon, the criminalization of the economy gious backgrounds. Viet Nam pursued and of politics. The expulsion of peas-

23 ants by forest enterprises, mining com- tries. Statements of intent at UN and G8 panies and drug traffi ckers is most often (the world’s richest countries and Russia) achieved through the use of death threats. summits scarcely survive the realities of a In many regions of the world, the State has global system that treats poverty as more abdicated in favour of criminal gangs and or less predestined and inequality as vir- moneygrubbers, or in some cases has sim- tually normal. ply gone into cahoots with them. Assistance for democratic experiments To their previous traffi cking activities, is also hamstrung by pragmatic geopoliti- mafi as have now added the smuggling of cal considerations which protect the dic- human beings. The most brutal variant is tatorial regimes that many refugees are sexual traffi cking. Each year, hundreds fl eeing. Attempts to prevent and resolve of thousands of human beings, mainly confl icts get bogged down in these same women and children, are swallowed up by contradictions generated by realpolitik and the transnational prostitution networks, in economic diplomacy. The fi ght against the which the most basic human rights are sys- criminalization of international commerce tematically violated.10 The market in under- also suffers. This is because bans on arms qualifi ed employment is also coordinated sales, and export controls on the raw ma- by mafi a-style organizations with the com- terials behind the “new civil wars”, such plicity of state offi cials, at the points of de- as diamonds and coltan,11 are only loosely parture and arrival, and the collaboration applied, due to pressure from metropoli- of unscrupulous employers who deprive tan or transnational business. these workers of their right to freedom of “God give you peace,” said some polite association and expression. This criminal- monks to the fourteenth-century English ization of the labour market, which in the commander Sir John Hawkwood. “God sending countries thrives on the failure of take away your alms,” he retorted, “for as the State, goes on to affect the receiving you live by charity, so do I by war.” His countries, where it creates areas of violence words should give pause to the present- and exploitation. The guarantors of legal- day debaters of migration and asylum ity, such as labour inspectors, tax inspec- policies. tors and journalists, if they are too insistent, soon become the targets of intimidation or Notes attempted corruption. In these mafi a-style 1 economies, the press in particular is in the Human Rights Watch: Presumption of guilt: Human rights abuses of post-September 11 detainees, fi ring line. Over the past few years, scores New York, August 2002. of journalists have been killed by the hire- 2 Le Monde des Débats (Paris): “Ethnies, religions, lings of criminal organizations. communautés, le grand défi des différences”, April 2002, p. 22. 3 Anne-Line Didier and Jean-Luc Marret: Etats Helping democracy and “échoués”, mégapoles anarchiques, Paris, Presses Uni- preventing conflicts versitaires de France, 2001. 4 See François Jean and Jean-Christophe Rufi n (eds.): Economie des guerres civiles, Paris, Hachette, Given such complex and violent phenom- 1996; and Mats Berdal and David M. Malone (eds.): ena, the control and expulsion measures Greed and grievance, economic agendas in civil wars, introduced by many Western countries Boulder, CO, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000. are inherently fl awed. The only effec- 5 Amartya Sen: Development as freedom, New tive policy would be one that attacks the York, Anchor Books, 1999, pp. 160-188. root causes of forced migrations. Instead, 6 Freedom Forum, 11 April 2000; or A New Ap- double standards are the order of the day. proach to Development: The Role of the Press, A World Association of Newspapers/World Bank conference, The selfsame Western governments that in- Zurich, 13 June 1999. The quotation is an unoffi cial tercept and expel migrants are also turn- retranslation from the French. ing their backs on equitable development 7 Human Rights Watch: Repression of Montag- and cutting their aid to the poor coun- nards, New York, April 2002.

24 8 Le Courrier international (Paris): “L’exode 10 Human Rights Watch: Owed Justice: Thai women écologique a commencé”, 28 Nov.- 4 Dec. 1996. trafﬁ cked into debt bondage in Japan, New York, Sep. 9 Thomas F. Homer-Dixon: “Environmental Scar- 2000. city, Mass Violence and the Limits to Ingenuity”, in 11 Columbite-tantalite – coltan for short – is a Current History, November 1996, pp. 359-366. dull metallic ore.

25 Global perspective

Migration and labour solidarity

If the rule of law is to be respected, labour markets are to be regulated and social dialogue is to be maintained, trade unions must become much more involved in migration policy. The need is urgent.

Patrick A. Taran Senior Migration Specialist ILO

he migration of labour poses funda- on the margins of society, lacking the pro- Tmental policy dilemmas to govern- tection given, or meant to be given, to of- ments and their “social partners”, partic- fi cially authorized workers. ularly unions. Many States have placed in- As the International Confederation of creasingly strict barriers on the legal entry Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) points out, of migrant workers yet paradoxically ap- it is often extremely diffi cult to organize pear to tolerate the presence of large num- migrants into unions or organizations to bers of irregular migrants, especially those defend their interests. When it is not con- working in low-paid jobs not fi lled by the sidered illegal under national laws, organ- national labour market. izing – especially of those without legal au- Unions must therefore ensure that mi- thorization for employment – is easily in- grant worker issues are on the negotiating timidated by the threat of deportation.1 table and that national policies are worked And, in theory at least, irregular mi- out including contributions from labour grants are removable from the host country and management. Trade union advocacy when domestic unemployment rises and/ of migrant workers is essential. ILO expe- or when rising political tensions prompt rience suggests several basic policies. the targeting of scapegoats.

Exploitation of migrants The impact of globalization

It is often said that migrant labour fi lls the The growing economic interdependence of “three-D” jobs: dirty, dangerous and diffi - States has been a widely acknowledged ef- cult. Migrant labour has long been utilized fect of globalization. The immediate im- in both developed and developing econo- pact on global population movements has mies as a low-cost means to sustain busi- been less easy to determine. However, as nesses that are only just viable. Today, mi- a recent ILO study put it, “The evidence grant labour continues to be used in many points to a likely worsening of migration countries to keep down the cost of farm pressures in many parts of the world… produce, to ensure low-cost construction Processes integral to globalization have labour, and to provide services in the “sex intensifi ed the disruptive effects of mod- industry”. ernization and capitalist development.”2 The most vulnerable migrant workers Many developing countries face serious are those without authorization for entry social and economic dislocation associ- or for employment. They work and live ated with persistent poverty and growing

26 unemployment, loss of traditional trad- domestic industrial and agricultural pro- ing patterns, and what has been termed duction with cheap imports at the expense a “growing crisis of economic security.” of many jobs in those sectors. For example, Small wonder that people are abandon- a ton of imported corn in Callao (Peru) or ing their homes in search of a better life a ton of imported rice in Manila can now elsewhere. be delivered more cheaply than the out- How extensive is the exodus? Unsur- put of local, small-scale enterprises. It is prisingly, nobody knows for sure. The ILO argued that the effi ciency of mechanized says that statistics in some countries are large-scale agribusiness lowers food costs. “lamentably scarce” and do not account However, growing a ton of corn might sus- for irregular migrants. It’s best estimates tain several farmers and labourers in Peru, for the numbers of international migrant and support their families, and so might workers and members of their families as the rice in Manila. of 1995 – the latest year for which compre- Jobs have also gone in developing hensive data is available – are shown in the countries as a result of IMF-backed struc- following table. tural adjustment programmes (SAPs). In return for loans, the International Mone- tary Fund (IMF) insisted that governments Numbers of international migrant workers should cut their wages bill and reduce their and their families (best estimates, 1995) budget defi cits. This meant signifi cant re- Africa 18-21 000 000 ductions in government employment, including professionals as well as skilled South and East Asia 5-7 000 000 and unskilled workers. The trouble was Europe* 26-30 000 000 that the jobs lost by government spend- North America 16-18 000 000 ing cuts were not offset by the creation of new jobs in the private sector or in former South/Central America 7-12 000 000 state enterprises that had been privatized West Asia (Arab States) 8-9 000 000 as part of the reforms. On the contrary, the fi rst thing that new managers of privatized Total 80-97 000 000 state enterprises did was to cut further the * The numbers for Western Europe would be about 22 mil- number of employees. lion economically active foreigners and dependants. It all added up to migration pressure Source: ILO: Migrant workers, Report III(4), International as possibilities for employment and eco- Labour Conference, 87th Session, Geneva, 1999. nomic survival at home disappear. Rarely considered, long-term factors also have an While future projections remain spec- infl uence: global warming may damage ulative, a notable starting point is that the world economy; civil confl icts seem global estimates for international migra- endemic in certain parts of the world; and tion roughly doubled between 1975 and some States have simply collapsed and slid 2000, from a total of 75 million people liv- into anarchy. ing outside their homelands to 150 million Taking account of all of these factors, (including labour migrants, dependants, ILO analysts reckon that as many as 500 refugees, permanent immigrants). million people may be living outside their Growth in the trade of goods and for- countries of origin by 2050. Meanwhile, de- eign direct investment will not be enough mand for migrant labour is not declining. to reduce the desire to migrate from de- Demographic trends have an infl uence, veloping countries. On the contrary, de- too. The ageing workforce in many indus- mand for low-wage migrants is likely to trialized countries may lead decision- increase. makers to consider immigration as an A speed-up in international trade can important option. The value of “foreign have the unintended effect in a develop- labour” will be increasingly recognized, ing country of replacing or undercutting including as a means of propping up tot-

27 tering social security schemes in industri- receiving countries adopted restrictive im- alized countries. Migrant labour may also migration policies in the last two decades. increasingly be seen as a potential force to However, they also competed with each boost the economy, as older workforces other to woo highly educated specialists tend to be less fl exible, less adaptable to in developing countries. This has led to a technological change and therefore less signifi cant rise in skilled labour migration innovative. over the past years. Globalization and trade liberalization At the same time, there was an almost have had contradictory impacts on em- worldwide effort by governments to fi ll ployment conditions in countries of desti- shunned “three-D jobs” and expand the nation. There is still a demand for cheap, economy by making it competitive with low-skilled labour in industrialized coun- the introduction of cheap and low-skilled tries as well as a considerable number of migrant labour.3 developing nations in Africa, Asia, Latin ILO research has shown that some de- America and the Middle East. Much of this veloping countries lose from 10 to 30 per demand is in agriculture, food-processing, cent of qualifi ed manpower through this construction, semi-skilled or unskilled “brain drain”, damaging the prospects for manufacturing jobs (textiles, etc.), and economic growth.4 low-wage services such as domestic work, The news is not all negative, however. home health care and the sex sector. The ILO researchers pointed to positive Some small and medium-sized com- side-effects: migrant workers sent pre- panies in the industrialized world cannot cious foreign exchange to their families in afford to move to countries where labour developing countries; many learned new costs are cheaper. So they tend to reduce skills and went home to apply their knowl- the manufacturing and labour-intensive edge where it was most needed. side of their business, cut costs and subcontract this work in developing countries. In a considerable number of coun- Fundamental policy dilemmas tries, these measures have expanded the number of jobs at the bottom of the em- The conclusion to be drawn from our in- ployment scale. formation is that in a considerable number These jobs are often those referred to as of countries, migration is being simultan- the “three-D” jobs: dirty, diffi cult and dan- eously encouraged and combated. This is gerous. Not all of them are fi lled by citizens a major contemporary contradiction. De- of the country concerned. Many workers in spite all the political rhetoric about illegal the industrialized countries would refuse migration, a considerable number of gov- jobs with low wages and dangerous or ernments tolerate it. The effect: a steady poor conditions, which explains why un- supply of “illegal” migrant workers, stig- employment often coexists with an in- matized, isolated and unable to organize in creasing demand for migrant labour. the workplace to defend their dignity and Migrant workers are often well- to press for decent working conditions. educated people who are ready to take up A recent – but pre-11 September – ex- jobs that they would not accept at home. ample from the United States serves to The departure from poor countries of illustrate duality in managing irregular specialists such as doctors, teachers and immigration. Early in 2000, the US Immi- other professionals seeking a better life gration and Naturalization Service (INS) represents an enormous loss of human re- quietly suspended raids and deportations, sources. Wage differentials are often deci- except at the Mexican borders. It cannot sive especially when conditions at home have been a coincidence that this suspen- are akin to poverty. sion came just after the Chairman of the A double standard prevails in the case Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan, of specialists. Many traditional migrant- warned that the most signifi cant threat to

28 the US economy was infl ation driven by US$7 billion. This places the business in wage increases. What better way of hold- third place after drugs and arms smug- ing down this wage-induced infl ation than gling. The ILO says: “The recent rise in by increasing the supply of workers on the labour traffi cking may basically be attrib- labour market? 5 uted to imbalances between labour sup- The mild new policy was seen by some ply and the availability of legal work in unions and undocumented workers as an a place where the jobseeker is legally en- opportunity. These workers expanded titled to reside.”7 their unionization campaign. In Chicago, Ultimately, labour traffi cking would they were able to convince employers not not take place if jobseekers had more free- to let the INS carry out investigations in dom of geographical movement and their plants without warrants being ob- freedom of access to employment. Smug- tained beforehand – conveniently giving gling occurs because borders have become time to any undocumented migrant work- barriers between jobseekers and job offers. ing there to slip out of the back door.6 Traffi cking occurs not only when borders Yet another paradox: trade and fi nance are barriers preventing the supply of la- have become increasingly deregulated and bour from meeting the demand for it but integrated across regions and globally. Mi- also when no knowledge is available about gration policies have not been liberalized, proper migration channels, when employ- and do not deal with the gulf between con- ment is itself illegal and/or underground, tinued demand for cheap labour and the and where conditions of work much worse increasing supply of such labour in other than the legal minimum are tolerated or countries. On the contrary, most industri- ignored.8 alized countries have imposed restrictive immigration laws and policies over the last decade, and many developing coun- Discrimination and xenophobia tries across the South appear to be following suit. At the start of the twenty-fi rst century, These restrictive measures have been virtually every country has become or is established with little or no considera- fast becoming multicultural, multi- ethnic, tion of domestic labour demand and sup- multi racial, multilingual and multi- ply. In some regions, imposition of tighter religious. At the same time, virtually every border controls and restrictions on move- country is experiencing increasing mani- ment have cut across traditional routes and festations of hostility and violence against patterns of labour and trade migration. non-nationals – migrants, refugees, im- Tighter border controls have not halted migrants, even sometimes students and migratory fl ows nor have they had pro- tourists. In Africa, Asia and the Middle jected results in reducing the number of East, discrimination and abuse is rampant workers crossing borders. Instead they against persons coming from neighbour- have put more pressure on those who mi- ing countries with shared racial, ethnic, grate. With few options available for legal cultural and historical characteristics. migration in the face of strong pull-push ILO researchers have exposed levels pressures, irregular migration channels be- of discrimination in access to employ- come the only alternative, and one which ment against immigrant and ethnic mi- presents lucrative “business” opportuni- norities in Western countries. Detailed ties for helping people arrange travel, ob- country studies in Belgium, Germany, tain documents, cross borders and fi nd the Netherlands and Spain found net dis- jobs in destination countries. crimination rates to be as high as 37 per Testimony to back the claim that recent, that is to say that more than one in strictive immigration policies fail is the every three applications by minorities of estimate that the business of traffi cking immigrant backgrounds were rejected or and smuggling people is worth roughly not given consideration while identically

29 qualifi ed nationals were considered.9 Sim- lem can be resolved. This kind of argument ilar fi ndings have been made in Canada, can only encourage recourse to draconian the United Kingdom, the United States measures by rich countries. and other countries. While similarly detailed studies have not been conducted in countries in other regions of the world, Gender and migration anecdotal evidence suggests high rates of discrimination against legal migrant work- A word on the gender dimensions of dis- ers in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin crimination against migrants is more than America as well. warranted. Differential opportunities for Rampant discrimination in the United legitimate employment affect men and States led the American trade union cen- women differently. Demand for migrant tre, AFL-CIO, last year to reverse its sup- workers from receiving countries is very port for “employer sanctions” enacted in much defi ned by the labour market seg- 1986. The application of legal sanctions mentation in these countries, i.e. opportuni- against employers who hired unauthor- ties available for precisely those low-skilled ized foreign workers were found to have jobs considered suitable for women. resulted in widespread discrimination in The feminization of international la- hiring against blacks who were US citi- bour migration, together with the fact zens or authorized residents, Hispanics, that most job opportunities for women Asians, and other non-white workers. Em- migrants are in unregulated sectors (such ployers usually cited diffi culties in verify- as domestic work and the sex industry), ing work-authorizing documentation pre- have reminded analysts of the discrimi- sented by applicants as the reason for ex- nation against women. They have less ac- cluding some or all minority candidates cess to information on migration/job op- from consideration. However, civil rights portunities and recruitment channels, and and labour groups said sanctions provided often have less preparation than men to a convenient cover for employers seeking cope with the working and living condi- to discriminate. tions in the countries of destination. A worrying recent development has been a public linkage of migrants and migration with criminality. These include fre- Challenges for workers quent news reports that blame foreigners and their organizations or immigrants for the rise in crime, putting immigration control in the same category Dealing with migration is a major con- as crime, arms and drug control, and the cern of employers and workers as well as generalized use of the terminology of ir- of labour ministries. It means promoting regular migrant or illegal alien. Legally and employment and social protection and re- semantically, the term irregular migrant is quires anti-discrimination and integration a contradiction by any reading of human initiatives. ILO standards provide the nec- rights values. It contradicts the spirit, if not essary legal foundation for broad migra- the letter, of the Universal Declaration of tion policy. Human Rights, which clearly establishes As trade union movements in countries in Article 6 that every person has the right such as Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, to recognition before the law, and in Ar- Republic of Korea, Spain and the United ticle 7, that every person has the right to States have recognized, solidarity with mi- due process. grant workers is fundamental; exclusion It is now claimed that xenophobia and and disassociation from foreign workers racism against migrants are caused by im- simply facilitates situations in which mi- migration itself. By an extension of dema- grant workers are exploited. gogic logic, the victims are the cause of the As with race and gender, nationality problem; by removing the cause, the prob- often serves as a convenient instrument

30 for segmentation of labour, and for justify- mand for foreign “workers” not subject to ing relegation of certain groups of workers any inspection or regulatory control, and classifi ed by ethnic minority status, gen- thus more highly exploitable. der or nationality into work in substand- ard conditions. In the last few years, controlling or ILO Conventions managing migration has become an expressed priority for many governments. The two ILO Conventions on labour mi- Intergovernmental dialogues towards gration – the Migration for Employment policy coordination have been estab- Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) and lished in virtually all regions. New leg- the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Pro- islation affecting labour migration has visions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) – pro- been established or proposed in dozens of vide a basic framework for national leg- countries worldwide. However, increas- islation and practice on managing labour ingly, migration management responsibil- migration. These instruments stipulate ities are being shifted from labour minis- that States actively facilitate fair recruit- tries to interior or home affairs ministries, ment practices and transparent consul- thus transforming the framework of pol- tation with their social partners, reaffi rm icy elaboration and implementation from non-discrimination and establish a prin- that of labour market regulation to that of ciple of equality of treatment between na- policing society. tionals and regular migrant workers in ac- Recent new national and regional pol- cess to social security, conditions of work, icy frameworks on migration management remuneration and trade union member- now emerging in the Andean region, in ship. Accompanying Recommendations the Caribbean, in Europe, in North Africa provide important policy guidelines, in- and elsewhere simply make no reference cluding a model for bilateral migration to the relevance of international norms agreements. (See also article by Cécile on migrant workers and decent work Vittin-Balima, p. 5.) standards. Other ILO Conventions and Recom- Consultation with social partners is not mendations provide norms for legislation even mentioned in most of these new pol- and monitoring to assure minimum “de- icy initiatives. This means that treatment cent working conditions” applicable to mi- of an increasingly important number of grants. Establishing and upholding these workers is being deregulated, exempted norms is the most effective means of re- from legal protection and removed from ducing the attraction of irregular migra- the agenda of social dialogue. tion and of avoiding the use of migrants to undermine conditions and compete un- fairly with nationals for jobs. The importance of labour standards The 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Policy responses to labour migration Workers and Members of Their Families must deal with the problem that victims which is expected to enter into force im- of exploitation or forced labour conditions, minently (it has now obtained the required as well as of traffi cking, usually have no 20 ratifi cations) is based on concepts and choice or perceive having no choice but language drawn from the two ILO Con- to submit. Traffi cking of migrant agricul- ventions. It extends considerably the legal tural workers, domestic workers, sweat- framework for migration, treatment of mi- shop workers, and particularly those in grants, and prevention of exploitation and the informal sector, has been detected on irregular migration. many continents.10 Growth in many coun- These Conventions together provide tries of a visible but legally restricted “sex a comprehensive “values-based” defi ni- industry” has opened a major area of de- tion and legal basis for national policy

31 and practice regarding non-national mi- this achievement.11 The text reafﬁ rms ILO grant workers and their family members. Conventions No. 97 and No. 143 as well as It thus serves as a tool to encourage States the 1990 international Convention on mi- to establish or improve national legislation grant workers rights as basic standards. in harmony with international standards. It “urges States to take concrete meas- They are not simply human rights instru- ures that would eliminate racism, racial ments. Numerous provisions in each add discrimination, xenophobia and related up to a comprehensive agenda for national intolerance in the workplace against all policy and for consultation and coopera- workers, including migrants and ensure tion among States on labour migration the full equality of all before the law, in- policy formulation, exchange of informa- cluding labour law”. tion, providing information to migrants, orderly return and reintegration, etc. What’s needed

Comprehensive policy ILO experience in combination with rec- responses required ommendations adopted by governments in Durban and other international confer- Assuring decent treatment for migrant ences identifi es the following basic ele- workers, and resolving tensions between ments for policy: sometimes differing immediate interests of An informed and transparent labour national and foreign workers cannot be ob- migration admissions system de- tained by piecemeal measures or isolated signed to respond to measured, legit- advocacy and actions here or there. imate needs, taking into account do- Workers’ organizations potentially mestic labour concerns as well. Such a have the knowledge base, social author- system must be based in labour minis- ity and political legitimacy to play leading tries, and rely on regular labour market roles in national and international efforts assessments conducted in consultation to address labour migration in a decent with social partners to identify and re- work and human rights framework. spond to current and emerging needs The numerous and complex aspects for workers, high- and low-skilled. ILO require elaborating a comprehensive ap- research underlines this as a fundamen- proach. Fortunately, most of the elements tal starting point: legal labour migra- for such an approach have already been tion channels contribute to reducing ex- identifi ed if not elaborated. Furthermore, ploitation, traffi cking and smuggling of several international conferences have migrants.12 put together comprehensive frameworks incorporating most if not all of the neces- A standards-based approach to “mi- sary elements. gration management”, protecting basic Most recently, the Declaration and Pro- rights of all migrants and combating gramme of Action adopted at the World exploitation and traffi cking. Advocacy Conference Against Racism and Xenopho- by worker organizations for adoption bia (WCAR) in Durban in 2001 included and implementation of the ILO and no less than 40 paragraphs on treatment of UN Conventions on migrant workers is migrant workers, refugees and other non- fundamental. While 69 states have now nationals. These paragraphs in themselves ratifi ed one or more of these three com- constitute a comprehensive and viable plementary standards a large number programme of action to combat xenopho- have yet to adopt any. The point of es- bia and discrimination against migrants. tablishing legal rights and policy stand- Trade union delegates from all regions to ards is to ensure social legitimacy and WCAR preparatory meetings and the con- accountability, with a foundation in the ference itself contributed considerably to rule of law.13

32 Enforcement of minimum national em- Institutional mechanisms for consulta- ployment conditions standards in all tion and coordination with social part- sectors of activity. This involves enact- ners in policy elaboration and practical ment of clear national minimum stand- implementation, to ensure coordina- ards for protection of workers, national tion within governments and consulta- and migrant, in employment, where tion with social partners and concerned those do not exist. ILO Conventions non-governmental organizations on all on aspects such as occupational safety main areas of policy concern. These in- and health, against forced labour, and clude supervision of recruitment, ad- on discrimination provide minimum ministration of admissions, public ed- international norms for national legis- ucation and awareness raising, training lation. A necessary complement is mon- of public service and law enforcement itoring and inspection in areas such as offi cials, provision of social and health agriculture, domestic work, the sex in- services, and numerous other aspects of dustry and other sectors of “irregular” managing labour migration. employment. An effort should be made in particular to identify and prevent ex- The feminization of migration and pre- ploitation of children and to detect and dominance of abuse of women migrants stop forced labour, as well as to uphold require elaboration of gender-sensitive the need for decent work conditions. migration policies which recognize gender equality as integral to the process of A Plan of Action against discrimination policy-making, planning and programme and xenophobia to sustain social cohe- delivery at all levels, focusing not only on sion. Main elements, identifi ed in the providing equal treatment, but on ensur- Durban programme of action, include: ● ing equal outcomes. adopting in national law relevant These fi ve themes may be the most es- standards to protect rights of non- sential lines for advocacy and practical nationals; work that assures protection of migrants ● making racist and xenophobic dis- and promotes decent work for all workers. crimination, behaviour and action However, fully addressing the dynamics of unacceptable and illegal; labour migration today also requires: ● elaborating administrative meas- policies for labour mobility – freedom ures and procedures to ensure full for workers to move – within regions; implementation of legislation, and accountability of all government creation of specialized institutions for offi cials; policy coordination, enforcement and ● establishing independent national monitoring; human rights/anti-discrimination encouraging voluntary return and re- monitoring bodies with power to integration of migrants into their coun- (i) monitor and enforce legislation; tries of origin; and and (ii) receive and act upon individual complaints; combating traffi cking and exploitation of migrants by organized crime. ● promoting respect for diversity and multicultural interaction; ● encouraging communications media Trade union engagement to emphasize positive images of diversity and of migration; Re-establishing a more active role in na- ● incorporating multicultural and ditional policy will require change in many versity training in educational cur- workers’ organizations. The trade union ricula; and movement in a number of countries has ● mobilizing civil society cooperation. made enormous strides in recent years,

33 often with great benefi ts for unions them- 4 B.L. Lowell and A. M. Findlay: Migration of selves as well as for national and foreign highly skilled persons from developing countries – Impact workers alike. and policy responses, Synthesis Report, Geneva, ILO, August 2001. The ICFTU has increasingly put con- 5 See for example, “U.S. Farmers Are Forced to cern for migrant workers high on its list of Rely on Illegal Labor”, in International Herald Tribune, priorities. It has produced several reports 4 October 2000. and publications for affi liates and constitu- 6 International Herald Tribune, March 2000. ents and has consistently raised concerns 7 ILO: Global Report Stopping Forced Labour, op. over treatment of migrant workers at the cit., p. 53. UN Commission on Human Rights, at the 8 ILO: Global Report Stopping Forced Labour, op. World Conference in Durban and in other cit., p. 53. forums, and has encouraged the ILO to 9 R. Zegers de Beijl: Documenting discrimination take a more active profi le in this arena. against migrant workers in the labour market, Geneva, Recent progress is encouraging, but the ILO, 2001. challenge is huge. A strong commitment to 10 ILO: Global Report Stopping Forced Labour, op. change by workers’ organizations in each cit., p. 47. and every affected country is essential if 11 The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) facilitated and coordinated much of migrant workers are to get a fair deal, de- the workers’ input to this process. cent working conditions and a better life 12 ILO: Legal labour migration and labour markets: for them and their families. Alternatives to substitute for traffi cking in children and women, Mekong Sub-Regional Project to Combat Traffi cking in Children and Women, p. 1. Notes 13 The ILO Migration for Employment Conven- tion,1949 (No. 97), ratifi ed by 42 countries, the ILO 1 See for example, Linard André: Migration and Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Con- Globalisation – the New Slaves. Brussels, ICFTU, July vention, 1975 (No. 143), ratifi ed by 18 countries; and 1998. the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members 2 Peter Stalker: Workers without frontiers – The of Their Families, now (December 2002) ratifi ed by impact of globalization on international migration, 20 countries. Texts and related information avail- Geneva, ILO, 2000. able respectively on the ILO web site, at http:// 3 UN Population Division: Replacement migration www.ilo.org/ilolex, and on that of the Offi ce of the – Is it a solution to declining and ageing populations?, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, http:// New York, March 2000. www.unhchr.ch

34 Global perspective

Globalization catches up with migrants

This century’s migrations are likely to be greater than those of the early nineteenth century. The only difference – and it is a big one – is that we now have international organizations dedicated to assisting migrant workers.

Olivier Annequin Journalist

t was long believed that mass migrations German-speaking Swiss, but there were Iwere peculiar to the early nineteenth cen- also Japanese, Syrians and Lebanese. tury and would remain so. The industri- In the past ten years or so, thousands alization of the West did indeed give rise of South Americans have been trying to to the biggest migratory movements ever travel in the opposite direction in order to recorded up to that time. The availabil- escape the economic crisis in their coun- ity of more and faster transport changed tries, which is more often than not accom- people’s time-honoured conceptions of the panied by an unbearable climate of vio- Earth. It seemed to have shrunk! lence. They all dream of building a new life There are striking parallels with the late for themselves in the countries that their twentieth century and the beginning of the forebears fl ed. Today, young Brazilians, twenty-fi rst. New information technolo- Argentinians and Peruvians are feverishly gies and the advent of the Internet seem searching the family archives for the birth to have abolished distances altogether. certifi cate of a grandparent who was lucky In the nineteenth century, the rural enough to be born Spanish, Italian, Portu- poverty caused by the mechanization of guese, British or French. For them, fi nding production forced millions of Europeans this precious document is tantamount to to leave the countryside for the towns, having a European passport. with their overcrowding and their factories. Working conditions were extremely diffi cult and pay was miserable. Within Migrant workers now have rights a pitiless economic context, where the weakest had little chance of survival, the The fundamental difference between prospect of starting a new life across the twenty-fi rst century migrant workers and ocean was a seductive one. For example, their predecessors is the existence today 500,000 immigrants are estimated to have of international organizations that protect settled in Brazil between 1819 and 1883.1 their rights. The most important of these Over the following years, the pace quick- is the International Labour Organization ened. There were 883,668 immigrants be- (ILO). Created in 1919 by the Treaty of Ver- tween 1884 and 1893; 862,100 between 1894 sailles, the ILO is dedicated to promoting and 1903; and 1,006,617 between 1904 and social justice and more particularly to en- 1913. Things slowed down in the decade suring that human rights are respected after that, which saw “only” 503,961 im- within the world of work. It draws up migrants. Most were Germans, Austrians, the international labour Conventions and Hungarians, Slavs, Spaniards, Italians or Recommendations that set the minimum

35 standards to be applied in its spheres of nationality but also, in some cases, people competence: trade union freedom; free- displaced within their own countries may dom of association and collective bargain- come within its remit. ing; the abolition of forced labour; equal- Upstream from its urgent actions in the ity of opportunity and treatment, etc. A fi eld, the UNHCR tries to prevent forced number of these Conventions specifi cally population movements by encouraging deal with the protection of migrant work- States and other institutions to create con- ers. (See also the interview with Manolo ditions favourable to the protection of Abella on page 1.) It also provides techni- human rights and the peaceful resolution cal assistance in various fi elds: vocational of disputes. In this same spirit, it seeks to training and retraining; employment pol- promote the reintegration of repatriated icy; labour administration; labour law and people in their country of origin, so as to industrial relations; working conditions; prevent situations of instability that would management training; cooperatives; so- provoke further fl ows of refugees. cial security; labour statistics; and occu- However, the UNHCR’s action ends pational safety and health. when a refugee has obtained the right of Furthermore, it encourages the forma- asylum in a country, as its spokesman in tion of independent organizations of em- Geneva, Mr. Janowski, explains: “Our ac- ployers and workers, and promotes their tion is over once a right of asylum has been growth through its training and advisory granted. When the refugee enters the labour activities. A specifi city within the United market, he or she will be subject to interna- Nations system is the ILO’s tripartite struc- tional labour law as well as to the particular ture – employers and workers take part in regulations of the receiving country.” the work of its decision-making bodies on an equal footing with governments. Other organizations are active on the Helping the vulnerable fringes of the ILO’s own endeavours. The main ones are the UNHCR (Offi ce of the The International Federation of Red Cross United Nations High Commissioner for and Red Crescent Societies was founded in Refugees) and two organizations that are 1919. It has 178 national societies in mem- not part of the UN system – the interna- bership, a secretariat in Geneva and more tional Red Cross and Red Crescent move- than 60 delegations across the globe. Its mis- ment and more particularly the IOM (In- sion is to improve the lives of vulnerable ternational Organization for Migration). people by mobilizing the power of human- ity. Vulnerable people are those who are at greatest risk from situations that threaten When a refugee becomes their survival, or their capacity to live with a migrant worker an acceptable level of social and economic security and human dignity. Often, these The HCR’s mandate is to lead and coor- are victims of natural disasters, of poverty dinate international action to protect refu- brought about by socio-economic crises or gees worldwide. Its main mission is to try of health emergencies, or else they are ref- to guarantee their rights and well-being. It ugees. The federation’s work focuses on attempts to ensure both that everyone can four core areas: promoting humanitarian benefi t from the right of asylum in another values, disaster response, disaster prepar- country and that everyone can return, of edness, and health and community care. their own volition, to their country of ori- The federation, the national societies gin. The Executive Committee of the High and the International Committee of the Commissioner’s Programme and the UN Red Cross together form the international General Assembly have also authorized Red Cross and Red Crescent movement. it to intervene of behalf of other groups. The national societies act as auxiliaries to Thus, stateless persons, people of disputed the public authorities of their own coun-

36 tries in the humanitarian fi eld. They pro- history. Moreover, some small traders cross vide a range of services including disaster the border on a daily basis. Some of these relief, health and social programmes and workers may also be fl eeing persecution in assistance to people affected by war. Myanmar. It is therefore important to identify from the outset the motives for this migration, as well as the different categories Regulating migration flows of migrant and their motivations. The IOM is also developing specifi c “Migration will be one of the major pol- projects in countries of the former Soviet icy concerns of the twenty-fi rst century,” Union, notably the Russian Federation, declared IOM Director General Brunson Georgia and Lithuania, in South America McKinley in May 2000.2 “In our shrinking (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Para- world, more and more people will look to guay and Uruguay), in North America migration – temporary or permanent – as (Canada), in Asia (Bangladesh), in Europe a path to employment, education, freedom (Albania, France, Germany, Italy, Romania or other opportunities. Governments will and Spain) and in Africa (Tunisia). need to develop sound migration policies and practices. Properly managed, migration can contribute to prosperity, develop- CD-ROM and web tools for integration ment and mutual understanding among people … The human rights of migrants A project concerning France, Romania, deserve greater attention. Traffi cked mi- Italy and Spain aims to promote the in- grants are routinely exploited, mistreated tegration of migrant workers by develop- or even killed. Migrant workers often fi nd ing innovative measures and interactive themselves without protection or recourse, multimedia products. The objective is to either from their own governments or in provide migrants, but also their trainers, the country where they are working.” with the tools that are indispensable to The IOM’s labour migration activities their integration. Within the framework focus on regulation of the movement of of this project, the IOM in Rome has been labour and on programmes to assist gov- given the task of planning and producing a ernments and migrants in the selection, CD-ROM on “basic skills” and to plan and recruitment, cultural orientation, train- coordinate the search for training oppor- ing, travel, reception, integration and re- tunities for migrants in the countries con- turn of labour migrants. cerned, whilst the search for jobs will be The Western countries are not the only undertaken by a partner in each country. ones that face the arrival of migrants look- In the longer term, the project should ing for work. Thailand, for instance, has lead into transnational research on the inte- to deal with an infl ow of migrant work- gration of migrant workers in France, Italy, ers from Cambodia and Myanmar (for- Romania and Spain; to the development merly Burma). In this context, the IOM and production of software and CD-ROMs has launched an assistance project in part- for vocational training, language courses nership with the various ministries con- and cultural orientation; to an online vir- cerned, non-governmental organizations tual classroom; and to reference manuals (NGOs), employers’ and workers’ organ- for trainers and migrants. izations and, of course, the ILO. The aim is to understand the nature of the demand for unskilled foreign workers and to recog- In conclusion nize the differences between the types of foreign worker entering the country. Is this When people who no longer have any demand structural, rather than temporary work in their own country cross a border or seasonal? In some border areas, seasonal in an attempt to carry on feeding their fam- migrations have long been part of regional ily, they often, despite themselves, become

37 “unauthorized workers”. When a ﬁ rm dis- Notes misses thousands of people and crosses the 1 same frontier in order to cut its wage bill, Almanaque Abril, São Paulo, Editora Abril. it never becomes an “unauthorized enter- 2 Quotation from IOM web site . made on the issue of migrations by working women and men if the factors deter- mining the authorization or otherwise of human actions were clearly identiﬁ ed.

38 Global perspective

The feminization of international migration

Invisibly and silently, a fundamental change is taking place in migration flows of poor but enterprising people on their way to what they hope is the promised land. More often than not, the new migrants are women. They are exploited and often sold into prostitution or forced to work for excessively long hours. Measures should be taken now for putting a stop to this exploitation.

Gloria Moreno Fontes Chammartin International Migration Programme ILO

hile during the 1970s, the typical pro- the United States, only 534 registered Wfi le of a migrant was that of a male nurses were allowed to enter. breadwinner, since the early 1980s increas- Migration policies of Western Euro- ing numbers of women, single as well as pean countries are not openly biased by married and often better educated than sex. However, in some countries restric- men, have started moving on their own tions have been imposed on admissions of to take up jobs in other countries. In fact, migrants for female types of occupations. if offi cial and unoffi cial fl ows of migrants The case of Switzerland is notorious since are added together, and then divided by no immigration quotas exist for domestic gender, the number and proportion of workers, yet many undocumented women women are likely to be much higher than from a number of developing countries fl ows of male migrant workers (see fi g- work as domestics in middle and upper ures 1 and 2). middle class households. According to the United Nations Pop- Germany is also a good example of ulation Division data, obtained mostly male-biased migration policies. All four from population censuses and covering legal means of migration for work are documented as well as undocumented mi- dominated by men: fi rstly, project-linked grants, the stock of female migrants grew employment in the building industry; sec- faster than the stock of male migrants in ondly, guestworker contracts; thirdly, sea- most of the world between 1965 and 1990 sonal workers for agriculture, forestry, con- in the most important receiving countries, struction and vineyards; and fourthly, industrialized as well as developing. commuters living up to 50 kilometres from However, women’s opportunities to the German border (80 per cent are male). migrate legally have been more limited At the same time, the increasing capi- than men in most countries. When legal, talist search for higher profi ts by reduc- offi cial recruitment efforts take place, they ing costs, have increased the demand of are frequently aimed at construction work- undocumented workers in industrial- ers and farm labourers.1 For example, in ized countries. Men and women undocu- 1999, while 32,372 agricultural workers mented migrant workers are increasingly were admitted as temporary workers to hired because they accept lower wages and

39 working conditions that nationals would employers prefer to hire them, arguing reject. Moreover, in some sectors like manu- that they are easier to manage. facturing and services, undocumented For many women, migration repre- women even have a comparative advan- sents a positive experience since the fact tage over male undocumented workers: of becoming the principal breadwinner of

Figure 1. Female migrants as percentage of total in main receiving industrialized countries 54

1965 52 1990 or latest data available

40 Australia Canada United Kingdom United States Sources: Eurostat (database New Chronos) Sweden (1998) and United Kingdom (1997); Australian Bureau of Statistics (2000); Statistique Canada (1996); US Bureau of Census (2000); United Nations Population Division, Trends in total migrant stock by sex, 1998.

Figure 2. Female migrants as percentage of total in main receiving developed countries 60 1965 1990 or latest data available 50

0 Argentina Chile Costa Rica Kuwait Malaysia Oman Singapore Thailand Venezuela Sources: United Nations Population Division, Trends in total migrant stock by sex, 1998. Costa Rica: Encuesta de hog- ares de propósitos múltiples, July 1997.

40 the family gives them a prominent role in bour codes and inspection are ignored, their family’s decision-making. However, especially in those sectors where migrant since women have less of a chance to mi- women are concentrated. grate legally than men, they are relatively more vulnerable to discrimination, abuse and violence. Domestic workers

As mentioned earlier, domestic work is Sex stereotypes one of the only occupations where legal migration of women workers has been rec- Gender plays a signifi cant role in deciding ognized to be necessary in the Gulf States, what kind of jobs can be found for migrant as well as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong men and women.2 While demand for mi- and Taiwan. These countries receive thou- grant workers in receiving countries de- sands of women migrants for domestic pends on labour markets, where opportu- work every year and their numbers are nities exist for women, they will be in low- increasing in importance when compared skilled, easily controllable jobs.3 to numbers of male migrants (see table 1). The types of jobs where demand for While in 1986 Sri Lanka reported that fe- women migrant workers exists often male migrants represented 33 per cent refl ect traditional female roles and sex of total departures, by 2001, female mi- stereotypes. Demand is mainly increas- grants’ percentage of total departures had ing for nurses, cleaning services in hotels increased to represent 67.5 per cent of total and restaurants, sex work and especially migration. As many as 83 per cent of all of for domestic work. For example, domes- these women migrant workers were going tic service is the single most important into domestic work. category of employment among female The ILO has been concerned with the migrants of South-East Asia to the Gulf plight of domestic workers for many dec- States. However, some of these jobs make ades. In 1965, the ILO’s General Confer- female migrants more vulnerable to ex- ence adopted the “Resolution concerning ploitation than male migrants due to in- the Conditions of Employment of Domes- dividualized work environments whereas tic Workers”.4 This resolution: men often work in groups in construction urged member States to make all prac- sites or plantations. ticable efforts to promote the introduc- An important source of exploitation of tion of protective measures for domes- female migrant workers is the legal and il- tic workers, such as hours of work and legal intermediaries (recruiters and agents other conditions of employment, as in sending and receiving countries) in- well as the training of such workers in volved in arranging the migration moves. accordance with International Labour One of the worst cases is that of women Organization standards; and girls forced against their will into prostitution. A number of receiving countries invited the Governing Body to consider have imposed bans and restrictions on fe- drafting a code of guiding principles for male migration to “prevent” them from the protection of the working and living falling into the hands of traffi ckers and conditions of domestic workers; and smugglers. invited the Governing Body to place on However, restrictive regulation often the agenda of the conference the ques- drives the process further underground tion of conditions of employment of do- since it forces women migrants into even mestic workers with a view to the adop- more vulnerable positions, increasing their tion of an international instrument. need of “brokers” to help them migrate clandestinely. Moreover, when they reach While the ILO has not made signifi cant the promised land they often fi nd that la- advancement either on the question of a

41 Table 1. Annual outflows of female domestic workers to the Gulf States, the Middle East and other Asian countries

Total Saudi UAE* Bahrain Oman Kuwait Qatar Jordan Lebanon Malaysia Arabia Sri Lanka 102 811 37 461 11 206 2 051 1 806 2 6321 2 199 5 720 1 2070 (2001) Philippines 70 052 (2001) Indonesia 267 191 163 129 (2000)

* United Arab Emirates. Note: Totals in Sri Lanka do not match with distribution per country since not all receiving countries are included. Sources: Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment; Malaysia Immigration Department Headquarters, Pusat Bandar Damansara, Kuala Lumpur; Philippines Overseas Employment Administration; Indonesia Department of Labour, cited in Tirtosudarmo and Romdiati (1998). code of guiding principles, or on the adop- Rica any other worker will be required to tion of an international instrument, it has work eight hours a day, domestic workers prepared several comprehensive reports are required by the labour code to work that have recognized that domestic work is from 12 to 16 hours daily. mainly performed by local or foreign work- In September 1997, the ILO Caribbean ers, mostly women. These reports have rec- Ofﬁ ce in collaboration with the Bureau of ognized that domestic work remains invis- Women’s Affairs of Jamaica and the Ja- ible and excluded from the scope of labour maica Household Workers Association legislation since it is done in houses (not held a regional workshop where a desk considered workplaces) of private per- review of the situation of domestic work- sons (not considered employers). In con- ers in the Caribbean was presented.5 The sequence, migrant domestic helpers are main objective of the workshop was to not normally considered employees them- improve the status, terms and conditions selves and their work is undervalued. of work of domestic workers in the Carib- In a number of countries labour codes bean.6 The 100 participants, representing do not cover domestic work. In other coun- domestic workers, ministries of women’s tries not only are household helpers not affairs, ministries of labour, trade unions, considered workers per se, but they are not non-governmental organizations (NGOs), protected under any other national legis- individual researchers, universities and lation. In addition, there exists no interna- UN agencies developed the following tional convention speciﬁ cally conceived to strategy for achieving this objective: protect their rights. Ironically, it is precisely Achieve the full recognition of domes- because domestic workers are employed tic workers as workers in law and prac- within the “private sphere” that there is tice. resistance to recognizing and regulating the domestic work relationship. Obtain for domestic workers the same An example that illustrates how do- legal rights and protections as other mestic workers are excluded from legal workers. protection is the fact that they are denied Defend domestic workers against sex- the right to organize in trade unions in Bra- ual harassment and other forms of zil, Jordan, Kuwait and in the province of abuse. Ontario, Canada. In other countries, labour codes comprise discriminatory provisions Demand better wages and conditions for domestic workers, e.g. while in Costa of work for domestic workers.

42 Access, develop and promote training migration status were singled out by the that will strengthen domestic workers ILO report as being particularly vulner able and widen their skills base. to exploitation and unlikely or unable to claim their rights. At the same workshop, it was decided To identify critical issues of concern to that in order to improve the terms and con- female migrant domestic workers and to ditions of domestic workers: determine the extent of their vulnerability, the ILO has been analysing the situation in legislation should be enacted or several regions (see table 2). These studies amended to fully protect their rights; reveal practices and patterns that are the the work to be done should be specifi ed key causes of the vulnerability of women and agreed upon between the employer domestic migrant workers and suggest ef- and the domestic worker at the time of fective alternative approaches. Research employment; includes data to be used in a dialogue on a mutual, respectful work environment what can be done to improve the migrant should be provided; women domestic workers’ working conditions. The studies are based on interviews live-in domestic workers should be pro- with domestic workers themselves and vided with adequate accommodation, their employers. meals and compensation for periods Some of the main issues the ILO has on call; been interested in identifying are: hours of child labour in domestic work should work; wages; workload and rest periods; be prevented, prohibited and abol- social security coverage; physical and sex- ished; and ual abuse; and contractual conditions. Another ILO study, completed in 2001 legal assistance should be made avail- and entitled Migrant women in the UAE: able to domestic workers to safeguard The case of female domestic workers, provides their rights. fi rst-hand case study data to an Information guide on preventing exploitation and abuse of The workshop also concluded that trade women migrant workers.8 The information unions should have as their main aim to: guide is intended to: ensure fair and just working conditions present background information, prac- and wages for domestic workers; tical guidelines for action and examples protect the rights of women in domes- of “good” and “bad” practices; tic service; and enhance knowledge and understanding provide skills training in household of the vulnerability of women migrant management. workers to exploitation and abuse in the migration process, in employment In 1999, the ILO completed a study in the host countries and communities that examined the scope and effi cacy of both in countries of origin and destina- current labour laws.7 This study provides tion; and data in 70 countries comparing conditions assist and enhance efforts of gov- of work, inspections and law enforcement ernment and social actors to protect (if any). The report concluded that the women from exploitation and abuse majority of domestic workers in private in employment in the host countries households are exposed to adverse con- and communities both in countries of ditions of employment and unfair work origin and destination. practices in terms of hours of work, rest periods and overtime. The different activities carried out Child domestic workers and migrant under the ILO’s Gender Promotion De- women workers with unregulated im- partment include a project entitled “Pro-

43 Table 2. ILO’s women migrant domestic workers’ surveys

Lebanon Costa Rica Kuwait Bahrain Average working hours per week 102 72 97.5 108 No overtime paid (%) 100 n.a. 98 100 Number of days off per month n.a. 4 1.5 n.a. No resting days per month 88 0 n.a. 90 at all (%) Health fees or social security n.a. 29.5 57 n.a. coverage (%) More than five household n.a. 50 41 n.a. residents per domestic worker (%) Physical, verbal or sexual abuse 37 14 51 47 cases (%) Non-payment of wages or wages 19 0 n.a. 20.5 withheld (%) Number of domestic workers 70 54 301 34 interviewed Percentage of female domestic 100 100 69 100 workers interviewed Freedom of movement controlled not controlled controlled controlled Withholding of passport common inexistent common common by sponsor or employer

Sources: Martin Godfrey and Martin Ruhs: Migrant workers in Kuwait: A review of the recruitment system in an international context, Geneva, ILO, 2002. Ray Jureidini: Women migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, Geneva, ILO, Inter- national Migration Papers No. 48, June 2002. Tejidos para los Derechos Humanos: Campaña piloto de información para patronos / as y trabajadoras domésticas, San José, ILO, IOM, Astradomes, July 2001. Sabika Al-Najjar: Women migrant domestic workers in Bahrain, Geneva, ILO, International Migration Papers No. 47, June 2002.

tecting migrant women and improving ness campaigns and direct prevention child welfare in Nicaragua”. This project measures; protection, withdrawal and reinte- has led to the publication of a very prac- gration, which include rehabilitation meas- tical brochure that provides Nicaraguan ures such as education and employment migrant women in Costa Rica (the major- and training opportunities provided to the ity of them working as domestic helpers) children’s parents. with information on everything they need Some of IPEC’s major projects at na- to know as migrants to improve their la- tional and regional level concerning child bour protection.9 domestic workers include: “Combating the In addition, the ILO’s International Pro- exploitation of child domestic workers in gramme on the Elimination of Child La- Haiti”; “Prevention and elimination of bour (IPEC) operates more than 80 “action child domestic work in South America” programmes” on reducing child domestic (Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru); and work, mostly in Asia and Latin America. “Prevention and elimination of the worst These are part of national programmes forms of child domestic labour in Central against child labour. Interventions on America and the Dominican Republic” child domestic work have been carried (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Sal- out using the following approaches: pre- vador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua vention, including advocacy and aware- and Panama).

44 Trafficking in women In Italy, a young woman traffi cked into sex work is reportedly worth between US$500 While most smuggled migrants are male and US$2,500. She is forced to earn around and will not always qualify to be consid- US$500 per night, has to serve as many as ered victims, a large number of young 30 clients in working shifts of 16 to 18 hours, migrant women or children who end receives low wages or none at all and is pro- up being victims of coercion, abduction, vided with only enough food to survive.12 fraud, deception, abuse of power or abuse of force defi nitely fall into the category of traffi cked persons. What the ILO has done and is doing Jobs for which children, women and men may be traffi cked can include work The ILO has dealt with the issue of human in construction, small shops, fi shing, foot- traffi cking in relation to forced labour, the wear factories, plantations and domestic abuse of migrant workers, discrimination work. However, most traffi cked victims at work (particularly where certain social will be transported into other countries or groups, such as ethnic and indigenous peo- far-away regions for the purpose of sexual ples are disproportionately affected), and exploitation. as one of the worst forms of child labour. Since an additional stereotype attrib- The ILO stands for fi rm prosecution of traf- uted to women is that of providing sexual fi ckers in women and children and sup- gratifi cation, and the “supply” of national ports action by governments, employers, women is decreasing, for many women mi- trade unions, as well as NGOs to prevent grant workers, sex work becomes one of it and to help these victims become useful the few steady sources of jobs, voluntary and productive citizens. or forced. It is a fact that a larger number The ILO’s involvement in the battle of migrant women can be found in the sex against traffi cking began in 1993 with sector than migrant men. IPEC programmes in Cambodia, Nepal, Traffi cking is one of the worst forms the Philippines and Thailand. During the of labour exploitation and as such a gross biennium 2002-2003 a substantial portion violation of human rights and of the ILO’s of ILO’s budget (almost US$20 million) has most fundamental principles. Traffi cking been committed to combating traffi cking. reduces women and children to mere com- The ILO concentrates its work on the mercial commodities used for internal labour side of the problem, where it has trade and for export. Traffi ckers are fi lling a comparative advantage over other in- the gap between the existing high demand stitutions, especially in providing jobs and for migrant labour in some sectors of the training opportunities to potential victims economy on the one hand, and the dimin- of traffi cking and to traffi cked women and ishing legal channels of migration in most children. The ILO is also one of the few in- countries on the other. stitutions focusing on preventive action, According to ILO data, in 1999, an es- combating the root causes (mainly lack of timated 80,000 women and children were education, employment and training op- traffi cked into the commercial sex indus- portunities). ILO projects provide adequate try in Thailand, of whom 30 per cent were educational alternatives for children and ac- under 18 years of age.10 In South Asia, cess to decent work, suffi cient income and the major receiving country of traffi cked security for their families. For example, it women and children, India, has between provides microcredit for self-employment 70,000 and 100,000 migrant women and and setting up of small businesses. children, mainly from Nepal, working vol- The ILO has undertaken general stud- untarily or forcibly in its sex sector.11 ies on undocumented labour migration The sex sector is easily forgotten by la- and its links with the traffi cking of mi- bour or health inspectors. As a result, ex- grants in several countries and is prepar- ploitative working conditions are the rule. ing documentation for policy planning.

45 For this purpose, it has started research tee migrant women’s fundamental human on the reasons why traffi ckers have found rights and rights at work. A number of in- such a lucrative market. ternational labour standards address the The ILO is particularly interested in protection of women migrant workers exploring whether restrictive immigra- and call upon States to respect the basic tion policies are paradoxically one of the human rights of all migrant workers, male causes of traffi cking. People in developing and female (see also the article by Cécile countries seeking a better life abroad may Vittin-Balima on page 5). A host of other have to seek the help of criminal rings and Conventions cover the rights of women gangsters to achieve their goal. It follows workers. that it is in their interest if governments For domestic workers, as well as for maintain strict immigration laws. traffi cked victims, governments, and em- The ILO is also documenting any differ- ployers’ and workers’ associations could ences between the traffi cking of men and of join efforts to provide these workers with women and children. Research under way the necessary tools to defend themselves. considers issues such as at what point in International legislation or the drafting of the process of organizing undocumented an international code of guidelines seems migration do those concerned have re- to be absolutely necessary to advance to- course to traffi ckers. wards this objective. In addition, it would be advisable to promote the benefi ts for migrant domestic workers of organizing Conclusion in trade unions. The strengthening of links between domestic workers and trade un- The feminization of international migra- ions could contribute to an effective rep- tion will continue since labour market resentation and defence of migrant do- demand for women migrants in labour- mestic workers’ labour rights. The issue importing countries is often greater than is becoming pressing since international that for men. However, much of this femi- demand for childcare and care for the eld- nization will go undocumented. Moreover, erly is increasing and often nationals can- it is not certain that the increasing partici- not satisfy the demand. pation of women in international migra- In the case of traffi cked victims, the tion will provide most of them with a de- ILO has started studying the possibility cent wage, good working conditions, the of governments contributing to breaking necessary social security coverage, and la- the chain of supply and demand, possibly bour protection as a whole. It is therefore with the help of trade unions and employ- important to provide more attention to the ers’ organizations. The ILO recognizes that labour situation of the growing number of its constituents – unions, employers and female migrant workers. governments – have a unique ability to un- If global development is to be success- dertake actions such as reducing the sup- ful, it must make the best possible use of ply of traffi cked victims by targeting the women migrants’ potential, and migra- sending communities and families, inter- tion must be seen as one of the most sig- rupting the route along which traffi cking nifi cant means of achieving this purpose. takes place, identifying traffi cked victims However, specifi c institutional support and doing more for their rescue and reha- will clearly be needed at the national, as bilitation. A joint contribution to the fi ght well as the regional and international, level against the traffi cking in women and chil- to achieve this goal. ILO’s unique tripartite dren could include: structure could be the ideal forum for discussion on the issue of strengthening the providing professional training of protection of women migrant workers. workers in the state apparatus – po- Government, employers and trade lice, immigration services, courts, and union efforts will be necessary to guaran- others, such as social workers and

46 health workers – to inform them prop- large number of migrant workers, men and erly about what traffi cking is about and women as well their families, with the hope how to deal with it; of a better life free of exploitation. playing an awareness-raising role in the mass media; Notes having a watchdog role at the work- 1 place. Workers and employers in eco- Exceptions to this rule are the Gulf States where domestic work has been recognized to be necessary, nomic sectors prone to traffi cking plus Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and should learn how to identify and re- Taiwan, China. port cases of traffi cked victims; 2 2000 UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish disseminating information in schools, Traffi cking in Persons, Especially Women and Children: “…traffi cking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, colleges and universities with the help transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of per- of educational sector trade unions; sons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, support improvement of working con- of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability ditions and supporting economic sec- or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefi ts tors to meet minimum labour stand- to achieve the consent of a person having control over ards, e.g. the hotel, restaurant, enter- another person, for the purpose of exploitation. tainment and tourism industry; 3 Gloria Moreno-Fontes Chammartin and Patrick Taran: Getting at the roots, unpublished ILO paper. promoting the accreditation of best 4 ILO: Resolution concerning the Conditions of Em- practice employment agencies; ployment of Domestic Workers, International Labour interrupting transport links used in Conference, Geneva, 49th session, 1965. traffi cking such as buses, boats, and 5 ILO: Desk review; Domestic workers in the Carib- bean, Port of Spain, ILO Caribbean Offi ce, May 1997. at airports and ports. Where these are 6 state owned or controlled, workers’ or- ILO: Domestic workers in the Caribbean, a reference handbook, Port of Spain, ILO Caribbean Offi ce and ganizations could discuss with the au- Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, December 1998. thorities the proper implementation of 7 José María Ramirez Machado: Domestic work, international obligations and national conditions of work and employment: A legal perspective, laws to prevent traffi cking. Where Geneva, ILO, Conditions of Work Branch, forthcom- these are privately owned, workers’ ing. organ izations and employers could 8 The guide includes case studies on good prac- use collective bargaining to develop a tices in 11 ILO member States (Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Italy, Japan, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Philippines, joint approach to the issue; Romania, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates). increasing the number of labour inspec- 9 ILO: Todo lo que tengo que saber como migrante: tors; and Guía informative para mujeres nicaragüenses en Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica, 2001. on the rehabilitation side, employers 10 ILO: International Programme on the Elimina- could work closely with projects offer- tion of Child Labour (IPEC) and the Gender Promo- ing vocational training to ensure that tion Programme (GENPROM), Project “Reducing La- marketable skills are offered. bour Exploitation of Children and Women: Combat- ing Traffi cking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region”. It would be advisable for ILO’s constitu- 11 ILO: International Programme on the Elimi- ents to advocate for more legal and regular nation of Child Labour (IPEC), Project “South Asian Sub-Regional Programme to Combat Traffi cking of migration channels based on the needs of Children for Exploitative Employment in Bangla- the labour market. By ensuring the protec- desh, Nepal and Sri Lanka”. tion of migrants’ rights and minimum de- 12 Gloria Moreno-Fontes Chammartin: Report on cent work conditions, they could provide a a mission to Albania, 25 Feb.-4 Mar. 2001.

47 Global perspective

Migration, remittances and development

The money that migrants send back home is an important source of revenue for families, but also for developing economies. How can the productive use of these remittances be enhanced? The ILO is studying the options.

Judith van Doorn Social Finance Programme ILO

hroughout the world, labour migration Republic, El Salvador, France, Jordan, Mo- Thas become a major source of support rocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Spain and Yemen. for poor families in developing countries. Together, these countries composed the Substantial amounts of remittances move “top 15” remittance-receiving countries between regions, through different mecha- in 1998. nisms. Remittances are migrant workers’ A good measure of the weight of re- earnings sent back from the country of em- mittances is their proportion to a coun- ployment to the country of origin. Taken try’s population, its gross national product together, these small money transfers, be- (GNP) or other income-generating activi- tween US$250 and US$300 per transaction, ties like merchandise exports and tourism. repeated eight to ten times a year,1 amount In Cape Verde, for example, remittances to over US$105 billion (1990).2 These num- exceeded the country’s exports by 16 to bers in themselves are very impressive. Yet one in 1994. In the same year, remittances in fact, they only refl ect the tip of the ice- made up over 75 per cent of merchandise berg, since they do not include remittances exports in Egypt, El Salvador and Jordan, sent through informal channels (e.g. hand- and 25 per cent or more of merchandise carriage, family, friends, money couriers or exports in Bangladesh. A study of Bangla- networks of transfer agents). desh further revealed that in recent years, It is impossible to determine the value remittances fi nanced around 43 per cent of of informal remittances globally, since data the development budget. on these transactions are obviously diffi cult to obtain. One can, however, get an impres- sion of these transfers from the fi ndings of Remittances and development selected studies. In Egypt, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sudan for example, infor- Remittances have the potential to create mal remittances were found to be at least positive outcomes for the migration source double or triple the recorded fi gures. areas. Their scale is considerable, as can By the end of the 1990s, Egypt, India, be seen when looking at the total amount Mexico, Portugal and Turkey were the of remittances compared to offi cial devel- main remittance-receiving countries. opment assistance (ODA). In 1999, devel- India received US$9.4 billion in 1998, Mex- oping countries received US$65 billion in ico US$5.6 billion, Turkey US$5.4 billion, offi cial remittances, exceeding the US$54 Egypt US$3.5 billion and Portugal US$3.2 billion of ODA in the same year.3 billion. Other major remittance-receiving Remittances can contribute to reduc- countries include Bangladesh, Dominican ing inequalities resulting from globaliza-

48 Figure 1. Trends in remittances (in billions of US dollars) Billions of US$ 120

100 Worldwide Developing countries

0 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Source: http://migration.ucdavis.edu/Data/remit.on.www/remittances.html tion, in particular since almost two-thirds These issues touch upon the rights of of all remittances are sent to developing migrant workers. Some ILO Conventions countries. refer to the importance of facilitating mi- Attractive investment opportunities grant workers’ remittances. They also state in the country of origin can capture re- that migrants should be able to remit funds mittances for the stimulation of produc- voluntarily to their families back home, tion and employment. Furthermore, for and that arrangements should be made migrant workers it is important that the to encourage voluntary forms of thrift. transfer of funds takes place in a cost-effec- Finally, they emphasize that productive tive and safe way, and should not be sub- investments should be increased in those ject to policies and regulations that direct countries that are characterized by a lack the use of remittances. There are some is- of employment opportunities and a short- sues that need to be resolved to ensure that age of capital. migrants, their families and the economy The ILO follows three approaches to as a whole can fully benefi t from these fi - maximize the benefi ts of remittances to nancial transfers. migrants, their families and the wider Firstly, interesting investment alterna- community: tives are mostly absent, and remittances Follow-up to ILO labour standards, to are hardly used as a leverage to access ensure that migrant workers have the other services. Secondly, there are some right to transfer (part of) their earnings suboptimal conditions in the money trans- and savings through their preferred fer market. Services may be unsafe, and channel; markets may be monopolistic and non- transparent. High transaction costs in re- Improvement of remittance services, mittances mean money lost to the work- to reduce leakages in the transfer ers. Thirdly, some governments impose the process; use of (expensive) transfer mechanisms, or Introduction of market-conforming in- otherwise reduce the migrants’ free choice vestment opportunities to increase the in channeling remittances. development potential of remittances.

49 Follow-up to ILO labour standards it appears that the main concerns pertain to the risk involved in the transaction, the In most countries, remittances can be transparency of the transfer costs, and the transferred freely and through channels speed and effi ciency of the service. preferred by migrants and their families. Naturally, the fi rst issue is the most Yet some governments regulate remittance worrying. Money may get lost in the trans- transfers, with the objective of earning for- fer process. Anecdotal evidence reveals eign exchange or taxes. Several countries that this risk is considerable in the case of have established limits on the amount hand-carriage. Migrants may be robbed, or that can be transferred without the obli- may have to pay large bribes to get their gation to declare the transaction. In Bra- money across the border. Similar concerns zil and Colombia, international money arise when the money is given to a friend transfers are controlled by government or acquaintance. In this case, trust is also regulations. In Brazil, international trans- a major issue. This risk not only concerns fers must go through Banco do Brazil, re- informal transfer mechanisms; formal sulting in a time-consuming and expensive transfer systems can also be quite risky. process. In Colombia, money transfers are An ILO study on remittances in Bangla- restricted to a maximum of US$7,500 at desh revealed that ten out of 100 remit- any time. Residents of Colombia are also tance-receiving families faced problems charged a 3 per cent tax on the money re- with the hundi (illegal banking channels) ceived. Other countries differentiate be- transfer agent system, whereas 19 people tween transfer of currency by migrants encountered problems with offi cial trans- for permanent settlement and by those fer methods. for temporary stay. Sri Lankan legislation The costs of transfer and transparent states that citizens of Sri Lanka employed information on these costs are another abroad are obliged to remit a part of their concern. Some markets are being monop- earnings in foreign exchange. The legisla- olized, and information on the transfer tion in Viet Nam is even stricter. It states costs (in particular the exchange rate and that its nationals working abroad for a lim- the costs at the receiving end) is often not ited period of time are required to pay 30 well communicated. In the United States, per cent of their earnings to the Govern- migrants’ associations have initiated legal ment. The Overseas Workers’ Investment action against international money transfer Fund in the Philippines, on the other hand, agencies like Western Union and Money- does not direct the use of remittances, but Gram. They claim that commissions, fees rather encourages overseas nationals to and exchange rates are not always clearly participate in offi cial remittance schemes communicated to remitters, and that the and to reduce the country’s debt burden, international money transfer sector is on the basis of an incentive scheme. The characterized by limited competition and Government of Mauritius emphasizes the low transparency. As a result of increased importance of the status of the migrant. monitoring and competition in some Latin It allows migrants to transfer freely any American countries, international transfer amount on the condition that they are in agencies have become more accountable possession of a work permit. Some of these and transparent in their operations. regulations encourage migrants to shift to The speed of transfer services is also an informal transfer services. issue. The ILO study in Bangladesh found that the minimum time required to transfer the remittances was one hour (hundi) Improving remittance services and the maximum time was 25 days (bank draft). Some interviewees reported The quality and reliability of remittance on “speed money” (i.e. bribes) that could services varies widely across the world, speed up the process. Anecdotal evidence and research on this issue is limited. Yet from China showed that some people, who

50 were expecting remittances from relatives Estimates of the impact of remittances at through the post offi ce, had to wait one the household level vary widely. Yet it is year to cash the money. acknowledged that remittances can make It thus appears that there is consider- up a large part of the total household in- able scope for improving these remittance come. Studies of remittances in Senegal services. As can be learnt from the example showed that 30 to 80 per cent of Senega- of Mexican migrants in the United States, lese household budgets were comprised of the migrants themselves (through their as- remittances.5 Similar situations were found sociations or other representative bodies) in other West African countries. In El Sal- can take a lead role in addressing these is- vador, remittances constitute as much as 61 sues. Yet in some countries, notably in the per cent of the household budget.6 In Le- Middle East, migrants are not allowed to sotho, dependency on remittances is even organize themselves, and naturally this more widespread. The average miner was complicates matters considerably. found to support seven people with remit- One idea would be to engage employ- tances. In this country, only 22 per cent of ers in the transfer of remittances. This households appeared to have other reve- could address concerns of costs and dura- nues to supplement this form of income tion of the transfer. Employers could also support.7 pool several transactions to reduce costs, The multiplier effect of remittances is and to ensure the safety and effi ciency of considerable, even if they are used for con- transfers. These funds could be sent either sumption. A study by the Bangladesh Insti- to the employee’s home account, or to an- tute of Development Studies, for example, other person, as indicated by the migrant. indicates that remittances in Bangladesh The ILO study on remittances in Bangla- have a multiplier effect of 3.3 on GNP, 2.8 desh identifi ed one case where a migrant on consumption, and 0.4 on investment. in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) did not Yet, if geared towards productive in- receive any salary. Instead, his family col- vestments, their impact can be even bigger. lected his salary from the employer’s par- For this reason, some initiatives have been ents every two months. This is an exam- introduced to encourage such investments. ple of a rather informal system, but obvi- Most of these initiatives are based on in- ously, more formal and systematic transfer centives, but some depend on regulations mechanisms initiated by the employer can and compulsory requirements. Such initia- also be explored. tives can be undertaken at three levels: the household Market-conforming investment the community opportunities the wider economy (profi t-seeking or socially responsible investments). Research on the use of remittances shows that a large part of these funds are used for The fi rst category, the household level, daily expenses such as food, clothing and typically consists of a supplement to the health care.4 Funds are also spent on build- family household budget. Remittances ing or improving housing, buying land, may be used to educate family members, cattle or durable consumer goods and the to buy land or production materials or to repayment of loans for migration. Gener- generate savings. They may also be used ally, only a small percentage of remittances to leverage access to credit, for example to is used for savings, education and “pro- support a family business, or to help re- ductive investments”. Despite the small turning migrants to set up a business upon percentages of these investments, they their return. still add up to large amounts in absolute Some fi nancial institutions provide terms, due to the vast size of total remit- special savings services to migrants and tance transfers. their families. Prodem, a regulated micro-

51 fi nance institution in Bolivia, for example, (one from the municipality, one from the offers migrants’ families a premium interstate and one from the federal Govern- est rate if they deposit their remittances ment). This programme has completed with the institution. It also provides easier more than 400 projects in eight years, with access to small business loans to leverage a total investment from migrants of about remittances as collateral for such services. US$4.5 billion. Banco Solidario in Ecuador has recently es- The third category of initiative, those at tablished a programme called “My family, the level of the wider economy, is the least my country, my return”, which is geared common. There is probably also the least towards Ecuadorian migrants living in demand for these types of service, since Spain. This programme is implemented the bulk of remittances are used to comple- in cooperation with a Spanish bank (Caja ment the household income, rather than to Madrid). It provides a package of loans (to seek profi t or to support small businesses fi nance the migrants’ travel back home or or other “friendly” initiatives in migrants’ to set up a small business upon their re- home countries. Some programmes have turn), money transfer services and savings been set up to identify suitable investment schemes – for example, towards buying a opportunities for migrants who want to house or land in their home country. invest in their home country. Yet informa- In India, migrant workers returning to tion on the services provided is limited, as their home countries are given preferential is the success of these services. access to capital goods and raw ma terial imports. This will help them to set up new industrial units or to participate in the ex- Conclusion pansion of existing businesses. Pakistani migrant workers can access a Non-repatri- Remittances are the result of hard work by able Investment Scheme upon their return relatively poor people. Many of these mi- home. This scheme allows them, back in grants work under harsh conditions, and Pakistan, to import machinery and equip- are often paid marginal wages. It is there- ment at concessionary rates, provided that fore crucial to maximize their benefi ts, and these funds are used to establish manufac- to reduce outside interference in the use turing enterprises in the country. As part of of these funds. When planning to enhance the service, the Investment Advisory Serv- their productive use, incentive-based ini- ice of Pakistan undertakes pre-feasibility tiatives, rather than regulatory and heavy- studies to facilitate the choice of invest- handed approaches appear most promis- ment projects. ing. Migrants and their families should The second category, the community be encouraged to allocate these funds in level, consists of investments for the de- a way that enhances local development, velopment of the migrants’ community of as well as their individual needs. Current origin. This type of investment is particu- work by the Social Finance Programme larly common among migrants who have explores the relative cost-effectiveness of set up so-called “hometown” associations. remittance-promoting policies and the These associations pool part of their sav- conditions for international cooperation. ings in order to contribute to the development of their home region. Funds are typically remitted for a specifi c purpose, to Notes build a school or community centre for example, or to improve water systems. Some 1 U.O. Osili: Immigration and home country ties: governments provide “matching funds” to What does it mean for Chicago? Indianapolis, Indiana complement these social investments. One University-Purdue University, 2001; and IDB and IMF: Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean: example is a project in the Mexican state of Comparative Statistics, Presentation at the IADB con- Zacatecas, where each dollar contributed ference: “Remittances as a Development Tool: A Re- in remittances is matched by three dollars gional Conference”, 2001.

52 2 Including compensation of employees (these getown University, http://banking.senate.gov/02_ are remittances by migrant workers who stay abroad 02hrg/022802/martin.htm for less than one year). 5 IOM, 2000. 3 R. Faini: Development, trade and migration, Pre- 6 Taylor et al. 1996. liminary draft, IMF, University of Brescia and CEPR, 7 Sechaba Consultants – South African Migration 2001. Project: Riding the Tiger: Lesotho Miners and Permanent 4 More than three-quarters of Mexicans who re- Residence in South Africa, Migration Policy Series ceive remittances spend some part on health care, No. 2, Cape Town, Institute for Democracy in South from prepared statement of Dr. Susan Martin at Geor- Africa, Queen’s University, 1997.

53 Global perspective

Migrants – worth more than development aid?

Migration impoverishes the countries of origin, but they are partially compensated by the remittances that their emigrants send back. Col- lectively and individually, this money is well worth having. However, it sometimes has unfortunate effects.

Dominique Demol InfoSud-Belgique With contributions from the Syfia International press network

“ e have decided to teach English of their savings.” Madjirangué is the Per- Wto the Indians of the Altiplano, so manent Secretary of the African-European they can fi nd work more easily in the US. Civil Society Forum. He argues that “the In future, labour will be our main export. Africans of the diaspora are present-day It will be labour that brings in the hard Africa’s most important donors … Ugan- currency.” dans living abroad send about US$400 So said the head of a Guatemalan non- million back to Uganda every year – more governmental organization (NGO) in 1990, than the country earns from the export of and he got it right. The currency that mi- its main agricultural product, coffee”. grants send back to their countries of de- According to Ghana’s High Commis- parture has become a vital contribution, sion in London, Ghanaians abroad send often worth more than those nations’ tra- between US$350 and US$450 million back ditional exports. to their country each year. There is no shortage of fi gures to prove The World Bank notes that, in some it. For example, the remesas received by years, the total amount of currency remit- Mexico (the money remitted by its emi- ted by emigrants to their countries of ori- grants) amounted to US$4.4 billion in gin equalled two-thirds of offi cial develop- 1995, US$6 billion in 1999 and US$7.5 bil- ment assistance. Clearly, then, it is worth lion in 2001, of which about 20 per cent looking into emigrants’ contribution to de- was sent by women. This is equal to the velopment. receipts from tourism.1 Ecuadorians remitted US$1.425 billion in 2001. That was US$100 million more than in the year 2000 Compensation and US$400 million more than in 1999. In 1995, the developing countries that ben- Generally, those who migrate out of a efi ted most from such huge remittances country are its most dynamic, youngest were Mexico, India and the Philippines. and best-trained (or least badly trained) “In the course of ten years or so, Malian people. In the case of so-called “brain immigrants in France, but originally from drains” (see article by André Linard, Kayes, fi nanced 148 projects in that region,” p. 66), the nation’s intellectual elite is en- Jean-Pierre Madjirangué told a workshop ticed abroad, after being trained at the ex- in Brussels in September 2002. “This en- pense of their country of origin.2 So these tailed a total budget of almost 3 million departures represent a big loss for such euro (€), of which € 2.5 million came out countries. It would be tempting to see

54 remittances as a form of compensation for ing an effort. I reckon he just doesn’t have this loss. Yet this is only partially true. the willpower. But we’re still hoping.” Quantitatively, remittances certainly In many cases, migrants do indeed send have a positive infl uence on the balance money back to their families. To do so, they of payments of the countries concerned. often bleed themselves dry. However, studies show that, qualitatively speaking, the impact of such payments has to be relativized. Firstly, because they are Perverse effects extremely dispersed among millions of recipients, as opposed to development aid Back home, meanwhile, the money re- which, even when decentralized, goes ceived is put to very varied uses. These to clearly identifi able agents. Secondly, range from covering urgent medical costs because several distinctions have to be to fi nancing studies for the family mem- made, mainly between consumption and bers who have stayed in the country, or investment. Some migrants remit money paying for their emigration in turn. Some in order to share with their families back of the money goes purely on consumption home the earnings that they have made or prestige (a wedding, for example) and in their country of destination, whereas therefore has no direct impact on develop- others save up in preparation for their ment, but other spending may be seen as return. So the use made of these funds a form of investment. It is not always easy varies. Also, part of the remittances goes to distinguish between the two. into consumption, while another part is In Burkina Faso, for instance, the sums invested and therefore produces multi- sent back by emigrants in Côte d’Ivoire plier effects. (Ivory Coast) keep entire families alive. The In the fi rst case, the migrant is driven money is used to buy food, to pay school by family solidarity, whether by convic- fees or medical bills, to fi nance weddings, tion or by obligation. For, although the to purchase cattle, ploughs or agricultural departure itself is an individual initiative, vehicles, to acquire grain mills or shops, to in most non-Western societies the individ- make investments, to buy plots for cultiva- ual always has obligations to the group. To tion, to build houses, and so on. earn well elsewhere and not to share that In Mali, the impact of remittances is fortune invites censure, as two tales from highly ambivalent. This country is often Cameroon show. quoted as an example, due to the vicissi- Pefoura Ange, from Douala, is very bit- tudes suffered by Malian immigrants sent ter because, he says, “I have a big brother back from France. So the fi nancial manna who has been in Portugal for the past fi ve was suddenly reduced, and the difference years, but he doesn’t send any money back. between “before” and “after” can therefore It’s as if they get other ideas put into their be measured. In the Kayes region, already heads as soon as they go overseas. He no mentioned, where the climatic conditions longer shows any signs of life. We didn’t scarcely encourage agriculture and ani- know if he was still alive, until two of his mal husbandry, 80 per cent of the inhab- friends who came back in February told us itants are rural, but their main resource is that they’d seen him recently. They told us commerce. It has become second nature he’s well, but we’re still waiting for him to for young men to emigrate from this de- do right by us.” prived region where people survive on Voltaire Nkeuga is just as critical: “A money that comes in from elsewhere. The cousin of mine has been in France for two Malian immigrants in France fi nanced the years now, and he calls up to let us know installation of photovoltaic equipment for how he’s doing. But then, nothing. If you generating electricity, at a cost of CFA400 tell him about a problem, he just says there’s million (€ 62,000). They also paid for agri- nothing doing. If he even just sent one cultural water reservoirs and irrigation, as CFA10,000 note, we’d know he’d been mak- well as drilling in search of drinking water.

55 All of this enabled villagers to become self- economy. This is not, however, a decisive suffi cient in food. contribution to development, if what we The repatriation of these Malians from mean by “development” is a coordinated France therefore devastated the region’s effort to improve the quality of life for the economy. The Government did take some whole of a country’s population. measures, such as opening up gold mines, Sometimes, there may even be negative but many former emigrants are reluctant consequences – notably infl ation, but also to work in them. “During our fi ve years in damage to local social structures. Cuba, France,” one of them explains, “we were for example, is seeing the re-emergence able to send enough money to the vil- of a strong social duality based not on the lage to build mosques. On what we earn ownership of the means of production, as back here, we can’t even afford rosaries or in classic Marxist doctrine, but on whether prayer mats.” a person has access to the dollars sent in by About 140 km away, in the little town exiles abroad. Many products that are unof Yélimané, the effect of the remittances is obtainable in the shops taking pesos can be much more perverse. Almost all the fami- bought in the dollar stores. In Mexico, one lies there benefi ted from this windfall and family in every ten has at least one mem- went on a spending spree. This led to unex- ber with migratory antecedents, and this pected infl ation. From their own resources, gives privileged status. they managed to build fi ve schools, but the Overall, three stages may be distin- teachers sent in by the authorities soon guished in the recipients’ use of remittances. packed their bags and left. “Yélimané is At fi rst, they serve to cover the family’s the most expensive town in Mali,” ex- basic needs and improve its housing; next, plains primary teacher Sidi Coulibaly. they go into lavish spending; fi nally, they “Water costs a fortune. When a butcher may be invested in productive activities. slaughters an ox, he lets the customers set The same ambivalence surrounds the the price. It’s an opportunity for the heads funds repatriated by immigrants in prepa- of households to show how rich they are. ration for their own return to their country They bid each other up.” of origin. When some of them get back, they “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” he buy “luxury” items such as vehicles or radio adds, “but people round here act as if it sets, as a way of making their presence felt does. They spend like there’s no tomor- and showing their success. But others, gen- row. There isn’t a single family that doesn’t erally the better-off, invest in import-export have a son in France or the States, sending businesses, transport or hotels. Most of the big money back.” As a result, the town is big hotels in Ouagadougou, for instance full of plush villas with dish aerials, every- (the Nazemsé, the Splendide, Hotel Sana) one has a phone at home and there is even belong to people who lived for a long time a little airfi eld for migrants coming back to outside Burkina Faso. The same goes for its visit their families. transport companies.

Three kinds of use The right to share a wage

As may be seen, the line between spend- One aspect of all this is rarely discussed. The ing remittances on pure consumption and Migration for Employment Convention (Re- using them for development is a ﬁ ne one. vised), 1949 (No. 97), provides that member Certainly, consumer spending may in it- States should permit “the transfer of such self have a knock-on effect, by stimulat- part of the earnings and savings of the mi- ing demand and possibly helping to create grant for employment as the migrant may or maintain jobs. In Tunisia, for example, desire”, within the bounds of national legis- such money has facilitated the creation of lation. Some host countries allow unlimited small businesses, thus bolstering the local remittances, but others set a ceiling.3

56 After all, these are resources produced fers made by the 2 million Haitians living in one country but spent in another. It is abroad is put at more than US$2 million understandable that the authorities some- per day, and the transfer costs can be as times take a dim view of such transfers. much as one-seventh of the sum remitted. The migrants’ home countries also have The poorest migrants are particularly vic- a stake in this. Some of them, such as the timized here, because the smaller the sums Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka and sent, the more it proportionately costs to Viet Nam, oblige their migrant nationals send them. “And the transfers have to be to make over part of their earnings to the made in US dollars,” explains a Haitian State. In the view of the ILO Committee of woman in Montreal, “so we fi rst have to Experts on the Application of Standards, change our Canadian dollars at the mar- this may raise problems in relation to Art- ket rate. So the agency takes a second cut. icle 9 of Convention No. 97.4 It all gets very expensive!” Migrants, who But States are not the only ones to limit are fi rst and foremost workers, can come to the rights enshrined in Convention No. 97, feel that they have wasted their time and and to covet this manna which usually ar- their labour. And their countries are also rives through intermediaries. The transfers deprived of resources. follow two routes, one conventional and These refl ections should not lead us offi cial and the other informal. to conclude that remittances from the di- The offi cial route is via post offi ces, aspora to the home countries are a negative banks, money orders and specialized com- phenomenon. On the contrary, they are a panies like Western Union. Four years ago, real boost for these countries, particularly the Banque internationale de Burkina Faso, when, as in Africa, offi cial development as- for instance, started cooperating with an sistance and private investment are getting Ivorian bank on a scheme that lets Burki- scarcer. And simply enabling thousands of nans in Côte d’Ivoire open bank accounts families to live better in the short term is a in order to transfer their savings. Pending good thing in itself. the customer’s return to Burkina Faso, the However, it should not be thought ei- funds are transferred to the name of a rela- ther that all of these sums are really and tive or friend. directly invested in development initia- The other, semi-offi cial or informal tives. They are used more locally than method is to entrust the funds to a friend, nationally. It would be dishonest for the relation or acquaintance who is going back industrialized countries to stop worrying to the home country and undertakes to about the brain drain from the develop- hand the money over to the rightful recipi- ing world, on the pretext that the poorer ent. Some of these funds never reach their countries are adequately compensated by destination. Those concerned are either re- the remittances from migrants. lieved of their wealth by pickpockets and swindlers along the way or else they have to grease the many palms of the powers Notes that be (multiple checkpoints set up by 1 María Huerta: La migración, opción real del empleo police, customs, gendarmes, military and femenino, Agence CIMAC, 2 May 2002. game wardens, systematic frisking, confi s- 2 See, for instance, “Des années d’investissements cations, seizure of documents that have to perdues pour les pays en développement”, in Le be bought back). The money that the mi- Courrier CEE-ACP (Brussels), No. 159, Sep.-Oct. 1996, pp. 59-60. grants intended to bring back home ends 3 up staying in the host country. ILO: Migrant workers, Report III(1B), International Labour Conference, 87th Session, 1999, pp. 237-238. However, it is not only the informal 4 ibid., p. 239. See also the web site of the In- route that leads to such losses. The international Organization for Migration, at http:// termediaries also get some rich pickings. www.iom.org, especially The Migration-Development The volume of formal and informal trans- Nexus – Evidence and Policy Options, July 2002.

57 Global perspective

Forced labour, migration and trafficking

Trafficking can be a human rights abuse, a security concern, and a societal failure. When the trafficking is for labour exploitation, it also represents a severe violation of labour rights, a labour market failure, and a failure of employment systems and services and of migration management. The ILO and its social partners need to be key players in anti-trafficking strategies.

Roger Plant Head, Special Programme of Action to Combat Forced Labour ILO

n December 2000 the United Nations smuggling as major issues of cross-border Iadopted, together with the UN Con- crime. At the same time human rights ad- vention against Transnational Organized vocates are insisting that greater attention Crime, its so-called “Palermo Protocols” be given to the needs of traffi cked persons on smuggling and on traffi cking in per- as victims, requiring compensation and re- sons. The second of these instruments, to habilitation, rather than immediate deport- give its full title, is the Protocol to Prevent, ation to their countries of origin. Traffi cked Suppress and Punish Traffi cking in Per- persons cannot be dealt with in the same sons, especially Women and Children. manner as the agents of traffi cking, when Since then, there has been an extraordi- they are themselves the victims of coercive nary growth of conferences, declarations treatment and human rights abuse. and other initiatives on human traffi cking, in all parts of the world. It is recognized as a rampant social evil and, in the words of Migration and trafficking: the issues the ILO report Stopping forced labour, as the “underside of globalization”.1 Organized The labour aspects of human traffi cking crime is known to be heavily involved in pose a particular challenge for Europe. human traffi cking, perhaps mainly but by There are justifi ed concerns to curb ir- no means only for the purposes of sexual regular migration, an issue that has risen exploitation. EUROPOL’s deputy director to the top of the political agenda in recent recently observed that organized criminal months. On the other hand, if migratory networks are increasingly becoming infl ows are to become more orderly, it is im- volved with the facilitation of illegal imperative that demand as well as supply- migration, as it is a highly profi table busi- side issues are comprehensively under- ness, earning up to 12 billion euros world- stood. Consensus is also needed among wide every year, with currently little risk social actors, as to minimum conditions of detection or conviction.2 of employment and social guarantees. Small wonder that human traffi cking The European Union (EU) itself has re- and smuggling are seen as major secu- ferred to a “worrying trend in industrial rity concerns for a continent like Europe, countries to use cheap and undeclared la- and treated together with arms and drug bour forces, as well as exploiting women

58 and children in prostitution and pornog- 2002 Framework Decision on Traffi cking, raphy”. If demand for certain kinds of la- the EU’s Council of Ministers refers to the bour in diverse sectors of the economy is distinct concerns of traffi cking for sexual not matched by available labour supply, and labour exploitation respectively. The either nationally or regionally in Europe or EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Department through orderly migration, then there is a observes in a September 2002 publication real risk that the bottlenecks may create the that, while recent attention was drawn preconditions for a further rise in traffi ck- to women and children, “Developments ing within Europe itself. The incidence of have, however, highlighted the need also forced labour and slavery-like conditions, to address the issue of traffi cking in human whether in the sex sector or in other sec- beings for the purpose of labour exploi- tors of the informal and shadow economy, tation”.3 Similar concerns are refl ected in needs to be tackled comprehensively by the 2002 Traffi cking in Persons Report of the all European governments and other so- US Government, which reviews the grav- cial actors at their roots. ity of the problems across the globe. In its words, “Women, children and men are traffi cked into the international sex trade Trafficking for labour exploitation: for the purposes of prostitution, sex tour- A new concern ism and other commercial sexual services and into forced labour situations in sweat- In most countries media attention is still shops, constructions and agricultural set- on “sex slavery”, the appalling condi- tings.” US offi cials acknowledge that they tions to which traffi cked young women gave less attention to the forced labour and even children can be exposed in the concerns in their initial reports, but now brothels, massage parlours and other sex see them as a global problem warranting outlets in the world’s major cities. The vic- more rigorous investigation. tims can be physically abused and threatened, deprived of physical freedom, and tricked out of their wages through a web Trafficking in persons: of coercion and deception. These are fl a- How is it defined? grant cases of human rights abuse, which must be stopped and the traffi cking agents The Palermo Protocols to the UN Con- duly punished. Integrated programmes of vention against Transnational Organized awareness-raising, prevention, victim pro- Crime distinguish between the concepts tection and law enforcement are required of traffi cking and smuggling. Traffi cking to eradicate comprehensively this modern in persons shall mean “the recruitment, slavery. Many public policy measures are transportation, transfer, harbouring or re- now addressing these concerns in both ori- ceipt of persons, by means of the threat or gin and destination countries, some with use of force or other forms of coercion, of a particular focus on children. Many in- fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power ternational agencies are now addressing or of a position of vulnerability or of the these problems, including the anti-traf- giving or receipt of payments or benefi ts fi cking projects of the ILO’s International to achieve the consent of a person having Programme on the Elimination of Child control over another person, for the pur- Labour (IPEC). pose of exploitation”. Exploitation shall in- Recently however, there has been more clude “at a minimum, the exploitation of awareness of the gravity of traffi cking for the prostitution of others or other forms of labour exploitation, meaning the forced sexual exploitation, forced labour or serv- labour and coercive conditions to which ices, slavery or practices similar to slavery, traffi cked persons can be exposed in des- servitude or the removal of organs”. tination countries (defi nitions will be cov- The legal defi nition thus places em- ered in the following section). In its July phasis on force, coercion and deception as

59 distinguishing features. This is what in in- of wages, and the ever-present threat of ternational law sets traffi cking apart from denunciation to the authorities followed smuggling where (although money may by deportation. change hands), the relationship between There can be no justifi cation for such the smuggled person and the smuggling conditions of work. Any form of labour agent is seen as a voluntary one, arguably exploitation involving forced labour and mutually benefi cial. As many commenta- debt bondage is morally unacceptable, tors have since suggested, the distinctions and a clear infringement of national and may be diffi cult to apply in practical situ- international labour standards. However, ations on the ground. Deception and coer- for the reasons given above, there is a ser- cion can occur at any stage of the irregu- ious risk that such conditions will survive lar migration cycle, though most likely at and increase, unless there is fi rmer political the end point. In the case of women traf- will by both governments and civil society fi cked for sexual exploitation, the ambigu- groups in the main destination countries to ities may be less. Debates may continue, as come to grips with these problems. The cur- to the extent to which young women enter rent restrictive state policies on migration, into the sex trade on a voluntary basis. But at variance with market realities, are partly the existence of coercion and violence, to blame for the rising numbers of persons physical restriction and debt-bondage, willing to take the risk of being traffi cked. particularly in places of transit and des- The wage differentials can be so great that tination, has in many cases been widely the probable returns to the risks involved documented. Modern “sex slavery” is an can become an attractive proposition. unfortunate reality, and Western societies and governments are being shamed into addressing the problems. Trafficking for labour exploitation: In the case of traffi cked children, the What do we know? situation is unambiguous. Article 3 of the Palermo Protocol on Traffi cking makes it At the moment there is little systematic quite explicit that the issue of consent is ir- evidence, and even less in the way of de- relevant. The recruitment, transportation, tailed case studies. The information is com- transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for ing in dribs and drabs, from a number of the purpose of exploitation shall be con- countries of Central, Eastern and Western sidered “traffi cking in persons”, whether Europe, from Israel and other parts of the or not force, coercion and deception are Middle East, from Russia, Turkey, Asian involved. countries and even the United States. Yet In the case of labour exploitation of mi- what is known is highly disturbing. It sug- grant workers, the issues are more com- gests that an informal and abusive labour plex. Available evidence shows that many market is operating in Western Europe and irregular migrant workers, imported into other industrial countries, with rather lim- a destination country through networks of ited political will at present to control or clandestine intermediaries, are subjected eradicate it. The abuses can occur in the to forced labour conditions. This can be context of chronic domestic labour short- sweatshop labour, through physical re- ages for certain seasonal tasks, for exam- strictions on freedom of movement. There ple in the United Kingdom’s agricultural have been well-documented cases of sys- and horticultural industries where the Na- tematic contraband and sale of agricultural tional Union of Farmers estimates an an- migrant workers, such as the traffi cking of nual labour shortage of up to 50,000 peo- Haitians for sale in the Dominican Repub- ple. Concerning the extent of traffi cking lic sugar industry. In most cases, however, for labour exploitation, either in Europe the coercion is likely to be less overt and or elsewhere, there are very little hard data more subtle, involving induced indebted- available. In part it may be because – un- ness, confi scation of papers, late payment like traffi cking for the purposes of sexual

60 exploitation – this has not caught the spot- Recent ILO research has addressed the light. There are very few NGOs involved, gender dimensions of traffi cking from the labour unions have not given priority to Republic of Moldova.5 A survey of 136 fe- the issue, and there appears to be very little male traffi cked victims returning to an political will to probe into the recruitment International Organization of Migration and employment conditions of irregular (IOM) shelter in Chisinau revealed a pic- migrant workers. Furthermore, there are ture somewhat similar to that in other coun- no reliable data on child traffi cking. tries of south-eastern Europe. The female Moreover, there seems to be consider- victims were mainly uneducated women able uncertainty as to whether traffi cking in their early to late twenties, the vast ma- (for purposes of either sexual or labour ex- jority of whom had migrated in search of ploitation) affects signifi cant numbers of work, though claiming not to have antici- men, as well as women and children. Some pated sex-related activities. They had ex- recent reports have given much attention pected to fi nd work in domestic service, to the traffi cking of male victims, even child or adult care, or as waitresses. Yet observing that adult males are the primary this study also reviewed the experiences victims of traffi cking in certain regions. of men. Interviewees told of young rural Basically, despite the best efforts of the and urban men being transported to em- drafters of the Palermo Traffi cking and ployers in countries including Germany, Smuggling Protocols to draw clear distinc- Greece and Italy, particularly in constructions between the categories of traffi cked tion work. They were obliged to repay persons and smuggled migrants, in many their travel debts, and upon completion practical cases these distinctions are far of their assigned work were threatened from apparent. In principle, we have seen, with deportation and dismissed without what sets traffi cking apart from smuggling payment. Cases were identifi ed where is the element of force, coercion and decep- these migrant workers had been sold to tion at some stage of the process, rather employers. In such cases men had been than the voluntary nature of the transac- deliberately placed in forced labour situation for smuggled males. In practice, how- tions, and were coerced into buying free- ever, the distinctions can become blurred dom from their employer. When they were on the ground. The point is strongly em- known to have fl ed such situations, many phasized in a recent report by UNICEF, were pursued for debt repayment. the Offi ce of the UN High Commissioner But coming to grips with the broader on Human Rights (UNHCR) and the Or- dimensions of traffi cking for labour ex- ganisation for Security and Cooperation in ploitation will now require a particularly Europe/Offi ce for the Democratic Institu- strong effort. Despite the consensus that tions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) this is a real and perhaps growing problem, on traffi cking in south-eastern Europe.4 often linked to the curbs against migration, Even without considering the situation of there is no real understanding as to what males, this points to considerable move- are the elements of a traffi cked situation in ment and overlap between the two cate- sectors such as agriculture, construction gories in the case of women and children. and services. The latest report on traffi ck- Data collection across countries may not ing by the US Department of State certainly rely on a uniform concept or defi nition of refers to a large number of such cases in dif- traffi cking. It may embrace such issues as ferent countries and regions, but without the number or situation of illegal female entering into great detail. In Belgium, for migrants, the number of girls deported example, Chinese victims are often young to their country of origin, the number of men destined for manual labour in restau- women and girls assisted in returning to rants and sweatshops. Canada is seen as a their country of origin, and the number of destination and transit point to the United smuggled women trying to cross a border States for women, children and men traf- without valid documents. fi cked for purposes of sexual exploitation,

61 labour and the drug trade. The victims ers Union, which has done much to docu- originate primarily in China, South-East ment the abuses, insists that progress has Asia, Eastern Europe and Russia. France been piecemeal. It is now actively cam- is seen as a destination country mainly for paigning for a register of all such recruit- traffi cked women, though there are also re- ment agencies. Early in 2002 the issue was ports of Chinese and Colombian men traf- taken up by the Ethical Trading Initiative, fi cked into bonded or forced labour. Hun- which brought together the main actors in gary is listed mainly as a transit country for seminars on seasonal and foreign labour traffi cking victims, and to a lesser extent as in the UK food industry. A working party a source and destination country. Men traf- has now been set up, to explore with the fi cked through Hungary for forced labour Government the licensing and registration in European countries come from Afghani- of suppliers of contact labour, and to real- stan, Bangladesh, Iraq and Pakistan. ize the provision of a system of identifying In the United Kingdom attention has good practice. been focused on the so-called “gangmaster” system for recruiting seasonal labour in agriculture. Gangmasters place adver- ILO activities: Role of tisements for the migrant workers, mainly the special action programme of East European origin, in the local press to combat forced labour of their home towns. Workers from the Bal- tic States, who do not require visas, enter Until quite recently, the ILO had conducted the country quite easily. From other coun- limited research or operational activities tries such as Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, on any aspect of forced labour, includ- high prices are paid by the aspirant working traffi cking. The problems were dealt ers for visas and travel documents, the with mainly under the supervisory bod- traffi cking syndicates assisting with these ies for the application of ILO standards, in services and also providing loans at high particular the two forced labour Conven- interest rates. Arriving in the UK by a com- tions, No. 29 of 1930 and No. 105 of 1957. plex route, sometimes through Russia and The Committee of Experts had addressed Greece, the workers are met by an agent some comments to individual member who demands a further high fee for putting States. And at its 71st Session in 2000 it them in contact with a gangmaster. formulated a general observation on traf- The gangmasters appear to be a grow- fi cking in persons under the Forced Labour ing phenomenon in labour recruitment. Convention, 1930 (No. 29). This pointed Many of the agencies are not registered. to the growing awareness of present-day And their deceptive practices, such as traffi cking in all countries, both develop- frequent changes of their names and ad- ing and industrialized, but regretted that dresses, have placed severe obstacles in the magnitude of the problems had found the way of adequate supervision by the little refl ection in government reports “in authorities. Trade union researchers have particular as regards industrialized market documented a number of abuses in meth- economy countries, which are choice des- ods of pay and working conditions. Pay- tinations of the traffi cking in persons”. Of slips do not give the real names of the other ILO branches, only IPEC, the Inter- workers, or details of hours worked and national Programme on the Elimination of deductions. Gangmasters can deduct rent, Child Labour, had developed specifi c pro- transport costs, interest on loans and other grammes and projects against traffi cking, items. Workers can also be fi ned, if they with a natural emphasis on child traffi ck- are seen as not working hard enough. An ing, though to some extent also covering intergovernmental working party, “Op- young people in awareness-raising and eration Gangmaster”, was set up several prevention programmes. years ago to address the problems. But The adoption in 1998 of the Declaration the Rural, Agricultural and Allied Work- on Fundamental Principles and Rights at

62 Work and its Follow-up – and the subse- addressing traffi cking for both labour and quent Governing Body decision in Novem- sexual exploitation; and because the de- ber 2001 to create under the Declaration a bates on traffi cking in human beings have Special Programme of Action to Combat recently taken on a higher profi le, fuelled Forced Labour (SAP-FL) – has held out im- by the growth of irregular and clandestine portant prospects for an intensifi cation of migration in the aftermath of the break- ILO activities in this area. up of the Soviet Union and the Balkans Under the Declaration, every member confl ict. Second, because the ILO’s expe- State accepts as a condition of its ILO mem- rience with labour market analysis can be bership to safeguard and promote four sets of particular use at the present time, when of basic principles and labour rights, in- the imbalances between growing demand cluding the abolition of all forms of forced for cheap labour and the migration bottle- and compulsory labour. And under the necks are potentially creating the precon- follow-up procedures, there is a Global Re- ditions for traffi cked forced labour. Third port every year on each of these four prin- because, with its unique tripartite struc- ciples in turn. In 2001, the ILO Director- ture, the ILO is well equipped to build so- General issued his fi rst Global Report on cial consensus around some of the diffi cult forced labour. This alerted ILO constitu- policy issues linked to labour traffi cking. ents to the gravity of contemporary forms Examples are how to monitor the activi- of forced labour including traffi cking. ties of contracting intermediaries in both The new programme became opera- origin and destination countries, with the tional in February this year. It has a man- involvement of the ILO’s social partners; date to give more comprehensiveness, or how to fi nd the appropriate balance be- visibility and coherence to the ILO’s ac- tween the promotion of private employ- tivities to combat forced labour including ment agencies in the interests of greater traffi cking, working in close collaboration labour market effi ciency, and adequate su- with other regional or global bodies active pervision of such agencies to ensure that in this fi eld. It aims essentially to address they do not collude with criminal and traf- the problems through technical coopera- fi cking activities. tion, and is the fi rst time in the ILO’s long Following intensive discussions with history that a programme has been created other agencies including the European to combat forced labour through promo- Union and the Stability Pact for South- tional means. Eastern Europe, SAP-FL has now em- During its fi rst months, the SAP-FL barked on more specifi c operational has given much attention to human traf- programmes. It recently launched a profi cking, with an initial focus on Europe. A gramme to address supply factors in sev- challenge has been to devise and put in eral countries of south-eastern Europe, and place a coherent strategy, which draws also Ukraine. As of June 2002, a research on all the ILO’s particular expertise. The and advocacy initiative was commenced in strategy identifi es the ways in which, be- close collaboration with the IPEC initiative yond its evident forced labour and child in the same region, covering Albania, Re- labour dimensions, traffi cking can also be public of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine. addressed from the perspective of labour The research aims to provide a better un- market failure, and future programmes derstanding of the nature and dynamics of can focus on the strengthening of differ- traffi cking at various stages of the cycle, in- ent labour market institutions as well as cluding the forced labour outcomes of the on preventive measures at the place of ori- irregular cross-border movement of work- gin. The strategy has identifi ed Europe as ers. The research is also examining the la- an initial priority for programme activities bour market conditions that precipitate the for several reasons. First, because there are demand for irregular workers, the means signs of growing interest from the Euro- by which traffi cked persons are recruited pean Union and European governments in through irregular labour institutions, and

63 the manner in which state authorities and with national trade unions and Glo- civil society organizations intermediate in bal Union Federations (GUFs, formerly this process. known as international trade secretariats) All of this has prepared the ground for to seek their involvement in research and a more comprehensive programme, cover- awareness-raising. A consultative meeting ing origin as well as destination countries has been planned for early 2003 to compare in central and south-eastern Europe. A com- experiences and research methodologies. prehensive project has now been prepared, Similar activities will be planned at a later aiming to contribute to the eradication of stage with concerned employers’ organiza- traffi cking and forced labour, from major tions in Europe and elsewhere. countries of origin in the Balkans and east- Fortunately, with the growing aware- ern Europe. Root causes of traffi cking will ness of traffi cking for forced labour, these be addressed through a range of preven- concerns are being shared by other inter- tion measures, including demonstration national agencies which expect the ILO to projects aimed at providing alternative take some lead in this area. Demand as- forms of livelihood for people at risk of pects of traffi cking, and also its economic traffi cking in their places of origin. The pro- dimensions, are being given priority by the gramme will also pay attention to migration OSCE under its new Dutch presidency. The management and job placement systems in OSCE’s ODIHR has been working closely countries of origin and transit, seeking to with the programme, preparing a major implement more professional placement meeting on traffi cking in human beings, systems, and also increasing the capacity migration and the unprotected labour mar- of labour inspectorates to supervise their ket in Europe. operations, monitor irregular practices and, together with ILO constituents and other partners, seek sanctions against those re- Challenges ahead sponsible for criminal practices. Importantly, the SAP-FL programme is Building consensus on these issues may be also giving attention to research and aware- a diffi cult process. Throughout the world, ness-raising in destination countries of there is limited public sympathy towards Europe, again with a particular emphasis vulnerable migrant workers. Trade unions on traffi cking for labour exploitation and themselves have rarely been important ac- forced labour outcomes. Countless policy tors, reaching out to informal sector and declarations on traffi cking have recently migrant workers, and seeking new forms drawn attention to the need for this, ad- of organization. But no worker and no ILO dressing demand as well as supply factors, constituent can afford to ignore the emer- and calling for integrated programmes of gence of new forms of forced labour and awareness-raising, prevention, protection coercion, which threaten to grow under and law enforcement across the traffi ck- present economic and social conditions. If ing cycle in origin, transit and destination the channels for legal migration are further countries. This calls in the fi rst instance closed, at the same time as labour demand for a rigorous research programme, trac- grows and some employers seek to obtain ing the patterns of recruitment and con- cheap labour by any available means, then tracting and the intermediaries involved, the prospects are grim. It is imperative to payment and deduction systems, and the manage labour migration in such a way reasons why recourse may be had to forced that contracting systems are more closely labour and coercive recruitment practices regulated and supervised, and coercive in different economic sectors. recruitment and employment methods This aspect of the programme is only are defi nitively eradicated. The problems just getting under way at the time of writ- should not be exaggerated, but their existing. A start has been made with a pilot ence cannot be ignored or swept under the study in France. Contact has been made carpet. Just over ten years ago the ILO em-

64 barked on its global campaign against child 2 W. Bruggeman: Illegal immigration and traffi cking labour which caught the world’s attention in human beings seen as a security problem for Europe, and has already done much to eliminate the Statement to EU/IOM STOP Conference on Traffi cking, Brussels, 18-20 September 2002. worst forms of child labour. It is time for a 3 European Commission: Traffi cking in human similar approach on contemporary forms beings: The European response, Background docu- of forced labour and traffi cking, with work- ment prepared for the EU/IOM STOP Conference ers’ organizations in all countries giving the on Traffi cking, Brussels, Directorate-General, Justice problems the attention they deserve. and Home Affairs, September 2002. 4 UNICEF, UNOHCHR, OSCE/ODIHR: Traffi cking in human beings in southeastern Europe, June 2002. Notes 5 Shivaun Scanlan: Report on traffi cking from Mol- dova: Irregular labour markets and restrictive migration 1 ILO: Stopping forced labour, Global Report under policies in Western Europe, Geneva, ILO, forthcoming the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental 2002. Principles and Rights at Work, Geneva, 2001.

65 Global perspective

Bringing back the know-how – migrants and technology transfer

Returning migrants often transfer technology to their home countries, but under certain conditions. This can be a contribution to development, but also an opportunity for individual promotion.

André Linard Journalist InfoSud-Belgique With the Syfia International press network

hile abroad, migrant workers gen- tion technology, for instance) and of oth- Werally come into contact with tech- ers for which it is closed. The open door is niques and technologies that are more ad- mostly for well-qualifi ed workers only. vanced than in their home region. This is On the other hand, there are those who particularly true of those who have good are “not needed”. These form the majority. specialized skills in their fi eld – the ones Enticed by the siren song of higher wages known as “brains”. Their departure is no or simply by the prospect of a job in the doubt partly for fi nancial reasons, but they country of destination, they resort to unof- are also motivated by the chance to put fi cial means of getting there. As the tradi- their skills to work in practice, with equip- tional host countries have now adopted re- ment and a human environment that are strictive policies on legal immigration, and better than they could ever dream of back are mainly interested in admitting qualifi ed home. Most never return. workers on a temporary basis to make up However, one migration trend in recent for skills shortages in the domestic labour years has been the increase in the number force, this means that unskilled or under- of unqualifi ed workers involved. This de- skilled migrants have to use illegal migra- velopment dates back to around 1980, the tion networks run by private recruiters. time when most of the receiving countries Many of these workers are clandes- started applying the brakes to immigration tine. They sometimes seek political refu- or tightening up the conditions. gee status when they are in fact economic refugees, and they accept low-grade jobs. It should be noted in passing that such Uncertain return migrants do, in fact, have utility value for employers in the receiving country, as Apart from refugees, two types of migrant they prevent upward pressure on wages may be distinguished. in occupations that the locals would not On the one hand, there are those who take up unless the pay and working condi- are useful, even essential, to the receiving tions were seriously improved (truck driv- countries and are recruited to fi ll labour ing, for instance). shortages in some fi elds. Countries like A survey conducted in Bangladesh Canada have drawn up a list of occupa- India and Sri Lanka in 1993 showed that tions for which the door is open (informa- the great majority of would-be migrants

66 are of rural origin, are poor, are semi- Targeted research on international mi- skilled or unskilled (92 per cent in the gration generally shows that migrants do case of India) and are women.1 All in all, make a contribution to the development “unqualifi ed workers, often without edu- of their countries. Much of the research cation ... are the numerically most impor- emphasizes a qualitative aspect of this: tant group …”.2 migrants put their home communities in As undocumented, these workers are touch with international networks.3 And likely to return sooner to their country of indeed, apart from the fi nancial remit- origin, either under constraint (expulsion) tances considered elsewhere in this pub- or because they intended to emigrate for lication, the “capital” transferred by mi- only a limited period or because they failed grants is of two types: know-how and “so- to fi nd a job. Those who emigrated legally cial capital”. also sometimes return home after a while, Know-how is a collection of skills and but this is less frequent. The motivation to behaviour patterns that migrants can return decreases when one has built up en- use and capitalize upon personally after titlements, one’s children are growing up, their return to their home country. For one is paying into a pension scheme or one those of the fi rst generation, know-how has bought a house. is more often acquired through practice Discussions with migrants lead to than through theoretical training, unless the conclusion that many of those who they have the opportunity to receive vo- came over “for a time” in fact stay for cational training for adults. The know-how good. Nevertheless, they continue to send may include technical competences, lan- money back to their families (see articles guage skills, experience with certain ma- by Judith van Doorn on page 48 and by chines or managerial and organizational Dominique Demol, on page 54). Despite techniques. everything, though, some of them do go This contribution has also been shown home. So it is worth asking the question: to exist in the case of South-South migra- if they are less skilled when they emigrate, tions, as some of these are towards coun- and they come into contact with more ad- tries that are more industrialized than the vanced technologies when abroad, do they countries of departure. Thus, most of the transfer technology when they return, to migrants from landlocked Burkina Faso to the benefi t of their countries of origin? The Côte d’Ivoire – which has a coastline and answer is basically “yes” – but with some ports and is technically more advanced reservations. – are rural illiterates who had been engaged in subsistence farming. In Côte d’Ivoire, they learn about industrial culti- What they know and who they know vation in the coffee, cocoa, pineapple and banana plantations. They no longer work First, we must defi ne our terms. A migrant to survive but to show a profi t. Some of who brings back the consumer items that them become producers themselves, adopt are usual in the host country – household modern production methods (economies electrical goods, for instance – is carrying of scale, fertilizers, pesticides, improved techniques, not technology. This certainly seed, tractors, management of labour and includes the material objects themselves, fi nances, planning). Some learn small-scale but also an understanding of how they trades such as masonry, electrical wiring, work and the ability to maintain them or port work or industrial stockbreeding. to adapt their use to new situations. So the Many of them speak French. When they real question is: do migrants transfer skills return to their villages, those who learned to their home countries, making it possible small trades set up shop and become self- to understand and master the use of the employed. Others, who have also man- techniques with which they have become aged to save up some money, create small acquainted? enterprises and may even take on staff.

67 But most silver linings have a cloud. All fl ows from the interpersonal relations and of this can have negative effects on local social bonds established with people, or employment, because the use of capital- from knowing which door to knock on for intensive techniques increases, thereby what – institutions or development non- pushing down demand for the unskilled governmental organizations (NGOs), for workers who are in the majority locally and example. Such knowledge makes it possi- are the breadwinners for many families. ble to call upon fi nance, training and specialists when putting new infrastructure or technologies in place. Broadening horizons Social capital of this kind can be useful while in the host country, but it is also However, this transmission of know-how a resource when the immigrant returns should not be overestimated. For one home. Through access to this social capi- thing, by no means all low-skilled mi- tal, returning migrants can broaden hori- grants work with advanced technologies zons in their country of origin. Also, given – precisely because they end up in unde- the power that can be gained from access manding jobs. to fi nancial resources, it may pave the way Cases in point are the young Filipinas for them to take over the leadership of their who go into domestic service in the Gulf communities. So the benefi ts do not nec- States or the African garbage collectors in essarily go to the community. Sometimes, the countries of the North. Some of them they go to individuals, particularly when may get an opportunity for training, but they have learned how to use the right this applies more to second-generation mi- levers for investment, enterprise creation grants, and they are precisely the ones who and trade. Thus, in Madagascar, returning are less tempted to go back. migrants have invested in import-export Account should, however, be taken of trades, such as in used cars. Also, a grow- a certain number of informal learning ex- ing number of young graduates of foreign periences resulting from the discovery of universities have gone into business, with a different way of organizing life, work the aid of agreements reached with com- and society. Transferred back home, this panies while they were abroad. understanding brings with it a conviction This begs a much wider question – what that change is possible. Migrants therefore is development? The sum total of individ- become an innovatory force. Whether such ual successes or a collective process? innovations are better than the local practices that they replace is not for us to judge. Back in 1956, the Greek author T. Saloutos Even if they don’t come back … noted that migrants returning to Greece brought with them new ideas about West- As may be seen, the technology transfers ern democracy and economic liberalism.4 It that may be induced by migration are cer- is not certain that the introduction of such tainly a bonus for the migrants’ commu- novelties, which stem from a particular nities of origin, opening up access to new context, is desirable in societies that have knowledge, techniques and contacts. Some their own characteristics, but this is not a of these advantages can be gained even if debate that we will take up here. the migrants do not return. More and more In addition to these learning experi- often, migrants are trying to organize ences, many migrants build up an exter- within the host countries in order to con- nal network of relations that may be re- tribute to the development of their regions garded as social capital. This is “a set of of origin, not just by sending funds but also specifi c resources that can be mobilized through “projects”, including technology within groups, networks and organiza- transfer. In Kayes, for instance, Malian tions”. It is also “the wealth that can be immigrants in France fi nanced the instal- drawn from social relations”.5 This wealth lation of photovoltaic equipment for the

68 electriﬁ cation of the region (see article by recognized these migrant associations as Dominique Demol on page 54). partners. More generally, migrants within the However, as we have demonstrated, European Union have set up a Coalition none of this is automatic. Not every mi- of African Organizations for Food Security gration leads to the acquisition of technol- and Sustainable Development (COASAD) ogy and not every transfer is necessarily a whose aim is to provide expertise to the good thing for the migrants’ communities countries of origin in Africa. Jean-Pierre of origin. Much will depend on the condi- Madjirangué Madjibaye, the Permanent tions for the migrants in the host countries, Secretary of the African-European Civil So- on the conditions for their return and on ciety Forum, argues that assistance should whether a migrant’s own attitude is more now move beyond the direct transfer of or less individualistic. Ethics is always part funds to encompass the provision of ex- of social realities. pertise for African development. “Finance is not always the issue. Many Africans in Europe have good expertise and contacts Notes that they can place at Africa’s service,” Madjirangué maintains. As he points out, 1 Christian Workers’ Movement: Challenge of the the African diaspora in the West also in- times: Challenge to join hands in solidarity to liberate the cludes engineers and technicians. So in fu- migrant workers in the South Asian region, Brussels, Solidarité Mondiale, 1993. ture, COASAD intends to “initiate lobby- 2 Pierre George: Encyclopédie Universalis, Vº Popu- ing and advocacy activities vis-à-vis gov- lations (Géographie des), 1985, Vol. 14, pp. 1059-1060. ernments and the European Union for food 3 Re migrants in the United States and Europe, security to be made a priority in the next see for example the bibliography given in Nyberg-So- negotiations between the European Union rensen et al.: The migration-development nexus. Evidence and the ACP group of associated African, and policy options, Geneva, International Organization Caribbean and Paciﬁ c countries”. for Migration, July 2002. For the moment, these are more inten- 4 T. Saloutos: They Remember America: The story tions than realities, but they do illustrate of repatriated Greek Americans, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1956. the notion of social capital, as described 5 Savina Ammassari and Richard Black: Harness- here, in the very broad context of its ap- ing the Potential of Migration and Return to Promote plication to whole countries. Indeed, a Development, Geneva, International Organization for number of European NGOs have already Migration, Aug. 2001, p. 29.

Trade union concerns and actions

Migrants get unions back to basics

Solidarity with migrant workers is helping trade unions to get back to the basic principles of the labour movement.

Natacha David Editor-in-chief Trade Union World

olitical action, a trade union social cial, improvised and no answer to the real Pcharter for migrant workers, anti- problems”. In Spain, where immigration racist campaigns and special training, col- is a recent phenomenon and awareness- lective agreements, recruitment and pro- raising and education on this topic are motion strategies in cooperation with the therefore particularly diffi cult, the unions employers, organizing among migrant have incessantly denounced the Govern- workers, specifi c assistance and services: ment’s policies on migration – particu- at work and in society at large, trade un- larly the preference for nationals other ions are engaged in a struggle against rac- than those of neighbouring Morocco – as ism, xenophobia and the many prejudices well as the authorities’ tendency to equate to which migrant workers are subject. illegal immigration and delinquency. Campaigning may be at the interna- In the Republic of Korea, the Federa- tional level, through the exercise of soli- tion of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) is run- darity, or at the grass roots, by getting back ning a protest campaign against the Gov- to the basics of trade unionism, namely ernment’s repressive policy of deporting organizing the most vulnerable workers. illegal immigrants. Instead, the unions are This benefi ts the migrants themselves, calling for a new work permit system. On but also the trade unions as a whole, as it 8 September 2002, they took part in a rally helps them to expand their rank and fi le against these repressive policies. and breathes new life into their founding The Ecuadorian free trade union con- principles. federation CEOSL, on the other hand, has constantly denounced the Government’s failure to defend Ecuadorian migrants Political action abroad, particularly as their remittances to Ecuador are the country’s second- Today’s world provides the unions with biggest economic resource. all too many opportunities to mobilize in A good example of large-scale politi- the defence of migrants. For instance, in cal mobilization is the postcard campaign September 2002, the Spanish labour con- launched by the American labour federa- federations UGT (Unión general de traba- tion AFL-CIO. Addressed to members of jadores) and CCOO (Comisiones obreras) the Congress and the Senate, as well as to denounced the emergency plan unveiled President Bush, the cards call for a legal by the Spanish Government for the re- status, with equal rights, for all immigrant patriation of 1,000 Moroccan immigrants workers, together with the legalization of who were living in the Canary Islands. illegal immigrants. Current law requires The unions said the plan was “superfi - American employers, under pain of sanc-

71 tions, to check that their employees’ papers vice. In France, the labour confederation are legal. In reality, sanctions are rare, and Force Ouvrière has provided a free phone employers tend rather to use this law as a number for victims of discrimination, as means of pressure on illegal immigrants well as advice centres on legal and admin- who show any signs of wanting to join a istrative matters. The AFL-CIO also offers union. On 22 April 2002, the AFL-CIO pub- a free legal service for immigrant workers, licly declared its support for the restoration including the provision of a lawyer. of the federal food-stamp programme for Collective agreements are another con- immigrant workers. This programme was crete means of trade union action on this discontinued in 1996. As a result, in the issue. The Canadian Labour Congress pi- high-immigration states of Texas, Califor- oneered the inclusion of anti-racist provi- nia and Illinois, immigrant households are sions in collective agreements. A recent now ten times more at risk of severe hun- survey by the British TUC – which is ger than are non-immigrants. fi ghting very actively against racism at all workplace levels, notably by demanding the granting of extended leave – shows that Practical tools black and Asian workers covered by collective agreements have an average hourly The unions that are furthest advanced in wage that is one-third higher than for those supporting migrant workers have under- not covered. stood the importance of providing them In the Unites States, the textile and ca- with vocational training programmes and tering unions UNITE and HERE are fi ght- education services, while of course taking ing for collective agreements to include a into account the linguistic and cultural spe- provision that employers will notify the cifi cities of the groups concerned. union immediately when they hear of a The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), visit by the immigration and naturaliza- building on the work both of its own Anti- tion service. Racism Task Force and of the 2001 UN But this struggle presupposes a change World Conference Against Racism, held of mentality within trade unions them- an Aboriginal/Workers of Colour Con- selves. The French labour confederation ference from 28 November to 1 December CFDT did some in-depth work on this 2002. The CLC has produced an immigra- over several years. This resulted in new tion toolkit that helps its membership to trade union practices, including greater promote the adoption of progressive poli- awareness-raising and training for union cies on immigration and refugees. Brit- activists. The CFDT wants members and ain’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) has workers in general to speak out on this produced a migration guide and also has issue, and it aims to promote responsibil- an online trade union training course on ity in each individual through the intro- the same topic (TUC Tackling Racism On- duction of equality charters or codes of line course). The Spanish union confeder- conduct, whether at the workplace, area ations UGT and CCOO have each set up or sectoral level. If a serious racist offence a network of specialized centres to deal takes place, CFDT members are encour- with problems specifi c to migrants. These aged to denounce it publicly and take ac- centres organize campaigns on regulari- tion through the courts. zation and family reunifi cation, negotiate with the authorities about the issuing of residence or work permits, settle questions Maintaining contact about social security access or employment contracts, organize training and follow up In February 2001, the British TUC and the complaints of discrimination. The Spanish Portuguese union federation CGTP-IN UGT also published an active job-seeker’s signed an agreement to promote mem- manual for immigrants, full of practical ad- bership of TUC unions by Portuguese

72 workers based in the United Kingdom. (United Northwest Treeplanters and Farm- There are about 21,000 of these, most of workers) won a victory in their fi ght against whom are non-union and employed in NORPAC, a cooperative grouping 240 fruit temporary jobs. Under the agreement, and vegetable producers. After undergoing the workers benefi t from an information a ten-year boycott spearheaded by the CLC, campaign in their own language, explain- NORPAC fi nally agreed to negotiate on im- ing how they can be helped to limit abuse provements to its minimum employment by their British employers. The CGTP-IN conditions for agricultural workers. Mainly had already signed similar agreements immigrants, these workers had previously with trade union organizations in Luxem- been subjected to appalling conditions and bourg, Spain and Switzerland. violent anti-union harassment. Indeed, national trade union centres are In France, the CFDT has launched a keen to maintain links with their expatriate campaign in defence of seasonal workers, membership. The Senegalese union feder- particularly in agriculture. Although sea- ation UNSAS is one case in point. Another sonal work is scattered across small-scale is the Dominican CNTD. Trade unions in holdings and family-run farms, the CFDT Pakistan also try to keep in touch, via the managed to create a form of area works union organizations in the country of set- council in some of France’s départements tlement. The Ceylon Workers’ Congress (administrative units roughly equivalent (Sri Lanka), the Moroccan UMT (Union to a county). The CFDT is also combating marocaine du travail) and the Portuguese undeclared seasonal agricultural work. It CGTP-IN, all of which organize in labour- is doing so by promoting an “agricultural exporting countries, testify to the funda- service employment voucher” (TESA) mental importance of coordinating with which simplifi es the administrative as- union organizations in the labour-import- pects of taking on workers legally, thus ing countries. depriving employers of the argument that Most of the trade union centres in there is too much paperwork involved. labour-exporting countries have adopted Imagination is vital to new organizing, policies for assisting migrant workers on but it is needed just as much when adapt- their return. ing to the rapid development of regional integration. No slouches when it comes to the new European realities, the French Back to basics: Organize unions also made sure that Romanian lumberjacks employed in a French forest In many sectors in the United States, from by a German fi rm got their entitlements. the roofers of Arizona to the laundresses When defending and unionizing mi- of Massachusetts and the janitors of Los grant workers, success also often depends Angeles, tens of thousands of immigrant on alliance-building with other civic groups workers are organizing to improve their that defend these sections of the popula- lot. This American example of big new tion. For example, in Omaha, in the Ameri- union memberships, a movement that can state of Nebraska, the United Food and began with Mexican immigrants in the Commercial Workers has been cooperating agricultural sector, proves the effective- very closely with Latino, mainly Mexican, ness of getting back to trade union basics. workers’ community organizations in a At the same time, however, unions must campaign to unionize immigrants work- be open to innovation in their organizing ing in the meat industry. These workers, techniques, particularly in the diffi cult sec- who are paid very low wages, are engaged tors that employ massive numbers of im- in slaughtering and butchering – a regional migrants, such as construction, agriculture industry that has been dependent on for- and domestic service. eign labour since the early 1900s. With each In Canada during February 2002, the new wave of immigration, union organiz- Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste ing in this sector has to start from scratch.

73 Women exploited The migrant and domestic workers’ section of the Indonesian labour confed- A number of union federations make spe- eration SBSI is cooperating with the Inter- cial efforts on behalf of women migrant national Confederation of Arab Trade Un- workers, who have to cope both with the ions (ICATU) in an effort to provide bet- discrimination suffered by all migrants ter protection for migrant workers in Arab and with the inferior status of women in countries. This August, a regional seminar general on the labour market. on the international migration of domestic According to a recent report by the Uni- workers was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, versity of Toronto, wage rates for home- in the course of which the trade unions based seamstresses, who lack all social represented there undertook to strengthen security and other protections and who their networking. are mainly recent immigrants, have not While unskilled and underskilled mi- increased since 1980! grants form a reservoir of labour at the Migrant women outworkers are par- beck and call of economic globalization, ticularly diffi cult to organize, and partic- the soaring migration rates among skilled ularly subject to exploitation. Attempts to workers also pose new challenges to the unionize them include drives in Australia, trade union movement. The many prob- through the Textile Clothing & Footwear lems raised by this trend include a “brain Union of Australia (TCFUA), in Canada drain” in their countries of origin and the through the International Ladies’ Gar- undervaluing of their qualifi cations in the ment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) and in receiving countries. One example is the for- the Netherlands by the national union eign doctors who staff French emergency confederation FNV. In each case, the sce- wards at cut-price salaries. In the British in- nario is the same: make contact, gather information technology (IT) sector alone, half formation in order to raise public aware- a million migrant workers will be needed ness, try to press for better protection of over the next eight years. Indian IT workers these workers’ rights, and organize them. are in great demand in a number of Western Thus, in Canada, UNITE has managed to countries, notably Germany and the United organize many textile homeworkers, both States. Last year, IT workers in several In- male and female. dian cities, including Hyderabad and Ban- Absence of legal protection, breaches of galore, set up IT professional forums and employment contracts, passport confi sca- applied for affi liation to Union Network In- tion, debt bondage, violence, various forms ternational (UNI). In response, this global of discrimination, psychological problems union federation of service workers pro- caused by isolation – migrant women in duced a “UNI passport” in order to help domestic service are subject to all of these. these mobile workers to maintain their They form another group that is especially union rights and to obtain support as they vulnerable and diffi cult to protect. This remove from country to country. Concretely, ality is particularly grim in the Gulf States, the “passport” enables workers to transfer where trade union rights are virtually non- from one union to another when they mi- existent and women’s status is especially grate across frontiers. Also, via the Web and low. The Trade Union Congress of the Phil- email, it provides trade union information ippines (TUCP) has for a number of years and practical advice about contracts and made special efforts to provide advice on about moving house to another country. the letter and application of the law, in a bid to protect women domestic workers and to promote their rights. Together with International trade union solidarity non-governmental organizations working in this fi eld, the TUCP is also pressing the In response to economic globalization, Government of the Philippines to ensure trade unions are organizing the globaliza- better protection of its nationals abroad. tion of solidarity in defence of migrants.

74 This summer, following the Malaysian The Pinault-Printemps-La Redoute af- Government’s massive, brutal expulsions fair caused a storm this year, when this of migrant workers, and alarmed by the major French industrial group was ac- inhuman conditions inﬂ icted upon thou- cused of anti-union harassment at one of sands of Filipino and Indonesian migrant its American plants, in Indiana. The French workers in detention camps where scores union confederations CFDT, FO and CGT of them perished, the Asia-Paciﬁ c Regional put some noisy public pressure on the Organization of the International Confed- parent company. In cooperation with the eration of Free Trade Unions, in coopera- services and textile workers’ internation- tion with the Malaysian Trades Union Con- als UNI and ITGLWF, the French unions gress, the Bangladeshi ICFTU-BC and the denounced the expulsion threats made Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, against workers at the Indiana plant, for asked the Malaysian Government to re- the most part Hispanic immigrants, in a view its policy and to ensure the protec- bid to stop them from joining a union. If tion of migrant workers, who are vital to today’s migrations know no frontiers, nei- the country’s construction, plantation and ther do today’s unions. domestic service sectors.

75 Trade union concerns and actions

Need to know: Asylum, immigration and transport workers

Workers in the world’s transport industries are often the first people to encounter clandestine immigrants. Transport workers are not immigration officers, and they must not be forced into that role.

David Cockroft General Secretary International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)

he issue of asylum and immigration is People on the move Tone of the most controversial among governments worldwide. While countries There are about 20 million people classi- and their media debate their responsibili- fi ed as “of concern to the United Nations ties towards those seeking asylum and High Commissioner for Refugees”, in- those crossing borders illegally, transport cluding refugees, asylum seekers and in- workers – those most often confronted di- ternally displaced people. Twelve million rectly by the issue – are forgotten or side- of these are refugees, of whom over 3 mil- lined. lion are from Afghanistan, with large num- Most people attempting to get into a bers also coming from Burundi, Iraq and country secretly or illegally have to use Sudan. Last year, around 1 million applica- some form of transport to get across. tions for asylum were made worldwide. Whether they smuggle themselves (or The right to claim asylum in the face are smuggled by traffi ckers) on to a truck of persecution, death or imprisonment be- carrying freight, or on to a passenger or cause of race, religion, sexual orientation goods train, or stow themselves on board or political activities is enshrined in inter- ships, or board aircraft with false papers, national law at the United Nations. Some- most often it is drivers, seafarers, ticket times, people are forced to fl ee countries collectors, cabin crew and other transport because they face persecution for trade workers who fi rst come into contact with union activities. them. The ITF has been working on this issue for a decade, calling on governments to Holding carriers responsible establish systems that protect the human rights of asylum seekers and immigrants, In a bid to reduce the number of asylum while protecting transport workers’ rights seekers coming across their borders, many to do their job safely and unhindered, and governments have begun to penalize the without unfair expectations or responsibil- carriers these people use. In Greece, for ex- ities placed on them. ample, any carrier, such as a pilot, a ship’s captain or a truck or taxi driver, who brings an illegal immigrant into the country – even if they don’t know about it – could face a

76 Table 1. Origin of the ten largest groups1 of refugee populations in 2001

Country of origin2 Main countries of asylum Total Afghanistan Pakistan / Islamic Republic of Iran 3 809 600 Burundi United Republic of Tanzania 554 000 Iraq Islamic Republic of Iran 530 100 Uganda / Ethiopia / Democratic Republic of the Congo / Kenya / Sudan 489 500 Central African Republic Angola Zambia/ Democratic Republic of the Congo / Namibia 470 600 Somalia Kenya / Yemen / Ethiopia / United States / United Kingdom 439 900 Bosnia and Herzegovina Yugoslavia / United States / Sweden / Denmark / Netherlands 426 000 Democratic Republic United Republic of Tanzania / Congo / Zambia / Rwanda / Burundi 392 100 of the Congo Viet Nam China / United States 353 200 Eritrea Sudan 333 100

1 An estimated 3.9 million Palestinians who are covered by a separate mandate of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) are not included in this table. However, Palestinians outside the UNRWA area of operations, such as those in Iraq or in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya are considered to be of concern to UNHCR. At year-end their number was 349,100. 2 This table includes UNHCR estimates for nationalities in industrialized countries on the basis of recent refugee arrivals and asylum-seeker recognition. Source: UNHCR. heavy fi ne, or even a year in prison. In the their attempt to cross a border would be United Kingdom, any transport operator prevented. carrying an illegal immigrant faces a £2,000 Workers on the Channel Tunnel train fi ne per passenger (just over US$3,000). link between the France and the United The result of this “carrier liability” has Kingdom have informed the ITF that they been that transport companies expect their frequently face asylum seekers attempt- employees to prevent asylum seekers from ing to board trains, even while the train boarding vehicles. is moving. This can put the whole train at Truck and lorry drivers have been ex- risk, including any passengers or workers pected to physically stop people from on board. Some transport workers have climbing on board, or to remove them once witnessed horrifi c accidents and deaths there. Sometimes, especially in trucking, among people attempting to jump on or companies pass their fi nes on to their work- off trains. ers. In some terrible cases, stowaways on board ships have been thrown overboard, because ship’s captains or shipping com- Transport workers are panies would be fi ned if they came into not immigration officers port with the stowaway on board. Because of the threat of heavy fi nes if asylum seekers manage to cross borders, A safety risk many transport companies expect their workers to check immigration papers, The safety and security of transport work- passports and other offi cial documentation ers is put at risk when asylum seekers at- of passengers. tempt to use their vehicles to cross bor- Many airport check-in staff, for ex- ders. Some transport workers have been ample, are expected to check the papers of threatened by asylum seekers, fearing that passengers and to judge whether the docu-

77 mentation is legitimate. This should not be What is the ITF doing? the job of transport workers, but rather of immigration offi cials employed by govern- It is very easy to blame asylum seekers them- ments. Transport workers are not trained selves for the negative effect of the issue on for immigration work, and should not be transport workers, but that is to misdirect expected to take on the responsibility of blame on to those who, often, have had no policing borders. other choice but to act illegally. Cabin crew on airlines are also ex- The ITF fi rmly believes that it is govern- pected to look out for people whom they ments and their policies towards the issue suspect of attempting to cross borders ille- of asylum and immigration that put trans- gally. This puts transport workers in a dif- port workers in this diffi cult position. Gov- fi cult and unacceptable position, especially ernments must act to establish proper pro- when their primary responsibility should cesses for asylum and immigration, which be for the safety of passengers. do not pass responsibility or blame on to transport companies or transport workers. The ITF campaigns at international Rescues at sea bodies, including the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization A similar problem faces the crew of ships (IMO) and the International Civil Aviation when they discover stowaways on board, Organization (ICAO), for international ac- or are called to rescue the crew of other tion to ensure that asylum seekers are dealt vessels in distress. with fairly and humanely, and that trans- Under international Conventions, in- port workers, their jobs and the integrity cluding the United Nations Convention of the systems they work on are not ad- on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS), a ship versely affected. is obliged to go to the rescue of another ves- The ITF also works with particular gov- sel close by if it is in distress. In some cases ernments as issues arise. Along with affi li- where ships have rescued large numbers ate unions from Belgium, France and the of immigrants from drowning, ships’ cap- United Kingdom, the ITF is lobbying for tains and crew have been put in a diffi cult the French and British Governments to do situation because neighbouring countries more to improve the safety of workers on have refused to allow the people to come the Channel Tunnel rail link, which has ashore. been targeted by asylum seekers attempt- In August 2001, after a Norwegian ing to reach the United Kingdom. fl agged ship, the Tampa, rescued over 400 men, women and children from a sinking Indonesian vessel close to Australia, the References Australian authorities refused to allow the ITF: Workers’ rights are human rights: An ITF resource people ashore, fearing they would claim book, 2002. asylum. The ITF warned Australia that it Amnesty International/ITF: No fl ights to safety: Car- risked setting a dangerous precedent that rier sanctions, airline employees and the rights of could undermine future rescues at sea. refugees, 1997. “No one should put seafarers in the ITF: Motion number 27, “Persons in distress at sea”, position of having to decide who is a ref- passed at the ITF Congress, Vancouver 2002. ugee and who is an economic migrant,” ITF Policy on Stowaways, available from the ITF, we said. “Seafarers have to help people in or view online at http://www.itf.org.uk/ distress and leave the questions to national SECTIONS/Mar/stowaways.htm authorities.” ITF Civil Aviation Section Working Paper 54: Facilita- tion, available from the section, or view online at http://www.itf.org.uk/SECTIONS/Ca/54.htm

78 Trade union concerns and actions

Immigration and workers’ rights

This article is drawn from information contained in a draft working document prepared for an IFBWW Conference on Migrant and Cross-Border Workers in the Asia-Pacific Region, held in October 2002. The information has been gathered through surveys of the IFBWW- affiliated unions in the Asia-Pacific region. Based on the needs, experiences and case studies of IFBWW affiliates, it will contribute to a larger global study on migrant and cross-border workers, to be finalized by early 2003.

Sarah Fitzpatrick International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW)

mmigration is integrally linked to work- Developing nations in the Asia-Pa- Iers’ rights and, as such, is of concern to cifi c region continue to have a demand trade unions. It is a complex issue for for cheap, low-skilled labour in construc- unions, because the nature of migration tion and related areas. Rather than move fl ows and the legal status of migrants where labour can be found, many compa- vary. Many migrant workers – including nies restructure and subcontract, as part many in the construction, wood and for- of the search for cheap labour. As these estry industries in Asia-Pacifi c – are effec- countries’ own economies grow, there is tively invisible. This makes it diffi cult to a decline in the number of local people gain adequate and reliable data as a basis prepared to take on the “dirty, degrading for useful analysis and planning. and dangerous” jobs. Certain jobs become Many countries in the Asia-Pacifi c re- less attractive when there is no increase in gion are experiencing economic reform, pay or status. Rising levels of education, with the adoption of market economies, which usually accompany increased eco- trade liberalization and new forms of in- nomic strength, accentuate the reluctance ternational trade agreements and cooper- to take unskilled jobs, such as casual la- ation. Structural adjustment programmes, bouring on construction sites. as promoted by the International Monet- Demographic change in many indus- ary Fund and the World Bank, have con- trialized countries (for example, Australia tributed to the loss of jobs, with the decline and Japan) shows populations ageing and of traditional industries and public sector families usually having fewer children. employment. Indications are that job crea- There is a consequent demand for young tion by the private sector in countries im- workers with limited skills and experience, pacted by adjustment has not matched the who are cheaper and have fewer options number of jobs lost. As earning opportun- while offering more fl exibility and adapt- ities drop at home, the pressure increases ability to new technology. to move to fi nd them elsewhere. Globaliza- Gaps need to be fi lled, and the most tion means that access to travel and aware- available source will be migrant workers, ness of “other places” has increased. So whether authorized or not. There will be workers are driven and able to migrate, a demand for immigrant labour, both to legally or illegally. fi ll vacant jobs and to provide additional

79 taxpayers who can contribute to state-run ards, terms and conditions for local work- pension schemes in ageing societies. ers who may be members of trade unions. As economies develop, disposable in- They may also be used as strike-breakers. come and lifestyle become more impor- Trade unions are constantly hindered tant. There are anecdotes of employers’ by not knowing the numbers and origins of preferring foreign workers, as they have illegal workers and by the inability to con- few family commitments or personal in- tact and engage with them. There is often terests and are therefore more available anecdotal knowledge, but the risky and to work days and hours not acceptable to uncertain lifestyle of the illegal immigrant local workers. labourer makes it virtually impossible to In the 1970s, there were massive fl ows substantiate stories even of severe abuse of construction workers out of Asia-Pacifi c and exploitation. Many trade unions, into the Gulf area, where OPEC (Organi- particularly in the construction indus- zation of the Petroleum Exporting Coun- try, have therefore concentrated on lim- tries) members needed labour for new con- iting the potentially harmful impact of struction as their economies boomed. The irregular migrant workers on the terms labour came largely from Egypt, India, and conditions of union members. This Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and must continue – with vigilance and with Thailand. In the next two decades, newly determined action against opportunistic industrialized countries (NICs) within employers who are ready to set workers Asia drew intra-regional sources of labour against one another. as workers migrated to new locations for But this is only one side of the story. employment. Workers may come from countries where There are some cases where migrant there are active unions. They may want to workers are allowed in on the basis of have union protection, if they can over- specifi c agreements between govern- come the risks involved in becoming vis- ments and companies. In Australia, Bang- ible. These people may constitute a mas- ladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the sive new reservoir of trade union member- Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan, ship, particularly in the construction and there have been some examples of migrant related sectors. workers’ being recognized – even sought It is essential that the IFBWW and – for particular projects. However, this member unions recognize these work- is often under unsatisfactory conditions ers and understand the forces that drive or severe limitations. In some cases, the them and the contexts in which they op- workers are brought in despite general erate. One current example of such efforts policies of not welcoming them. Where is a draft Memorandum of Understanding this happens, there is often a wide gap be- being developed for cooperation regarding tween the estimated numbers of legal and workers migrating from Malaysia to Indo- irregular migrant workers, as companies nesia. Under this arrangement, they can and project managements fi nd alternative receive advice before leaving their home sources when they are blocked legally. country trade union. These illegal workers are very vulner- An emergent factor is the “trade” in the able – and it is this illegal status of many in- illegal movement of massive numbers of dividual migrant labourers in the construc- individual workers. tion industries that creates most diffi culty Estimates by the United Kingdom for trade unions needing to act and react Home Offi ce are that approximately 30 in workers’ interests. But there are clear million people are smuggled across in- needs to act and react. These irregular mi- ternational borders every year, with ap- grants have no access to trade unions and proximately 7 million of these in South therefore no avenues for insisting on basic and East Asia. workers’ rights. With no rights, they can It is a trade worth between US$12 bil- be manipulated to depress salaries, stand- lion and US$30 billion annually, well capit-

80 alized and organized. There are at least 50 Workers are not in fact provided with any major smuggling rings operating globally employment at all by sponsoring compa- with strong links to Asia. They are known nies, but are required to fi nd employment as “Snakehead Gangs”, and their fees are and then pay a percentage of their salary so high that the UN Offi ce for Drug Con- to the sponsor company. Many recruitment trol and Crime Prevention calculates that agencies charge well above the prescribed it is more profi table to smuggle people fees. Workers encounter unfair wages than drugs. and terms; early dismissal by the foreign Many of these irregular migrants are companies; and inadequate conditions of indebted to the smuggling rings, and are housing and other benefi ts in comparison often forced to work for starvation wages to agreed terms in the home country. (or in illegal trades such as drug running There are problems of defi nition in as- or prostitution) in order to pay off the cost cribing the term “foreign” to many immi- of their transportation. This further weak- grants. In Hong Kong, for example, the ma- ens any potential for organizing or insist- jority of workers brought in for construc- ing upon rights. tion of the airport and associated projects The distinction between smuggling and were from China. These were only the traffi cking lies in the level of criminaliza- low-level labourers, while skilled work- tion. Smuggling, while illegal, is often ers and managers came from other places done with a degree of consent by those monitored but not controlled by govern- smuggled. Traffi cking, on the other hand, ment policy. involves threat, abduction, fraud or abu- In India, too, defi nitional problems sive exploitation. exist. Although India is a large exporter of Both operations broker labour, re- labour, there is also a huge fl ow of internal sponding to demand by exploiting – interstate – workers within India itself. sources of supply, fi nding ways around According to an IFBWW Indian affi liate, restrictive practices and policies and cre- approximately 80 per cent of the workforce ating extensive illegal regional (and glo- in the building and construction industry bal) enterprises where legal channels are in the Mahaboobnagar district (Andhra inadequate. Pradesh) are workers who have migrated Some smuggling rings are diffi cult to from other parts of India, generally em- distinguish from some legal labour recruit- ployed on nine-month contracts with mini- ment agencies, registered in Asian coun- mal if any social protection. Terms and con- tries to provide assistance with passports, ditions are often very bad, particularly for visas, travel loans and transportation. In women. Although India has legislation India, a National Act of Parliament recog- that covers inter-state migrant workers, nizes the functioning of recruitment agen- it is rarely invoked. Up to 80 per cent of cies that are registered with the Ministry of the building and construction workers in Labour and that comply with the regula- the district are organized, but still migrant tions of their establishment, i.e. fi nancial workers, commonly known as Palmoori la- soundness, trustworthiness, experience, bourers, work in unsafe, unprotected and etc. The importance of the fi nancial se- unregulated conditions. curity is to cover the cost of repatriation of In the Indian Parliament in 1993, it any recruited worker in the event of that was acknowledged that problems of low worker’s being stranded overseas. wages, poor terms and conditions, and Unfortunately, examples of exploita- particularly a lack of appropriate hous- tion exist even when a worker has emi- ing and medical facilities existed for migrated properly, through a registered re- grant workers. When young workers, es- cruitment agency. Workers are placed in pecially men, migrate from their homes for jobs that were not agreed. The contract of long periods of time, this also results in employment signed in the home country inadequate care and support of their ex- is changed to the detriment of the worker. tended family. Many elderly people suffer,

81 and women and children are left without same job and have few if any benefi ts in male support. case of accident. Many countries in Asia-Pacifi c, along According to the IFBWW Japanese Af- with many other industrialized countries, fi liates Council, the Government of Japan have introduced or retained restrictive im- puts extensive prohibition on unskilled migration policies. These policies seem not foreign migrant and cross-border work- to recognize or keep pace with their own ers. Most unskilled illegal foreign work- domestic demand for labour. Certainly, ers overstay visas or are smuggled in il- they do not give any weight to the forces legally. If detected, illegal workers are for- driving migrant labourers out of their own cibly returned to the country of origin. It is countries. estimated that 90 per cent are from main- It is not surprising, therefore, that with land China and the remainder from other barriers to legal migration, illegal migra- countries in the region. tion has developed and grown to meet de- Israel is currently estimated to have mand. It is now a massive fl ow of labour 23,345 Thai workers employed under con- in the hands of operators and there are no tract. In 2002, it was announced that this controls or monitoring of method, costs or number would be increased to a quota of standards and no limits to criminality. 28,000. These workers suffer extreme hard- The government response has been to ship in terms of their legal and contractual attempt to restrict the fl ow, with border rights in Israel, which has a government controls, policing and penalties. policy of binding the migrant workers In 1998, the Hong Kong Government to their employers. Any worker who, for reduced wages paid to foreign workers whatever reason, leaves the employment and abolished maternity protection for of the company that originally contracted women who marry local nationals. him or her is deemed an illegal inhabitant. In the Republic of Korea, IFBWW affi li- It is estimated that there are 30,000 Filipino ates report that unskilled foreign labour is nationals employed in Israel as migrant not permitted, except in the case of train- workers. There is a general negligence by ees. While the business community and the the Israeli Government in the protection Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy be- and services provided to migrant workers. lieve foreign labour should be imported, Moreover, trade union membership is de- this is opposed by other ministries and by nied to non-citizens in Israel. most trade unions, who are worried that Trade unions may do better by address- foreign workers could threaten the condi- ing the needs of workers at their source, tions and jobs of local workers. In 1992, an by educating workers about their rights in amnesty was offered to all undocumented whatever country they are employed, and foreign workers. Over 61,000 accepted: by fi nding ways to make contact with il- 22,000 from China, 19,000 from the Phil- legal workers. ippines, 9,000 from Bangladesh and 5,000 from Nepal. Three times, their stay was extended for periods of approximately six Polarized responses months. At least 63,000 were estimated to be in the country in December 1993. Most It is not a simple task to formulate and of these workers were in manufacturing, implement practical and effective policies but it is an example of how some gov- around migration, which take into account ernments pick and choose when to turn the needs of both the receiving economic a blind eye to illegal labour, and how they community and the workers who make up exploit the availability of an uncontrolled a migrant labour pool. workforce. Undocumented foreign work- Responses may be polarized. One is de- ers are estimated to receive less than half scribed as the “open door”, and is based on the wage of Korean workers doing the humanitarian principles of allowing entry to any workers whose lives would be im-

82 proved by migrating. Another is character- on patterns and movements of workers ized as the “slammed door”, with intense and networks for the gathering of infor- restrictions based on protecting and main- mation. taining the national workforce and culture As trade unions develop both aware- – even when this culture has, itself, devel- ness and skills in the understanding of is- oped from decades of migration as in, for sues, many of these NGOs could provide example, Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong or models of research as well as related data Malaysia. A third policy response may be and insights. based on admission of migrants who are Many NGOs are strong and effective likely to add to the economy of the receiv- advocates in areas of international trade ing country. Clearly, there are diffi culties and macroeconomics. with any of these approaches. IFBWW-affi liated trade unions are aware of the need to protect local work- Union action ers. They know that there have traditionally been diffi culties in identifying spe- Trade unions will need to increase their cifi c areas of skill needed as a basis for own expertise in making the links be- allowing migration. There is often a time tween macroeconomic practice and policy lapse, which can result in problems, par- and the impact on the ground for work- ticularly given the up-and-down nature of ers in the construction, wood and forestry construction booms. However, there is an sectors. urgent need to press for review and sens- So, what can the IFBWW and its mem- ible overhaul of most government policies. bers do at the national, regional and inter- These policies are impacting on the lives of national levels? many workers in the construction industry Continue to support trade unions that in countries around the region. focus on identifying and countering International covenants and agree- threats to their membership – threats ments can provide standards and bench- which may come from illegal or inad- marks for the treatment of workers. These equately controlled migrant labour. are particularly relevant and can be applied to legally migrating workers in Increase awareness in other trade many countries. Ratifi cation and imple- unions not currently alert to such threats mentation of these agreements would pro- in their own national communities. vide a useful framework for trade policies. However, while discrepancies continue Alert trade unions to the pool of poten- between immigration policies and labour tial members represented by irregular needs, illegal migration will also continue. migrant workers in the construction in- The causes of this problem need to be high- dustry. This will include highlighting lighted while criminal operations are po- the need to recognize the nature, num- liced and penalized. Essential to dealing bers and needs of these workers. with the role of trade unions in defend- Work with trade unions to gather and ing and contacting irregular migrants will quantify relevant data. This may include be recognizing the extent to which Asia- a range of methodologies including: Pacifi c Governments do or do not ratify ● cross-referencing estimates of established international agreements. numbers from personnel at key There are many national, regional and sites and key multinational cor- global networks of non-governmental or- porations in selected countries; ganizations (NGOs) concerned with mi- ● gration issues. Not all of these have a di- training trade union representa- rect focus on workers in the construction tives to record and collate data; industry. However, they are important al- ● identifying key people to collate and lies in providing analysis of trends, data analyse estimates.

83 Continue work against racism and create or exacerbate unemployment in xenophobia, which fuels barriers to developing countries – and thus lead to information-gathering and solidarity migrant fl ows. amongst construction workers. Work with regional networks to urge Assist trade unions to campaign for Asian and Pacifi c governments to ratify appropriate maternity protection for and implement relevant international working women and better family agreements and standards. benefi ts for people with young chil- Develop working relationships with dren – for all workers in the sector. international and national agencies Work with IFBWW globally in networks working to combat the exploitation to advocate for responsive and ethical and abuse of migrant workers who are policies on the part of multi national forced to move via illegal channels. corporations, rather than policies that

84 Trade union concerns and actions

HIV/AIDS super highways

So far, although the link between movements of people and the spread of the AIDS virus has been acknowledged, no satisfactory solutions to the problems have been put forward. Simply labelling migrants as an ‘at risk’ group is not a solution. We need to tackle the roots of what makes them vulnerable.

Jacky Delorme Journalist

russels, late September 2002. Just a the needs of as many of Kinshasa’s poor Bfew hundred metres from the Euro- as possible, especially the most vulnera- pean Parliament where a conference is ble – the street girls. In short, Vicky is a being held on preventing and combating fi ghter, a social worker who likes to work human traffi cking, Myriam, Mylena, Car- “on the ground” and gets nothing out of ina, Tamara and Konstadinka trudge back international conferences such as the one and forth across the streets of the city’s held in Brussels in September, which she red-light district. They work for Espace P, attended to swell the ranks of representa- a Belgian non-governmental organization tives from NGOs. (NGO) that aims to prevent the spread of And why should she feel otherwise? HIV and other sexually transmitted dis- Seldom do the recommendations that come eases (STDs) amongst prostitutes. They out of such meetings ever develop into pos- serve as linguistic intermediaries for sex itive results and at the same time the state- workers who, like themselves, come from ments made are nothing new: enticed by Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin Amer- false promises, without any identity papers, ica. They hand out information brochures imprisoned, beaten and raped, increasing and condoms but most of all they make the numbers of women from poor countries are people they work with feel accepted, forge falling prey to criminal networks that spe- contacts and try to encourage migrant sex- cialize in prostitution. Fear, ignorance and workers to seek medical advice from the cultural integration take care of the rest. It organization, which provides tests for is these people who prostitute themselves STDs and vaccinations against hepatitis underground and on the margins of soci- B free of charge. ety who are most at risk from HIV/AIDS. For their training, they received the But over the last few years, despite the nu- help of Vicky, a former volunteer with Es- merous conferences, recommendations and pace P and now an employee of the organ- action plans the situation has only become ization. With more than ten years’ experi- worse. The European Union’s “Sexual traf- ence, she knows better than anyone how to fi cking of persons program” (STOP) is of build up a trusting relationship with pros- little concern to criminal networks. The titutes from French-speaking Africa and, statistics are frightening: for example it is in particular, her Congolese compatriots. estimated that in Ukraine, 400,000 young But recently, ‘Mum’, as she has come to women fall victim to traffi cking and only be respectfully and affectionately known, a few hundred of those manage to escape has taken up a new challenge: meeting with their lives every year.

85 The trade in human beings for the sex at the same time as our own.” But from the industry is just the darkest aspect of the standpoint of the universal right to health problem. Figures produced by the Inter- and of human rights, the overall situation national Labour Organization (ILO), the is a negative one. According to Patrick A. World Bank and the International Organ- Taran, a specialist in migration issues with ization for Migration (IOM) estimate the the ILO, the discrimination, hostility and current number of migrants worldwide at even violence to which most migrants are 90, 125 and 150 million respectively. But all subjected has damaging effects on their the researchers agree that increasing eco- mental and physical health. Moreover, nomic polarization between rich and poor “[such effects] pose enormous political, so- countries is only going to intensify these cial and ideological obstacles to the exten- migratory movements and that national sion of adequate or even essential health policies designed to cut immigration are care services to them”. simply turning legal migrants into illegal ones and that there is a distinct correla- tion between movements of people and the Progress is too slow spread of HIV/AIDS. AIDS, and more widely the deterior- On the surface, migrants’ health is a source ation in health levels generally, may be of concern to the international community: linked to the conditions in which people over the past few years, many conferences live in their home countries (most often have been organized at which “high-ups” situations of war or poverty) and which have expressed their concern over this ultimately persuade them to leave. The issue of migrants’ rights. The United Na- journey itself has quite likely been long tions has appointed a special rapporteur and very harsh. Migrants may have been for migrants’ human rights, and countries attacked en route or fallen prey to traffi ck- are steadily ratifying the international trea- ers. Having arrived, the language barrier ties that acknowledge these rights. But in and cultural differences often mean that practice, progress has been far slower. Al- health and safety campaigns do not reach though what is needed is for receiving them. Even worse, they have little or no countries to take specifi c measures to en- access to health care and health insurance sure that migrants are afforded the same systems in their “host” country. opportunities for access to health care as Today, it is vital to take into account the native population, this is very rarely how vulnerable these migrants are and at the case, even for legal migrants. Some- the same time to highlight, as does a recent times the complete opposite happens. In report by UNAIDS and the IOM, the fact the United States, the 1996 Immigration that “being a migrant, in and of itself, is not Act was amended by Congress to make it a risk factor; it is the activities undertaken more restrictive in an attempt to limit ac- during the migration process that are the cess to social security, even for legal mi- risk factors”.1 Because once the health au- grants. In Europe, Belgium and France are thorities have assessed the danger (both to the only countries to adopt laws safeguard- the migrants and to their families), they are ing irregular migrants’ right to treatment faced with a dilemma: how can they take for AIDS. 2 Unfortunately though, with the effective action without stigmatizing mi- 15 Member States of the European Union grants? Translating information brochures trying to harmonize their immigration leg- on how HIV/AIDS is transmitted into mi- islation to make it more restrictive, the gen- nority languages is not enough: all citizens eral trend is not encouraging. have to be educated. One step in the right On the other hand, when it comes to direction is a recent initiative by Greece’s working together to try and fi nd real so- Ministry of Health and Welfare which has lutions to the problems migrants face with launched an information campaign under HIV/AIDS, Europe is making no progress the slogan “Taking care of migrants’ health whatsoever. In a recent self-assessment,

86 European Project Aids & Mobility (A&M), cent of men work in South Africa. There funded largely by the European Commis- are many vestiges of the system of migra- sion, concluded that “heterogeneity that tory work developed by the British in the exists within the fi eld of HIV/AIDS and nineteenth century and which became law mobility makes it diffi cult for A&M to de- under apartheid, such as single-sex hostels velop uniform policies and activities. The in mining regions in particular. Workers diverse range of environments, both on a live there up to 16 in a room. Underground national and organizational level, is fur- in the mines the work is gruelling and the ther complicated by ever-changing politi- danger ever-present while above ground, cal and policy agendas”.3 alcoholism, drug-addiction and prostitu- The term “migrant” encompasses many tion are rife. In this environment, STDs different situations. Our primary focus and HIV/AIDS spread easily: 25-30 per here is on the main category, i.e. economic cent of miners are HIV-positive, two and migrants, but all migrants are affected by a half times the national average. When the HIV/AIDS: refugees, army personnel, mining industry fi nally woke up to the dis- businessmen, tourists and so forth. Each astrous economic impact of AIDS, it started group of migrants is constantly changing by focusing its prevention activities on the and every situation developing. A specifi c miners. This was followed by more exten- socio-economic context, a war or a nat- sive programmes incorporating preven- ural disaster all require a specifi c and swift tion and health care for miners and pros- response. In the many confl icts casting a titutes. In response to pressure from the bloody shadow over Africa, every move- unions, mining companies are now plan- ment of troops, every change in the front ning to fund triple-therapy treatment for line has a direct impact on AIDS fi gures. those suffering from AIDS. Recently, other For example, the report by UNAIDS and companies have launched programmes to the IOM highlights a positive initiative in bring families back together by converting Côte d’Ivoire: on some plantations, em- single-sex hostels into reasonably priced ployers have improved the social infra- family accommodation. But so far only a structures designed for the migrant work- few hundred such hostels have been con- force. This is an excellent innovation in a verted and what’s more, the programme country that has traditionally been a mag- only involves a small proportion of mi- net for hundreds of thousands of seasonal grants: many families will remain frag- migrants from Sahel countries and where mented because of the need to maintain one in ten individuals is HIV-positive. But their income from farming, even though it this report was drawn up in 2001 and since may be very minimal, and because South then the country has sunk into chaos and African immigration legislation does not xenophobia. permit the many foreign miners working there to bring their families into the country. Colonial legacy Many events are likely to change the status quo where AIDS is concerned. From a historical standpoint, the colonial Change can come from unexpected quar- period created certain distinctive trends ters. A conference is a “risk” situation as which persist today. On the whole, mi- is the concentration of NGOs in the wake grants were men who came to work on of a humanitarian disaster. It’s no coinci- plantations, in mines and on construction dence that the United Nations has set up sites, building roads and railway lines. AIDS education modules for its expatriate The long periods of separation caused personnel, families and local staff. Another family models to become dispersed. In example: in the Horn of Africa, the World Africa, there are many households with Food Programme (WFP) has to deal with only one woman at their head, mainly in famine on a regular basis. In 2001, the WFP rural areas. For example in Lesotho, 51 per decided to provide HIV/AIDS education

87 to the 2,300 lorry drivers who transport in- with a man but they do not want a forced ternational aid from the port of Djibouti to marriage as is often the case in the villages. disaster areas in Ethiopia. The following All these factors are signifi cant in devel- year, the IOM set up mobile units along oping strategies to combat HIV/AIDS. It these routes where people passing through is also important to underline the fact that the area (lorry drivers, prostitutes, dis- nowadays the exodus from rural areas and placed people, travelling salesmen, gold migrations generally involve women just prospectors, demobilized troops and so as much as men. According to the ILO re- forth) can receive information and con- port entitled Migrant workers (1999), half a doms, and can undergo free testing and million women from Sri Lanka are working treatment for STDs. in the Middle East and there are 12 times It is an established fact that many routes more female than male migrants from the in Africa and Asia are “migration corri- Philippines in other Asian countries. dors” and HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and STDs surge through them with frightening ease. Long-distance lorry drivers are Transportation corridors one of the most vulnerable groups and are therefore one on which prevention In a report for Time magazine, two jour- programmes focus specifi cally. But once nalists chronicled the advance of AIDS in again, efforts are too limited and too ex- China and visited towns like that of Ruili, clusive to be very effective. In a study enon the Myanmar border: “From all over titled AIDS and sexuality in Africa, anthro- Asia, men gravitate [to Ruili] in search of pologist D. Vangroenweghe highlights jade, rubies, heroin and sex.” They wrote: the wide variety of behavioural models “In 1989, AIDS made a new inroad into amongst African migrants.4 In particular, the mainland, penetrating China around he demonstrates how economic needs are the Burmese border. The virus has since taking over from cultural customs. For ex- hitchhiked along a transportation corri- ample, he describes a system operating dor through Sichuan and Gansu provinces on Nigeria’s major road-transport routes and northwards to Urumqi, a city in the that is based on a sort of long-term sex- far western deserts of Xinjiang province. ual partnership between drivers who are The disease’s travelling companions are a somewhat better off than the average familiar crew: drug-users and traffi ckers, population, but who work in unpleasant prostitutes and truckers, itinerant workers conditions, and women who live along and salesmen. And wherever AIDS visits, these routes, are sometimes married and it fi nds familiar accomplices to help it jump who “would be considered mad to refuse to the next town: offi cial denial, ignorance, to have sex with one or several drivers in discrimination and poverty. In Ruili’s main exchange for fi nancial support, when their plaza, you can almost see AIDS spreading survival depended on it”. Alongside these from one human to another as clearly as modern forms of polygamy and polyandry you could under a microscope.”5 that are shaping the transport sector, the re- Ruili should be pinpointed on a world port also mentions the professional prosti- map of AIDS, but so too should Kalinin- tutes plying their trade at major transport grad, a Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea; and trade hubs, and the young travelling Abidjan, Accra, Lomé, Cotonou and Lagos, saleswomen working in car parks and fi ve West African capital cities on the same truck stops who supplement their income coastal route; Tijuana and all the industrial by having sex with the lorry drivers. The re- towns clustered along the US-Mexico bor- searcher also rejects conventional wisdom der where foreign-owned assembly-for-ex- by highlighting the signifi cance of the trend port plants (maquiladoras) provide work for amongst single women of going to African domestic migrants; and the thousands of towns in search of a better socio-economic other cities which, for a whole variety of future. They do not rule out settling down reasons (a major market or railway station,

88 a university, etc.) are often important mi- Indeed, this is what the Coordination of gration centres. As well as borders, ethnic Action Research on Aids and Migration groups should also be marked out (in Af- (CARAM) network in Asia is trying to do rica there are 1,800 such groups and one in by providing both AIDS education before ten of them straddle two or more borders), departure, to prepare migrant workers for as should refugee camps, front lines, trade the living conditions they will experience, and contraband routes, mining regions, and follow-up measures in receiving coun- major construction sites, tourist paradises tries and reinsertion programmes for those and any factor that might help to better un- returning to their home country. There is derstand how the virus spreads. of course one other approach: reducing in- We could throw in the towel in the face equality and strengthening social cohesion of this complex problem. It’s an alarming in our global village in order to control mi- suggestion, certainly, but many migrants gratory fl ows. But wouldn’t that be a some- are already involved in HIV/AIDS preven- what utopian aspiration? tion and health care programmes. What we have to do is make such programmes more effective and ensure that they do reach the Notes most disadvantaged, especially the undoc- 1 UNAIDS and IOM: “Migration, Health and umented, women and children who have Human Rights”, in Migration and Health, IOM news- been victimized by traffi ckers. All govern- letter, February 2002. ments need to understand that they are 2 Some 47 per cent of AIDS cases in Belgium independent on one another in facing up to volve non-Belgians. In France, one victim in fi ve is this epidemic, and that a solution cannot of non-French nationality. In France, the association “Act Up” has highlighted cases of discrimination be found by one country alone. The most where the law has not been upheld. promising progress has been made by 3 European Project AIDS & Mobility: Looking to local NGOs often representing migrants the future, October 2001. who form regional networks in order to 4 D. Vangroenweghe: AIDS and sexuality in Af- take action at all stages of the migration rica, EPO, 2000. process: in the country of origin, during 5 Jim McGirk and Susan Jakes: “Stalking a Killer”, the journey, and then in the host country. in Time, 30 September 2002.

89 Trade union concerns and actions

Trafficking permeates Europe

Human-traffickers are in full flow. Poverty in Eastern Europe and a lackadaisical attitude towards international police cooperation and on the part of some governments is contributing to hundreds of thousands of girls, often minors, being sexually exploited. Traffickers also support begging networks and illegal work in the agriculture and construction industries. How can we combat these forms of modern- day slavery?

Samuel Grumiau Journalist

ccording to the International Organi- “someone” then introduces her to her em- Azation for Migration (IOM), it is the ployer, who turns out to be a procurer. In second most lucrative business after gun either case though, the actual traffi cking running.1 Ever since the fall of the Berlin is organized by two or three individuals, Wall, human traffi cking has continued to sometimes members of the same family, reach new levels. Prostitution claims the for example a husband, wife and cousin. most victims with hundreds of thousands The vast number of these tiny independent of women having been traffi cked since the networks makes the job of police offi cers end of the Soviet era.2 In this context, the extremely diffi cult. size of traffi cking networks varies widely: Once sold by the traffi cker to the pro- large criminal organizations along the lines curer, the net closes completely around the of the Sicilian mafi a are active in the area victim. All victims start to cry as they real- although in several sending countries in- ize what will happen to them over the next cluding Russia and Ukraine, some net- few hours and all manner of threats rain works are much smaller, consisting of just down on them: if they refuse to prostitute a few individuals. Their technique is sim- themselves, or if they turn the procurer in ple: the recruiter (often a woman) tries to to the police, their parents or their children gain a young girl’s trust by promising her left behind in their home country will be a decent, well-paid job abroad: when the killed. Recrimination too comes quickly on girl agrees, the recruiter makes the travel any girl who refuses to be pushed around. arrangements (papers, visa, tickets, etc.). The procurers will use every ounce of sad- So the victim leaves her home country ism to try and make her crumble: cigarette with confi dence. In most cases, the re- burns, hitting her until her teeth smash, de- cruiter or one of her friends accompanies priving her of food and sleep and raping the girl to her destination country where her until she gives in. Photographs are then she is handed over to someone else, un- taken of her naked and the procurer threat- aware that from that moment she has been ens to send them to her parents. And if she sold to a procurer. Another commonplace still refuses to surrender, her life will be scenario involves the girl travelling alone in grave danger. In Turkey, two Ukrainian but being told by the recruiter that there girls who had refused to prostitute them- will be someone there to meet her when selves were pushed out of a window by she arrives at the bus station, port or their procurer in front of other prostitutes airport in her destination country. This as “an example”.

90 Slavery to pay off a “debt” ates for prostitution. The UAE Govern- ment does nothing to help victims: in fact It is virtually impossible for girls who have on the contrary, it considers them criminals become caught in a traffi cker’s net to es- because they have prostituted themselves, cape without outside help. In many cases, even though they have been forced to do the procurer who buys the girl from the so, and sentences them to several months traffi cker in the fi rst instance will tell her in prison. It is up to the girls themselves how much she has to pay back but as soon to pay for their return home but they have as she has reached this amount (a prosti- neither the money nor the required travel tute can easily bring in € 15,000 a month documents. Many Eastern European girls for her procurer) he sells her on to another are currently being left to rot in prisons procurer and she must start repaying the in the United Arab Emirates, desperately debt all over again.3 Frequently, too, ar- hoping that their consulate or a humani- rangements are made for the girl to move tarian organization will help them. to different towns and countries on a reg- Some Western countries have all but ular basis to prevent her building up any stopped trying to combat traffi ckers. attachment to a particular client who may Greece, which is a major destination and be inclined to try and save her, or to the po- transit country for girls from the former lice and non-governmental organizations Soviet bloc, is often criticized by human (NGOs), and so on. For many girls, alcohol rights organizations for its lack of action and drugs become a daily refuge, all the in this area, preferring to send victims more so since they are sometimes forced straight back to their home country rather to consume them either to encourage cus- than tracking down the traffi ckers. This is tomers in bars to do the same or to make especially unfortunate since victims’ re- the girls themselves more docile. Between turn to their home country can be planned February and the end of August 2002, of a in cooperation with an NGO or the IOM so total of 88 Ukrainian victims taken in by that they can be met on arrival, be given the IOM rehabilitation centre on their re- medical and psychological examinations, turn to Kiev, all but 20 were addicted to vocational training and temporary accom- or regular consumers of alcohol or drugs. modation, all of which would reduce the Over 60 were suffering from pelvic infl am- chances of them falling back into the hands matory disease (PID), while a similar proof traffi ckers. portion had contracted sexually transmitted diseases and/or had developed psychological problems. “But that would never happen to me!” Apart from Western Europe, common destinations for victims traffi cked from In an attempt to prevent traffi cking, Eastern Europe include Turkey, North the IOM, together with several NGOs America, the Balkans and Arab countries. and Eastern European governments has Promises of marriage or a job are the stand- launched major information programmes ard bait used to lure victims into the trap. on the dangers associated with offers of “You can be sure that if there was even the work in Western countries. Campaigns remotest possibility of being able to live have been focused on schools and the a decent life in Ukraine, I would never media with large-scale distribution of in- have tried my luck abroad,” admits Les- formation booklets and freephone num- sia, a Ukrainian victim who returned to the bers set up to deal with questions from country after eight months of forced prosti- those thinking of leaving. Some girls ei- tution in the former Yugoslavia. More and ther have doubts about the offers of work more often, it is minors who are falling vic- they receive or know that it will involve tim to traffi cking. The IOM also tracked prostitution but believe that they will be down an 11-year-old Ukrainian girl who able to make a tidy profi t, unaware that had been taken to the United Arab Emir- they will have to hand over most of their

91 One victim’s story after returning from hell in Turkey Nineteen-year-old Marina comes from a small town in the Odessa region in southern Ukraine. Traf- fickers forced her to prostitute herself for four months in Turkey. When she returned to Ukraine, she was put up in a rehabilitation centre run by “Faith, Hope, Love”, an NGO working in partnership with the IOM, where we met her. “When I finished high school, I wanted to go on to university but I couldn’t afford it. I went to Odessa where I met a guy I vaguely knew and he offered to help me get the money together. He introduced me to a Moldovan woman who could find me work in Turkey as a babysitter or waitress in a restaurant. She sorted out all my travel documents and told me that someone would be there to meet me at the port in Istanbul when I arrived on the boat. I left on 1 May 2002. A Turkish man called Ali was indeed there with my name written on a piece of paper. He took me to a hotel telling me it was so that I could get some rest and take a shower before going to meet my employer. But once we got into the room, he took my identity papers and told me I wasn’t there to be a waitress but to be a prostitute. Without any papers and in an unfamiliar country, what could I do? He kept me in the room for three days, time enough to bring in five other girls, mainly Moldovans. Then he took us to the procurer’s house where we were raped. The men threatened to hit us if we resisted. Customers would telephone and a driver would take us to their hotel and bring us back again to the procurer’s house. Trying to escape and going to the police was risky because we were told that some Turkish police rape girls before sending them straight back to their procurers. In the end, it was actually during a police check that I managed to escape this hell: the police carried out a rou- tine check on the driver’s car and I was arrested because I didn’t have any papers. After a week in prison, the Turkish authorities sent me back to Ukraine.”

earnings to their procurer. In the short States for Scandinavia and Germany while term, it is diffi cult to reach the entire pop- another goes from Russia or Ukraine to Po- ulation with these kinds of programmes, land and the Czech Republic and then on but their impact is already becoming evi- to Germany or Austria. The Balkan route dent, especially in Ukraine: “We are notic- crosses Romania and Bulgaria on the way ing that fewer and fewer of the traffi cking to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and victims coming back to the country are Yugoslavia, where victims are prostituted from the capital Kiev,” says Oksana Hor- before being sent on to Italy or Greece. bunova, IOM Programme Coordinator in Cooperation between police in the home, Ukraine. “This is because information on transit and destination countries is being the risks involved in traffi cking is more improved in an attempt to combat inter- widely available there and also because national human traffi cking; little progress the standard of living in the city is better.” has been made although things are grad- Many girls frequently take the attitude that ually moving in the right direction. There “it’s happened to other people, but it won’t are many obstacles though: language dif- happen to me!” But a higher level of educa- fi culties, not being used to working with tion or income is no guarantee that women foreign law-enforcement teams, and differ- will not fall into the trap. “We have already ent priorities, working methods and legis- had teachers coming into our rehabilita- lation, to mention but a few. tion centre,” says Horbunova. “And in the “The mutual assistance that should Dniepropetrovsk region, although the eco- result from international cooperation be- nomic situation is much better in Kriviy tween police forces is extremely archaic, Rig than in Zhoti Vodi, this does not pre- bureaucratic and slow. It is not at all appro- vent the traffi cking of girls being a much priate to the needs of twenty-fi rst century bigger problem in Kriviy Rig, quite simply investigations in the fi ght against interna- because there are good recruiters there.” tional organized crime,” pointed out Paul Several routes are currently used by Holmes, a former British police inspector traffi ckers to bring victims to Western and international law enforcement coordi- Europe. One leaves Russia via the Baltic nation expert at the IOM. “The Council of

92 Europe and all the key players in Europe great courage on the part of victims be- on this issue, especially the head prose- cause they are justifi ably afraid of terrible cutors, agree on this. Tangible measures reprisals against themselves or their fam- have been taken at various European lev- ily if they talk. To encourage victims to els to improve cooperation, but progress speak out, several Western countries have has been too slow.” Here is just one exam- adopted legislation allowing victims to be ple of this lack of communication: there issued with residence and work permits in are currently some 20 cases that cannot be return for cooperation with the country’s wrapped up in Ukraine due to informa- judicial authorities. Italy offers this protection not being sent by police forces in other tion to all victims of human traffi cking even countries. However, in 2000 Ukraine set up if they refuse to give evidence in court. In special units to counter human traffi cking Eastern Europe too, some governments are with fi nancial support from the IOM and taking steps to provide improved protec- adapted its legislation to make it easier tion for victims brave enough to expose to prosecute traffi ckers. Since then, the their traffi ckers. But no police force in the number of legal actions has been steadily world can guarantee witnesses and their increasing: there were 107 in the fi rst seven families complete safety in the long term months of 2002 as compared with just 42 in and as such, it will always take great cour- the whole of 2000, but this is still just the age for victims to speak out. tip of the iceberg.

It doesn’t stop at prostitution Risking your neck for € 30 a month Aside from prostitution, traffi cked men The fi ght against traffi ckers, particularly in and women from Eastern Europe often Eastern European countries, is hampered end up in the agriculture or construc- by the deprived conditions in which po- tion sectors. As in the case of prostitution, lice offi cers in home countries have to Ukrainians are lured to southern European work. Some even accuse police forces in countries in particular by the promise of these countries of sometimes taking bribes. well-paid jobs. These workers often have “Lack of resources is an obstacle to inves- all manner of qualifi cations, and there are tigations, but arresting traffi ckers does not especially large numbers of doctors, who depend solely on having computers in po- would earn no more than € 50 in Kiev. They lice stations,” says Paul Holmes. “Of course obtain a tourist visa and board coaches investigations are more effective when you bound for Italy and Portugal in particular. have the right resources, but it is still possi- A go-between is there to meet them when ble to work without state-of-the-art equip- they arrive and takes them to a farm, for ment. In terms of pay, it is scandalous that example. Some receive a meagre wage a police offi cer should be receiving only there, but others are never paid and when € 30 a month for doing a job as dangerous they complain to their employer, they are as fi ghting organized crime, but integrity either promised that they will be paid or has nothing to do with income: any police challenged to go to the police, which of offi cer tempted to accept money from traf- course they will never do because they are fi ckers will accept it whether you pay him working illegally. So all the profi t goes to € 30 or € 1,000 a month because the prof- the employers and the go-betweens who its reaped by the people behind these net- set up the network. works are so huge that they could pay him Police authorities in several countries in € 1,500 a week if that is what it takes.” Western Europe are also looking in detail at The job of the judicial authorities is the problem of the growing number of beg- made easier if traffi cking victims agree to gars from former Soviet-bloc countries in reveal the members of the network exploit- major towns, around crossroads and shop- ing them. But testifying to this requires ping centres. Various arrests carried out

93 this year have revealed that children and oning girls because they are prostitutes or disabled people, primarily from Romania, because they do not have valid residence are being traffi cked and forced to beg in permits is one of the counter-productive these towns, although it is still too early to approaches that needs to be ruled out hazard a guess as to the magnitude of the since it will drive prostitution further problem. Eastern Europeans are also be- underground and will penalize victims coming trapped in a web of domestic slav- even more when what they really need is ery, especially in France. Although there help. It is those who are profi ting from such are far fewer of them than there are Afri- activities (customers, employers, etc.) who can or Asian women being exploited in this need to be made to face up to their respon- way, their situation is no less dire: impris- sibilities and be severely punished if they oned in the private homes of employers abuse victims of traffi cking. who threaten them and have confi scated their papers and in countries where nothing is familiar, it is diffi cult for them to see Notes anything good coming from their trying to escape. At the same time, they are hid- 1 International Organization for Migration den away from organizations that, follow- (http://www.iom.int). ing the example of the Committee against 2 The very nature of traffi cking means that it is Modern Slavery (CCEM) in France, are try- impossible to ascertain the exact number of victims, 4 but Europol estimates that around 500,000 people ing to help them. enter the European Union illegally every year and Since you started reading this art icle, half of those are helped in doing so by organized scores of traffi cking victims will have criminal networks. According to IOM fi gures, be- been raped. How can we reduce traffi ck- tween 500,000 and 700,000 women and children are traffi cked worldwide each year. ing? Poverty in victims’ home countries 3 is not the only root of the problem. More For example, in the Czech Republic, a procurer buys a girl for around € 1,500 but makes her pay him international cooperation in countering back a far greater sum. In Belgium, some prostitutes traffi ckers, procurers and their accom- are obliged to repay a “debt” of somewhere in the plices is vital if we want to prevent there region of € 15,000 to their procurer. being further victims. The idea of impris- 4 Web site: http://www.ccem-antislavery.org/

94 Trends in the regions

Living on the edge – refugee and migrant workers in Africa

Conflicts within or between African States and the precariousness of life in many African countries are leading to mass displacements of people. Among them are workers who are by no means assured of a job in their new surroundings. The problems of refugee or migrant workers are becoming more and more pressing across the continent.

David Ndachi Tagne Journalist Yaoundé

he 2000 Global Report of the United Na- ciple has been accepted by the six coun- Ttions High Commissioner for Refugees tries of the Central African Economic and defi nes refugees as “persons recognized as Monetary Community (CEMAC), clashes refugees under the 1951 Convention re- between expatriate and local workers are lating to the Status of Refugees, and/or regularly reported in the press. the 1969 Organization of African Unity Alongside the offi cial data from coun- (OAU) Convention, in accordance with tries or institutions, a better overview of the UNHCR Statute, as well as persons the problems facing migrant or refugee granted a humanitarian status and those workers can be gained from the media or granted temporary protection.”1 Asylum- from reports that circulate informally. seekers, on the other hand, are “persons The primary concepts underlying the whose application for refugee status is present article are those of migrant work- being processed according to the asylum ers and refugee workers. Closer analysis procedure or who are otherwise regis- will show that these two groups consti- tered as asylum-seekers”. The specialist tute very different realities. Both relate terminology also distinguishes internally to workers who have jobs or are seeking displaced persons (IDPs), namely “persons jobs in a country or region other than the who are displaced within their country one where they originated, but people in and to whom UNHCR may extend pro- the fi rst group move of their own volition, tection and/or assistance pursuant to a whereas those in the second have left their special request by a competent organ of original surroundings involuntarily and the UN”. will have to seek new employment, either Beyond this labyrinth of more or less on their own or with the support of the formalized displacements and registra- relevant bodies. tion categories, it should be noted that While on the topic of concepts and cate- many population movements are in fact gories, mention should be made of the very clandestine. Certainly, in a region like special case of child workers, who are gener- West Africa, such displacements between ally subject to involuntary migrations. The countries cause fewer problems, due to the most active source of child labour is West free movement of people and goods, but Africa, where children are taken from Côte in Central Africa, although the same prin- d’Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria or Togo to work in the

95 fi elds or in domestic service either within lion people have been displaced within the the same subregion or in Central Africa and DRC itself. This global jigsaw of displaced more specifi cally in Gabon. These children, people also includes the 80,000 Burundians who are real slaves of our times, often do who have now taken refuge in Tanzania, not even benefi t from the fruits of their toil. which already hosted another 500,000 Bu- Sold by their relatives and then placed with rundian refugees. Add to that the 10,000 an employer or an illegal guardian, child la- Rwandese in Tanzania and Uganda, the bourers are subjected to a form of exploita- 10,000 Ugandans in the DRC, the 300,000 tion that is now condemned by the interna- Angolans displaced across their own coun- tional community, notably the United Na- try and the 80,000 others who have gone tions Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the abroad, notably to Zambia. International Labour Offi ce (ILO). An esti- In West Africa, similar migrations have mated 800,000 children are engaged in the been happening in Burkina Faso, Côte worst forms of child labour in Cameroon d’Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, Liberia and alone, in the context of internal migrations Sierra Leone. But there is one difference within the country. For Africa as a whole, between West Africa and the Horn of Africa the number of children subject to traffi ck- or southern Africa. In West Africa, we are ing and to the worst forms of child labour dealing here mainly with migrant workers. is put at 80 million.2 Elsewhere, they are refugee workers, with or without specialized skills. It should also be noted that population movements are Impact of armed conflicts sometimes due to natural causes, such as severe drought, particularly in the case of In Africa, movements of refugees have for nomadic herders. the most part been caused by the outbreak, pursuit or resumption of armed confl icts. In East Africa and the Horn of Africa, despite Search for survival – chasing a mirage? negotiations with the Organization of Afri- can Unity and UN mediation efforts, fi ght- Whether fl eeing a confl ict, drought or ing broke out again in May 2000 between fl ood, or travelling in search of a job, all Eritrea and Ethiopia. As a result, 97,000 Eri- of these migrants are chasing after sur- treans fl ed, mostly to Sudan, while another vival. It is noticeable that similar migra- million had to move within the country. In tions take place when major construction Sudan itself, clashes between the army and projects are launched or a country experi- opposition forces caused other internal ences a development boom. For example, displacements, plus a regular exodus into large-scale labour migration took place neighbouring countries. Still in the Horn of when work started on the Chad-Cameroon Africa, Somalia counted some 45,000 refu- pipeline in December 2001. There were also gees on its territory in 2000, while thou- massive migrations into Equatorial Guinea, sands of Somalis, who had long been refu- where the oil bonanza opened up big new gees in other countries, had to give up all construction sites. hope of ever returning home. For the oil pipeline project, the initial la- The Great Lakes region has also suf- bour recruitment needs within Cameroon fered from internal and international con- were put at 5,000 workers. Migrations have fl icts, marked by repeated violations of the occurred from other regions of the coun- Lusaka ceasefi re agreement and the bog- try towards the pipeline site. This is bound ging down of the peace processes. More to produce confl icts with the local inhabit- than 100,000 people fl ed the fi ghting in the ants. Both the oil consortium and the au- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). thorities have received petitions express- For the most part, they have gone to the Re- ing the “frustration” of local youth over public of the Congo, the United Republic of the “importation” of labour. On the same Tanzania and Zambia. A reported 1.5 mil- project, similar ill-feeling has been noted in

96 the Doba region of southern Chad. In this African countries, IOM spokesman Jean- case, the main butts of local resentment are Philippe Chauzy told a press briefi ng. The the Cameroonian workers who have come fi shermen were left homeless after the Ga- into the area in search of jobs, and whom bonese authorities demolished the huts the employers generally consider to be that they had built illegally and in which more productive. Some of them were sent they had been living, along the coastline back to Cameroon, despite CEMAC’s com- near Libreville.”3 mitment to the free movement of people So almost 1,000 people who thought and goods. they had found both a foothold and a A similarly bitter lesson was learned living, and who had in some cases been when Cameroonians and other nationals in Gabon for several decades, suddenly of the subregion started pouring into Equa- found themselves homeward bound, torial Guinea. Incidents have frequently empty-handed and with no assurance of occurred during identity checks, to the any basic provisions at the end of their point where 150 Cameroonians sought ref- journey. According to the Gabonese au- uge in their own embassy in Malabo for a thorities, the shanties were demolished week in August 2002. It took full-scale di- and their inhabitants expelled in a search plomacy to defuse the situation and even for suspected offenders. “The fi shing boats then, about 50 Cameroonians opted to go and equipment have been stored in a safe home. The embassy chartered a ship to place and will later be returned to their take them back. When the present author owners, probably by sea,” the IOM’s Pierre was in Malabo in April 2002, preparing a King declared after the expulsions. It was series of reports for Radio France Inter- King who supervised the whole operation. national, a Cameroonian told him quite “We have authorized each of these people bluntly: “We come here in search of sur- to take with them 50 kilograms of personal vival, because we earn a lot more here than effects,” he added, “so that they won’t be we would get for the same work in Cam- completely bereft when they arrive home.” eroon. But we suffer assaults by the po- When the returnees reached Cotonou, the lice, who generally rob us, whether our pa- Benin Red Cross arranged temporary ac- pers are in order or not. Sometimes, we’re commodation in two schools. obliged to leave the originals of our offi cial These are a few classic examples of a documents at the embassy for safekeeping quest for survival that ends in a sad return and just carry photocopies around with us, to the point of departure. Refugees, on the because sometimes the policemen are so other hand, are often feared in their host furious when they fi nd that you’re legal countries. They are all too readily seen as that they actually tear your papers up.” people who were bandits, militiamen or Recently, the problem of migrant arti- rebel soldiers back home and have come sans was highlighted by the drama of the to “cause shit over here”, to quote a senior Beninese fi shermen in Libreville, Gabon, offi cial of one host country. whose equipment and houses were de- stroyed prior to their repatriation. In a dispatch from its Geneva bureau, Agence Migrant professionals France Presse wrote: “Seven hundred and twenty Beninese fi shermen and their fami- Migrants in the professions are a specifi c lies, who had been left homeless in Libre- category with specifi c problems. Doctors, ville, have been repatriated by Libreville professors, engineers and other profes- over the past few days, the International sionals may leave their countries either Organization for Migration (IOM) an- because of political diffi culties or simply nounced in Geneva on Tuesday. The op- in search of a better life elsewhere. This eration, coordinated by the IOM, consisted may well be a “brain drain”, as analysed by of four fl ights by the Belgian air force, in André Linard in Labour Education No. 123.4 cooperation with the authorities of the two However, it is understandable, particu-

97 larly in the case of gifted Africans moving children or adults, peasants, cattle breed- to the West in search of a better reward for ers or intellectuals, they experience con- their knowledge and know-how. The at- stant rejection from the host societies, de- tractions of such migration, Linard writes, spite Africa’s legendary hospitality. Even are mainly “better pay and better working when regional regulations promote them, conditions”. But a brain that moves from these types of integration keep running one African country to another receives no into barriers. So is repatriation a solution such guarantees and advantages. Newly for these men and women who thought arrived doctors are not automatically rec- that the grass was greener on the other ognized as competent. In fact, they will side? Not necessarily. What is needed, sometimes fi rst have to take tests in order within the countries of origin themselves, to gain recognition from the authorities or is reception and re-employment policies, the medical council, depending on local together with effective initiatives to over- regulations. Failing which, they may have come unemployment. The reintegration to work clandestinely. And that does not of refugees in the aftermath of a confl ict pay well. Engineers are in a similar posi- is one of the most diffi cult tasks tackled tion, and may become the targets of xeno- by the UNHCR, as its 2000 Global Report phobic outbursts. recognizes. It should also be emphasized that an Af- At a time when everyone is talking rican migrant worker and a Western devel- about globalization, the construction of opment worker with equivalent skills will bigger entities in Africa, the dismantling not generally receive equal treatment so of barriers and selfi shness, could be of far as pay is concerned. So even intellec- more help than political or humanitarian tual migrant workers, with internationally speeches in solving the problems encoun- recognized qualifi cations, have absolutely tered every day by refugee and migrant no guarantee of happy integration in an- workers. other country. And in the case of harmoni- ous integration, everything can suddenly be called into question if there is a change Notes of regime. Côte d’Ivoire after the death of Houphouet Boigny is a case in point. 1 UNHCR: 2000 Global Report, Geneva, 2000. 2 Figures published by the ILO Offi ce in Central Africa in January 2002 as part of the Red Card to Child The solution: repatriation Labour campaign. or regional regrouping? 3 AFP dispatch from Geneva, dated 13 August 2002 (unoffi cial translation from the French). Both for migrants and for refugees in Af- 4 ILO: “The brain drain: losing one’s head”, in rica, work is a chancy business. Whether Labour Education No. 123, pp. 47-50.

98 Trends in the regions

The union movement in Senegal and migrant workers

The mirage of rich countries is attracting thousands of African workers to brave the rigours and humiliations of exile.

Mamadou Diouf Communication Officer Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CSA) Senegal

he structural crisis currently affecting subject of a forum, held on 23 August 2002, Tthe majority of southern countries has bringing together the National Senegalese had a profound impact on the labour mar- Workers’ Confederation (CNTS), the Con- ket. Faced with a spectacular increase in federation of Independent Trade Unions unemployment, poverty and social exclu- (CSA), the National Union of Independ- sion, people are tending to implement in- ent Trade Unions (UNSAS), the Union des dividual survival strategies. Travailleurs Sénégalais en France/Action Re- The magnitude of the resulting migra- vendicative (Union of Senegalese Workers tory fl ow prompted the Confederation of in France UTSF/AR) and the National Independent Trade Unions to organize in Council of Non-Governmental Organ- May 1999 an international seminar en- izations involved in Development issues titled “Migrant workers: Challenges for (CONGAD). new forms of cooperation”. Although the level of participation en- The diversity of participants made for sured that the issue was viewed primarily productive face-to-face exchanges on emi- from the point of view of concerns over gration and immigration, with the ILO/ Senegalese emigrating to France, it never- Sahelian Africa Multidisciplinary Advi- theless offered a revealing insight into the sory Team (EMAS), and representatives reality of the situation in a context charac- of the General Confederation of Labour terized by the harmonization of European (CGT-France) and the union federation for policies and legislation on immigration. workers in the postal, telecommunications Now more than ever, national groups of and broadcasting sectors Sud PTT (Solid- affi liated trade unions, together with their aires, Unitaires et Démocratiques – Postes, international counterparts, human rights Télécommunications et Télédiffusion). It was organizations and migrant workers’ asso- all the more successful since a group of ciations need to show solidarity and fi ght emigrant workers, forcibly repatriated by together to defend this category of workers chartered plane, had just formed the Sen- and to ensure a legal and economic en- egalese Committee for Illegal Workers Ex- vironment that respects their dignity. pelled from France (Comité Sénégalais des In that vein, the forum held in Dakar Sans Papiers Expulsés de France-CSSPEF) on 23 August 2002 highlighted several ap- affi liated to the CSA. proaches: This problem remains one of the union fi ghting for extending democratic, movement’s prime concerns and was the union and trade union rights;

99 creating conditions of sustainable creating a ministry for cooperation with unity and joint action at national, re- a sizeable department responsible for gional and even continental level be- migrant workers; tween groups of affi liated trade unions, resolving – on-the-spot in the country civil society organizations and migrant of origin – all issues concerning pen- workers’ associations, based on auton- sions for returning emigrants; omy with respect to political power and pressure groups; providing for medical cover and family benefi ts to which emigrants’ families devising mobilization campaigns to who remain in the country are entitled; cancel debt and fi ght Structural Ad- and justment Programmes (SAPs); reviewing the foundations for interna- promoting real national policies to cre- tional cooperation and allowing unions ate jobs to prevent the “brain drain” and associations from civil society to and to ensure that workers receive become more involved in developing basic training in their home country to real, mutually benefi cial cooperation protect them from overexploitation as- policies. sociated with illiteracy; and striving for national promotion of a From now on, it is vital for the union real integration policy to benefi t the movement, human rights organizations children of emigrants, in particular in and emigrant workers’ associations to be- terms of obtaining proof of status from come involved in a major international consular and residency services in the campaign to ratify ILO Conventions Nos. country. 97 and 143 on migrant workers. This will make it possible to create a Such plans ought not to stand in the sustainable legal and institutional frame- way of countries’ responsibilities and the work that will help to develop initiatives measures that need to be taken at institu- to safeguard their interests without preju- tional level. Workers will have to take ac- dice to their host countries. tion to make governments take the appropriate measures:

100 Trends in the regions

Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean: A view from the ICFTU/ORIT

Historically speaking, the migratory movements of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean have been closely related to the development of societies in these regions and, more specifically, to economic, social and political imbalances.

Iván González Alvarado Human and Trade Union Rights Programme Coordinator, ICFTU/ORIT Hilda Sánchez External consultant for the ICFTU/ORIT

ver the past few decades, migration (IDB, 2002), Latin America received close Ofl ows have changed very signifi cantly to US$23 billion in revenue from migrant in terms of size, direction, general charac- workers in 2001. This fi gure is equivalent teristics and their overall impact in coun- to one-and-a-half times the amount of tries of origin and host countries alike. The interest paid by Latin American coun- Economic Commission for Latin America tries to service their foreign debt in the and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has identifi ed past fi ve years. It should be noted that three major migration patterns in Latin most of this revenue originates from the America and the Caribbean: poorest migrant workers and, in partic- Historical immigration into Latin ular, from Latin Americans working in America from overseas between the the United States (who account for 80 mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth per cent of revenue) or in Europe, Japan centuries, with a strong European com- and Canada (20 per cent of revenue). ponent. Intra-regional migration, favoured by Migration trends and their social socio-economic developments and and economic impact structural factors, particularly during the period 1970-1990, which saw the Beginning in the mid-1970s and lasting well highest rates of migration within Latin into the 1990s, two intertwined and over- America. lapping processes also began to feature in South-North migration fl ows, resulting the traditional migration fl ows of workers in the loss of qualifi ed workers in Latin between countries in the region and espe- America and the Caribbean, the emer- cially between their border areas: fi rst, the gence of immigrant communities, and forced migration of large sections of the the development of an economic po- population as a result of violent confl icts tential associated with the remittances and political conditions that put people’s sent by migrants to their countries of lives at risk and second, a marked increase origin. According to data published by in migration to countries outside the region, the Inter-American Development Bank mainly the United States.

101 This trend continued until peace proc- by extra-regional migration towards the esses took effect in the region (Nicaragua in United States and a few European coun- 1990, El Salvador in 1992 and Guatemala in tries, mainly Spain. This trend still contin- 1996). During the 1980s the number of ref- ues today. ugees and displaced persons worryingly In the Southern Cone region, migration reached approximately 2 million (IOM, was also largely confi ned to intra-regional Migrations in Central America. Proceso- fl ows until the mid-1980s: Brazilians, Para- Puebla and Hurricane Mitch, 1999). The re- guayans and Uruguayans went to Argen- establishment of peace and the strengthen- tina, Paraguayans to Brazil, and Peruvians ing of democratic processes led to large and Bolivians to Chile. While differences numbers of displaced persons and refugees existed in the degree of attractiveness of returning to their countries of origin. each country, these migration fl ows had To some extent, Mexico is a special case in common the fact that they met the em- because of the presence – for over a cen- ployment needs of unskilled or semiskilled tury now – of large numbers of Mexican labour. nationals in the United States. Current es- Economic recession reversed the pat- timates put the number of Hispanics liv- tern of migration in the Southern Cone. ing in the United States at over 31.7 mil- Many Argentinians who had been forced lion (or 11.7 per cent of the total popula- to leave their own country as refugees tion of the United States), including more and/or political asylum seekers during the than 20 million people of Mexican origin. dictatorship, were unable to fi nd a job in Some 64 per cent of the 18 million Latinos Argentina when they returned there after in the United States are Mexican. Accord- the re-establishment of democracy. As a re- ing to the IDB, Mexico was the main recipi- sult of successive economic crises, Argen- ent of remittances from migrant workers, tina went from being a receiving country with US$9.3 billion, an amount roughly to a sending one, albeit to other parts of the equivalent to twice the value of its agri- world, i.e. the United States and Europe. cultural exports or two-thirds of its crude For its part Brazil, which has traditionally oil exports, and equal to Mexico’s total rev- shown a low rate of economically moti- enue from tourism. vated emigration, is now attracting man- In the countries of the Andean region, power from other countries in the region cross-border migration (i.e. the movements within the framework of the MERCOSUR of workers between countries in the same economic integration process. There is still region) historically followed a fairly reg- a steady outfl ow of migrants from Para- ular pattern: Colombian workers fl owed guay and Uruguay, especially towards the into Venezuela and Ecuador, Ecuadorians larger MERCOSUR member countries and, and Peruvians into Venezuela, and Boliv- to a lesser extent, towards the United States ians into Argentina. Thus, for example, Co- and Europe. lombian labourers worked in Venezuela’s sugarcane and coffee plantations and in Ecuador’s banana and fl ower plantations, The gender dimension Colombian women went to Venezuela to fi nd employment as domestic workers, Gender is a key dimension of international and Bolivian and Peruvian textile and ag- migration. In the American continent as a ricultural workers were common in Argen- whole, according to ECLAC estimates, tina. These patterns began to change with there has been a shift from predomin- the onset of the Latin American economic antly female migration (in the 1970s and crisis in the 1980s. Faced with the deterior- 1980s) to mainly male migration (thereaf- ation of economic conditions in the host ter). However, if we restrict our analysis countries, increasing numbers of migrant to cross-border migration between Latin workers began to return to their countries American countries, we can see that there of origin. The 1990s were characterized is a strong trend towards “feminization”.

102 The difference is explained by the increas- lished by the 90th International Labour ing proportion of male workers in the Conference on the basis of the informa- stock of Latin American immigrants in tion as at 31 December 2001), only 14 of the United States. the 34 countries that make up the Ameri- ECLAC highlights the fact that varia- can continent had ratifi ed the Migration tions in the gender composition of current for Employment Convention (Revised), migration fl ows stems from the comple- 1949 (No. 97). Of these 14, only one (Ven- mentarity between the labour markets of ezuela) had ratifi ed the Migrant Workers the countries of origin and the host coun- (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, tries. The predominance of male workers 1975 (No. 143). These two Conventions among Mexican migrants to the United establish the general conditions, obliga- States or among Bolivian and Chilean mi- tions and policies that member States grants to Argentina is a result of the major must adopt with regard to migrant work- demand for male workers in the agricul- ers, particularly in order to guarantee their tural and mining sectors in the receiving fundamental rights. countries. Conversely, the stock of Colom- The International Convention on the bian immigrants in Venezuela and of Para- Protection of Migrant Workers and Mem- guayan immigrants in Argentina is charac- bers of Their Families is another key inter- terized by a female majority, and this can national instrument in this area (see article be explained by the fact that most immi- by Patrick Taran on page 26). To date, 20 grants from these countries work in the States have ratifi ed the Convention, among service sector, including domestic work. them six countries in the American conti- In Caribbean countries, the marginal pre- nent, specifi cally in Latin America and the dominance of women workers is associ- Caribbean. Furthermore, in 1999 a Special ated with a large number of jobs in the Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Mi- tourism sector. grants was appointed by the Commission on Human Rights, initially for a three-year period, which has now been extended for Workers, migrant workers a further three years. The Commission has and their rights also adopted a number of recommendations in this area. The harsh reality faced by migrant workers Within the framework of the Organiza- throughout human history has changed tion of American States (OAS), the Ameri- very little as regards the exercise of their can Declaration of the Rights and Duties fundamental rights. The diffi culties and of Man and the American Convention on uncertainties faced by migrants when Human Rights, when interpreted in their they leave their home countries (including broadest sense, include the rights of mi- a whole range of economic, cultural, psy- grant workers. Similarly, the Americas chological, linguistic and social aspects) Summit System – whose technical sec- are compounded by the risks associated retariat is the responsibility of the OAS, with illegality – a common situation for ECLAC and the IDB – has recently in- many workers who arrive in a country as cluded the issue of migrant workers in its undocumented immigrants, particularly agenda as part of the process leading to the in countries where no clear policies exist establishment of the Free Trade Area of the to deal with this kind of workforce. As a re- Americas (FTAA). sult, immigrants often fall prey to unscru- Apart from the ratifi cation and adop- pulous government offi cials or employers tion of international legislation, the in- who take advantage of these workers’ il- formation available on the situation of legal status to subject them to exploitative migrant workers and the conditions in conditions. which they live and work, as well as on According to the list of Conventions government policies in this area, is very ratifi ed by different countries (as pub- scarce and fragmentary in most countries

103 of the region. However, while the problems are therefore being ruthlessly exploited, as faced by people who are forced to leave indicated in the CHR report. their countries to look for better living and In addition to those mentioned above, working conditions are numerous and of there are other problems which have be- many different kinds, most such problems come increasingly serious as a result of have been highlighted by human rights or- economic globalization. A recent study by ganizations, other organizations dealing the ILO Offi ce in Lima (La agenda laboral specifi cally with the welfare of migrant en la globalización: efi ciencia económica con workers, trade unions and UN-sponsored progreso social, “The agenda of labour or- international bodies such as the ILO and ganizations in the context of globalization: the Human Rights Commission. Economic effi ciency and social progress”, The report drawn up on these issues by by Daniel Martínez and Victor Tokman, the Special Rapporteur of the OAS Inter- 1999) focuses on the steady increase in the American Commission on Human Rights number of illegal immigrants. This is giv- (CHR)1 mentions several cases involving ing rise to two problems: situations which refl ected unawareness Illegal immigrants swell the numbers of of the human rights of these workers. The the excluded, either because they join report highlights a number of aspects, in- the labour market in precarious condi- cluding the need to protect immigrants’ tions and without any protection, or be- right to work and to send remittances cause they have no guaranteed access back home, the right of Mexican workers to the basic social services provided by to due diligence and procedure in dealing the State for all citizens. In some coun- with their legal status as immigrants in the tries, too, there is the insecurity suffered United States, physical abuse by border pa- by workers and their families as a result trols and reported cases of xenophobia in of being targeted by the police. the United States, and the vulnerability of Guatemalan and other Central American Illegal immigrants join the labour mar- workers to exploitative work practices and ket without benefi ting from the labour to unfair treatment because of their need laws of the country where they work to travel across Mexican territory. and are generally forced to accept The report also mentions the plight of lower-than-average pay levels. To some Nicaraguans in Costa Rica (who are par- extent, legal immigrants experience the ticularly vulnerable to exploitation be- same kind of exclusion as illegal ones. cause of their large numbers) and the fact that security forces on both sides of the Venezuela-Colombia border may react vi- Migration in the context olently against immigrants because law- of globalization enforcement offi cers are not always able to distinguish them from common criminals. In its report Globalization and Development Furthermore, the report denounces the (2002), ECLAC underlines the fact that in- massive and summary expulsion of Hai- ternational migration was instrumental in tians from the Dominican Republic. The integrating the economies of countries on situation of Haitian workers is character- both sides of the Atlantic until the First ized by many violations of human rights, World War. After the Second World War ranging from dismal working and living migrant workers contributed to economic conditions on the plantations to the mas- and social integration between the South sive and racially discriminatory expulsions and the North, especially in Europe and suffered by these workers. The main con- North America. In both periods the mobil- cern in the Southern Cone is that of the pre- ity of the labour force went hand in hand carious situation of Peruvian, Bolivian and with the mobility of capital, whereas today Paraguayan workers in Argentina who are international migration seems to have been forced to work as illegal immigrants and excluded from the globalization process.

104 Workers who migrate from their coun- to eliminating prejudices and fi nding solu- tries are also subject to the rules that pro- tions to existing problems. It called on na- mote and favour the free movement of cap- tional trade union confederations, includ- ital, goods and services as well as the inte- ing the ORIT’s affi liates as well as all sis- gration of business companies. At the same ter confederations, to urge governments time, however, those rules restrict both the in the region to enact appropriate legis- movement of the labour force and the ex- lation to grant legal status to the migrant ercising of labour rights. In this context, population and recognize these workers as “workers are production factors that are a specifi c category under national labour moved about rather than the subjects of legislation. Finally, it pressed for prompt protected rights”.2 The prospect of glo- ratifi cation of all the relevant ILO Conven- balization without human mobility raises tions and called for the full recognition of, questions about the ethical acceptability, and respect for, the human rights of mi- political realism and economic effective- grant workers, including, in particular, ness of such a process. It is also doubtful freedom of association to enable migrants whether a global development strategy of to organize in unions, and the right to so- this kind would be sustainable in the long cial security. term.

Addressing migration issues The ORIT outlook in the context of NAFTA

The issue of migrant workers was incorp- More recently, ORIT’s approach to the orated institutionally into the ORIT’s stra- issue of migration has focused primarily tegic outlook by the 8th Congress (Toronto, on the North American Free Trade Agree- April 1993), which adopted a specifi c reso- ment (NAFTA) and, in particular, the lat- lution on the subject. The resolution started ter’s impact on Mexico within the frame- by expressing growing concern about the work of a general analysis of the potential marked increase of migration in the Ameri- impact of the FTAA. cas. It went on to note that most migrant In its document Alternative for the Ameri- workers left their countries because of re- cas (2001), the Continental Social Alliance current economic crises or serious political (CSA) – of which ORIT is a member – un- confl icts, and that therefore the top prior- derlined the fact that large-scale migration ity for the international community was to by jobseekers is part of the (increasingly help create situations where people were rapid) globalization process. Workers are not forced to leave their family, their com- being forced to migrate to join what is ef- munity or their country. Furthermore, the fectively a global labour market – a huge resolution highlighted the particularly reserve of manpower that can be selectively diffi cult situation of seasonal agricultural recruited from any part of the world. workers or labourers. The problem arises when – as in the Via the ICFTU, the resolution urged the United States – migration policies are re- international bodies, especially the United garded as a means of “reconstructing” a Nations High Commissioner for Refugees country while at the same time deciding (UNHCR) to review the criteria for the who should form part of it and who should recognition of foreigners’ refugee status not. In particular, migration policies are de- in order to establish protective mecha- signed to attract a large number of quali- nisms for those who leave their coun- fi ed immigrants and to supply a plentiful, tries fl eeing from extreme hardship. The cheap and strictly controlled labour force resolution stated that trade union educa- to certain local industries (specifi cally agri- tion aimed at strengthening solidarity and foodstuffs industries, canneries and pack- identifying the real causes of the problems aging plants, and certain clothing and faced by migrant workers could contribute some service industries).

105 Furthermore, US legislation deals with Cone countries have identifi ed migration illegal immigration in such a way as effec- as an issue of strategic importance. Accord- tively to treat any undocumented worker ingly, they have promoted the creation of as a criminal. This approach stems from the an ad hoc committee within the framework agreements reached between the United of the ten-member Sub-Working Group on States and Mexico when NAFTA was fi rst Employment, Industrial Relations and So- launched, based on the assumption that cial Security. The committee has been mak- the treaty would by itself provide a long- ing progress on several fronts, including a term solution to the problem of Mexican survey to assess the situation in various migration, given that the development and areas, detailed consideration of the issue availability of new and better jobs in work- of legislation, a number of studies of the ers’ countries of origin is the only way of dynamics of the labour market with spe- reducing migratory pressures in the long cial emphasis on migration, and the crea- run. According to the US Government, the tion of a body to provide information and FTAA should follow a similar approach. training on migration issues. This, however, contrasts markedly with Trade unions have also endorsed a the emphasis placed by the Santiago Sum- Protocol on Social Security in MERCO- mit on each sovereign state’s right to de- SUR, which addresses the specifi c situ- vise and implement its own judicial provi- ation of intra-regional migrant workers. sions and its own migration policies, lead- Furthermore, unions have recognized the ing to the establishment of bilateral and importance of following up the work car- multilateral agreements. Previously, both ried out in relation to the Services Proto- the Andean and MERCOSUR countries col adopted in 1997, which covers the pro- expressed similar positions, though these vision of services involving the physical declarations were not followed by the crea- presence of workers from other countries tion of appropriate legal instruments. and the movement of individual service In the meantime, as part of the ORIT providers and professionals throughout trade union family, the AFL-CIO has con- MERCOSUR territory. ducted an evaluation of NAFTA with the help of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the United States, Canada and Trade union activities Mexico (NAFTA seven years on: Its effects on in the Andean region workers in the three countries, 2001). In this analysis, the migration variable is related Trade union organizations in the countries to the net loss of jobs and the increasingly of this region are present in the bodies of poorer quality of employment, specifi cally the Andean Community of Nations (ACN) in the case of Mexico. via the Andean Consultative Council on NAFTA has reversed the normal proc- Labour Issues, which enables the unions ess of migration (from the countryside to to take part (jointly with the employers) towns) which typifi es developing econo- in the debates and decision-making proc- mies. Between 1991 and 1997 the size of the esses of the ACN. An issue frequently dis- rural population increased slightly while cussed within this body is the situation of at the same time living conditions in towns migrant workers and their rights, as well deteriorated. as the search for compromises with and between governments in order to develop policies that will enable migrant workers Trade union activities to regularize their situation and enjoy the in the MERCOSUR area rights to which they are entitled. The ACN governments recently In the context of their activities in the social- adopted (July 2002) an Andean Charter for policy bodies and labour organizations of the Promotion and Protection of Human MERCOSUR, trade unions in the Southern Rights, one section of which deals with the

106 Rights of Migrants and their Families, out- In the sending countries, trade union lining the basic measures required to pro- organizations must monitor the conditions tect this category of migrant workers and in which workers migrate, placing special the members of their families. emphasis on both the sending and the receiving country’s responsibility to ensure that migrant workers are employed with Final remarks the necessary degree of transparency, and that migrants are aware of their rights The situation of migrant workers and the whatever country they are bound for. An- conditions in which they live and work in other task which trade unions should not Latin America and the Caribbean in the neglect concerns the obligations and com- context of globalization and economic inte- mitments of ILO member States as regards gration represent a major challenge for the the adoption and ratifi cation of the specifi c trade union movement. The historical pat- Conventions and Recommendations on terns of migration resulting from the search migrant workers and their rights, as well for better living standards and better emas the adoption of appropriate policies to ployment opportunities have been largely achieve the goals set out in those Conven- superseded by changes in the dynamics of tions and Recommendations. production and trade which are subjecting Governments must ratify the existing the Southern countries to mounting com- instruments concerning migration, partic- petitive pressures, forcing them to vie for ularly the Convention on the Protection of a share of international markets governed Migrant Workers and Members of Their by increasingly unfair rules. Families. Bilateral and regional coopera- Unemployment, poverty and social tion between governments and interna- exclusion are the key factors underlying tional organizations should be strength- migration between countries in the Latin ened to ensure fair treatment for migrant American and Caribbean region, and from workers. An important aspect of this is this region to the North. Migrant workers the establishment of bi-national commit- are set to become the new poor in the re- tees on migration and regional processes ceiving countries. This situation will not in the Americas. Furthermore, campaigns change unless our countries take positive should be implemented to increase aware- steps to achieve a model of sustainable de- ness of the risks associated with undoc- velopment which prioritizes the social di- umented migration and to publicize the mension, education, health and adequate human rights of immigrants. It is also housing for all, as well as the creation of necessary to promote campaigns against decent jobs, as key elements to counteract xenophobia. the negative aspects of migration. National and international attention In the meantime trade unions both in should also focus on the responsibility of the North and the South must address a employers in receiving countries. Employ- number of fundamental tasks, given that ers have a duty to comply with the legal global economic interdependence makes provisions of the international Conventions cooperation between different countries and national laws which protect the rights and regions necessary to tackle the exist- of migrant workers. Eradicating reprehen- ing problems. Trade union organizations sible practices, such as taking advantage of must help to achieve full recognition of migrant workers’ illegal status to impose migrant workers’ rights in the receiving exploitative employment conditions, must countries, strive to raise public aware- be placed at the top of the agenda. Simi- ness of migrant workers’ valuable con- larly, any association with criminal organ- tribution to economic development, and izations involved in the traffi cking of un- combat abuses by closely monitoring com- documented workers from other countries panies and economic sectors that make use should be investigated and penalized as an of immigrant labour. unethical business practice.

107 Finally, all stakeholders in the world rights. Steps should also be taken to press of labour should support the campaign for all international commitments to be infor the ratiﬁ cation of the United Nations corporated into national laws. Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Notes and take advantage of the institutional opportunities offered by participation in re- 1 Juan Mendez: Report by the Special Rapporteur gional integration bodies, such as NAFTA, for Migrant Workers and their Families of the Inter- MERCOSUR, the Central American Com- American Commission on Human Rights, August 2001, http://www.acnur.org mon Market and the Andean Community 2 Lelio Marmora and María Cassarino: “La of Nations, to draw the attention of gov- variable migratoria en el Mercosur” (The Migration ernments to the situation of migrant work- Variable in Mercosur) in IOM Review of International ers and to the need to protect their basic Migration in Latin America, Vol. 17 (1999), No. 1, p. 4.

108 Trends in the regions

Dreams turn to nightmares for Indonesia’s migrants

The number of Indonesian migrant workers has soared in the past ten years, but the authorities have failed to protect them. Unions have an important part to play.

Patrick Quinn Chief Technical Adviser ILO workers’ education project for Indonesia

n July 2002, news reports around the In the past, the problems facing the ex- Iworld featured the fate of 500,000 In- pelled Indonesian migrants might have donesians working without proper au- been ignored. However, in Indonesia today thorization in neighbouring Malaysia. there are growing calls to defend and up- Along with irregular workers from other hold basic rights of workers, whether they countries, the workers had been given a are employed at home or abroad. The situ- deadline by which to leave Malaysia. The ation which unfolded in mid-2002 sparked country’s new immigration laws were due unprecedented concern at the fate of Indo- to take effect on 1 August, 2002. The new nesia’s migrant workers. law provided for foreigners working without correct authorization to be ﬁ ned and imprisoned, and to receive six strokes of The regional dimension the cane. As the deadline approached, tens of Early reports suggested that Malaysia’s de- thousands of migrant workers and their cision to crack down on irregular migrants families queued at ports in an effort to leave had been sparked by disturbances at cer- Malaysia. On their return to Indo nesian tain workplaces employing Indo nesian soil, many were stranded, some with few workers. However, the downturn in the resources and a long way from their home world economy and its impact on the eco- villages. Despite several months’ warning, nomic climate in Malaysia seemed to be the Indonesian authorities were poorly pre- a major factor behind the decision.1 Ear- pared to deal with the chaotic situation that lier, following the ﬁ nancial crisis of 1997, developed along parts of the country’s bor- a fall in growth rates, lack of employment der with Malaysia. In Kalimantan, the In- opportunities and a drop in foreign direct donesian province which borders Malay- investment, had led a number of govern- sia’s Sabah state, a transit town, Nunakan, ments in the region to send foreign work- turned into a heaving mass of human mis- ers home. However at the same time, as ery. Some 30,000 workers and their fami- economic conditions worsened in sending lies entered the town, camping in squalid countries, more people sought to migrate, conditions. Some were on their way from if necessary using irregular methods. Malaysia; others were trying to get back Recognizing the problem, govern- in. It was reported that as many as 70 peo- ments of the region met in Thailand in ple, including young children, died in the April 1999 and pledged, in the Bangkok Nunakan camps. Declaration on Irregular Migration,2 to

109 work cooperatively to address the social, The second main destination for Indo- economic, and humanitarian and security nesian migrants is Saudi Arabia, which problems involved. Whilst the Declaration attracts 37 per cent of migrants, mainly was mainly concerned with the problems young women seeking employment as of governments, rather than migrant work- housemaids. ers, it urged “humane and safe” return of The remittances from migrant workers irregular migrants. However, the events are extremely important for the Indo nesian of mid-2002 suggested a breakdown in co- economy. It has been estimated that by the operation between governments. late 1990s workers were sending back to Some have argued that in order to Indonesia as much as US$1 billion every tackle problems associated with migra- year. tion within the region effectively, more Indonesia’s migrant labour force has a thought must be given to measures to number of characteristics: boost the economic performance and em- A large proportion of workers either ployment creation of its countries, as a way travel abroad without proper authori- to help control and regulate the ﬂ ow of la- zation, or overstay work permits. bour. Senior Indonesian ministers have accepted that some of the areas that were the A large number return home before main source of migration to eastern Malay- the expiry of their contracts, particu- sia had been starved of economic develop- larly from the Gulf States, suggesting ment. It would be very timely for ASEAN serious unhappiness with the situation (Association of South-East Asian Nations) they found in the receiving countries. countries to consider some of these issues The level of educational attainment of within the larger framework of economic Indonesian migrants is generally low, development in the region. and most head for low-skill occupations, particularly as domestic servants, as plantation workers and in con- Indonesian labour migration struction.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with more than 215 Improving the Indonesian situation million people. The number of Indonesians seeking to work overseas has grown rap- Although the number of Indonesian mi- idly in the past ten years. Ofﬁ cial ﬁ gures grant workers has soared in the past ten suggest that the number of workers mi- years, yielding substantial revenue for grating each year rose from less than 90,000 the country, the authorities have failed to in 1990 to an average of 375,000 per year provide a proper framework of protec- between 1996 and 2000.3 However, it is tion for these workers. Worse than that, widely accepted that the number is actu- in many cases authorities at various lev- ally substantially higher than this, because els have been involved in corruption and of the extent of irregular migration. in the extortion of money from migrants. The huge growth in migration has been The debacle of the returning workers from spurred by very high unemployment at Malaysia has now spurred debate in In- home, and low earnings opportunities. donesia about policies on migrant labour, As more and more workers settle abroad, the appropriate regulatory framework, and establish their own support networks, and other key issues. it becomes easier for others to join them. Increasing the export of labour has The most popular destination for mi- been a key policy of the Indonesian Gov- grant workers has been neighbouring Ma- ernment. However, some would argue that laysia. Almost 40 per cent of regular mi- by focusing so much on exporting labour, grants go to Malaysia, working in plan- the Government is ignoring its responsibil- tations, construction and as housemaids. ity to create a domestic economy that can

110 generate jobs for the country’s workforce. velop services related to migrant workers. A review of employment policy and the Despite the huge increase in the volume of role and management of migration within workers leaving Indonesia, there has not that policy is urgently required. been a corresponding increase in resources For the moment, however, the high lev- for agencies concerned. els of unemployment in Indonesia and the The fourth and most critical issue is relatively low earnings of workers will con- the need for any new decentralized struc- tinue to encourage workers to seek employ- tures to develop systems and management ment abroad. Alongside a more effective which would make the administration of employment and economic development migrant labour more effective, whilst pro- policy, a new framework for labour migra- viding enhanced protection for workers. tion is urgently needed. That framework This would include development of new should seek to put an end to the corrupt and effective information systems for mi- practices that riddle the system at present, grant workers. and improve protection for workers. A recent ILO analysis identifi ed four key areas of development which could The problems facing Indonesia’s begin to improve the situation. migrant workers Firstly, it is apparent that a large number of prospective migrant workers are either Indonesia’s migration business is con- not aware of or for other reasons do not ducted through a range of agents, bro- wish to go through, the formal system for kers, middlemen and government offi - obtaining work abroad. The system needs cials. The private recruitment agencies to change so that workers are more in- that send workers through legal channels clined to use the proper process and can are registered with the Government, but see clear advantages in doing so. Until at the village level, agents often work for now, responsibility for migrant workers both government-licensed and illegal re- has rested with the central offi ce of the cruiters. Ministry of Manpower and Transmigra- There is a widely held feeling that the tion, with other ministries having various offi cial migration process is too complex, related roles. As part of a decentralization too costly and too centralized. It often re- process presently under way in Indonesia, sults in workers’ having to travel consider- more responsibility for migration is likely able distances to get through registration, to be passed to local offi ces. This could be preparation and training processes and of- an opportunity to improve the position, but fi cial services are viewed as ineffective and the way in which local offi ces respond will of little value. The failures of the offi cial need to be closely monitored. migration system are a signifi cant factor in Secondly, the Government is contem- the growth of such a huge level of irregu- plating the development of a new law lar migration from Indonesia. that would provide a framework for mi- Whilst regular workers might expect grant workers’ protection. It is consider- to receive better conditions during their ing two drafts, one its own and one pre- period abroad, there is in fact a similar pared by a non-governmental organiza- range of problems facing workers whether tion, Kopbumi, an umbrella organization they pursue regular or irregular migration. for a range of groups active in migrant The need to pay illegal fees to middlemen workers’ issues. It is to be hoped that the and offi cials, problems during their jour- recent problems associated with workers’ neys, problems with terms of employment arrival home from Malaysia will encour- and a lack of advice and information can age the Parliament to prioritize considera- all be found amongst both groups of work- tion of a new law on migrant workers. ers. Some of the problems faced by workers The third issue identifi ed has been the identifi ed in studies of Indonesian migra- need for resources to be available to de- tion have been:

111 Lack of accurate information to mi- agents of the recruiting companies. Spon- grant workers on the entire migration sors are in fact the main source of informa- “ex perience”. tion, but often provide little or misleading Illegal fees and payments demanded by information. a range of middlemen and offi cials. Need to pay for “services” that provide Information before no benefi ts. deciding to migrate Lack of effective social protection. Sexual abuse of female workers. The lack of accurate information to work- Poor conditions in pre-departure ers in the initial stages of considering camps where legal workers may stay whether to migrate is a major problem. In for lengthy periods. the absence of clear information on their rights, workers can fall prey to a range of Contract substitution, with one contract illegal practices. They may be required to show the authorities and another to pay illegal fees or be presented with “real” contract with inferior terms. conditions that will affect their earnings Employment of workers, particularly throughout their contracts. irregular workers, on terms and condi- At the pre-migration stage, prospective tions below legal minimum standards. migrants need to be informed extensively Problems with payment of debts in- and accurately about: curred to recruiters and middlemen. approved procedures, correct channels Some situations of forced and bonded and how to use them, as well how to labour. avoid irregular intermediaries, transporters, recruiters; Deaths resulting from unsafe departures, particularly sea crossings of ir- documents required, including a place- regular workers to Malaysia. ment agreement between the recruiting company and workers, the em- Restrictions on freedom of expression ployment contract to be concluded and association. between the employers and worker, Illegal confi nement. passport, visas or other authorizations Extortion vis-à-vis migrant workers re- required; turning home with money. clearances required, e.g. medical certifi - Increasing traffi cking of women and cates, training or language certifi cates; children. countries recommended as destinations or any to which government dis- courages movement; Information needs any local blacklisted recruitment com- of migrant workers panies; One of the main issues identifi ed by the ILO 4 how long it takes to complete the proc- has been the importance of providing accu- ess of moving abroad, and the length of rate information to workers at each stage be- various stages involved; fore migration, whilst they are abroad, and what fees can be charged by inter- on their return. Information can help people mediaries, government offi cials, doctors, to make the right choices, be aware of their training institutions and transporters; legal rights and know of sources of further and information and support. complaint procedures and redress At present, prospective migrants rely mechanisms if workers feel improperly on information from family members, treated by intermediaries, recruitment friends or “sponsors” who act as the local companies or government offi cials.

112 Information before departure often leaves them in a vulnerable position. Indonesian newspapers frequently carry Having decided to migrate, workers need stories of sexual abuse of young female a range of information specifi c to the coun- domestic workers overseas. Many are re- try of destination and their intended occu- quired to work extremely long hours, and pation. Some categories of pre-migration domestic workers are often excluded from information are also relevant at the pre- the provisions of labour legislation. Upon departure stage. Workers also need addi- their arrival, the employer or agent will tional information on: often take their travel documents, under Indonesian identity papers and pass- the pretext of “safekeeping”. ports, including what to do when in- At present, information services for termediaries or employers ask for the Indonesian workers abroad are extremely passport; poor, and in some countries non-existent. Workers who face problems with employ- documentation for travel and entry into ers, agents or others often have nowhere the country of destination; to turn. The return of many Indonesian documentation regarding their em- workers before their contracts have been ployment; completed, especially women working as contact details for Indonesian diplo- domestic helpers in the Gulf States, can be matic authorities in destination coun- seen as evidence of the harsh conditions of tries and, where they exist, details of employment which they face. labour attachés; contact details for representative offi ces Problems on return of the recruitment company; contact details for other organizations The fourth stage at which workers need active on employment and human to be aware of their rights is when plan- rights in the country of employment ning their return. A widely reported prob- (this could include trade unions); and lem is the rampant extortion at the main transport terminals when they arrive back. contact details for authorities in the Problems at Jakarta Airport led to the es- destination country who could assist tablishment of a special terminal for mi- in case of problems. grant workers, run by the Ministry of Man- power and Transmigration. However, re- Information when abroad turning workers have continued to face problems of extortion at the terminal and on their onward journeys to their home vil- On arrival in their destination country, lages. Despite persistent reports of return- workers are again in the hands of brokers ing workers’ having to pay illegal fees and and agents. Many have not received the other inappropriate payments, little has kind of information mentioned above, and been done to rectify the situation. even if they have, it can still be extremely diffi cult for a worker to have a problem dealt with. What can unions do? Over 62 per cent of Indonesians working abroad are women. Most have little Reaching out to the unorganized and vul- education and are engaged in domestic nerable needs to be a key part of ensur- work.5 Women domestic workers around ing the future relevance of the trade union the world are less protected and may face movement. This requires a new effort on greater exploitation than any other group the part of unions, particularly in the case of migrants. The fact that most live in the of migrant workers. home of their employer means that they At times, diffi cult issues may be in- are separated from other workers, and this volved. The presence of migrant workers

113 can create problems for trade unions in re- of unions in seeking to improve labour ceiving countries, who may consider that legislation can be used to advance a a ﬂ ow of cheap and unorganized workers legislative framework favourable to could depress wage structures and weaken migrant workers. the bargaining position of organized work- Respect for the ILO’s fundamental prin- ers. Where possible, it would be helpful ciples and rights at work applies to all for unions in sending and receiving coun- workers. tries to strengthen their contacts concerning migrant labour, through meetings and Unions need to develop a strategy look- other regular channels. In today’s increasing at how they can help migrant workers, ingly connected world, such contacts are the key interventions required, and how easier than ever before and should become those interventions can be made. The strat- a priority. egy should aim to increase protection of There are some examples of Indonesian workers before their departure, whilst they migrant workers organizing, with support are working abroad, and on their return. from trade unions or non-governmental In developing a strategy for migrant organizations (NGOs). In Hong Kong, In- workers, unions need to think about the donesian workers recently marched and role of targeted education. Unions could use demonstrated in front of the Indonesian their education activities in areas that send consulate, raising issues of protection and large numbers of workers abroad, as a ve- corruption. Unions in Malaysia have also hicle for reaching out to communities di- made some efforts to organize among mi- rectly involved in migration. grant workers. However the vulnerability The skills and networks available to of these workers, when they seek to organ- trade unions should lend themselves to: ize, remains a major problem. working with NGOs and others who have a history of support to migrants; Planning a strategy public information campaigns; providing advice to prospective mi- Although the concerns of migrant work- grant workers prior to their depar- ers and workers in the formal employ- ture; ment sector may seem far apart, there are organizing and recruiting migrant in fact some clear linkages and common workers; interests: organizing support groups; Many trade union members in the for- monitoring and reporting abuses; and mal urban economy come from villages and areas that also send workers improving cooperation between trade abroad. There are family and community unions in sending and receiving coun- ties linking trade unionists with migrant tries. workers. The key issue of self-organization to Notes promote better working conditions, 1 which applies to the formal sector, can P. Ramasamy: “Asia News Network”, in Jakarta Post (Jakarta), 9 September 2002. also be applied to migrant workers, 2 but new and imaginative approaches See http://www.thaiembdc.org/info/bdim.html 3 are required. Internal ILO document, 2001. 4 Graeme Hugo and W.R. Bohning: Providing in- Basic legislative protection and enforce- formation to outgoing Indonesian migrant workers, ILO ment, which are critical for workers in SEAPAT Working Paper No. 7. the trade union movement, are also 5 Sidney Jones: Making Money off Migrants: The critical for migrant workers. The skills Indonesian exodus to Malaysia, 2000.

114 Trends in the regions

Labour migration in Malaysia – trade union views

Private enterprise in the supply of migrant labour in Malaysia has put social standards at risk. The Government should extend its regulatory role.

A. Navamukundan National Union of Plantation Workers Malaysia

alaysia experienced rapid economic tries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Mdevelopment in the nineteenth cen- Thailand and other Asian countries. In the tury under the British colonial economic case of movement from rural-to-rural areas, development policies. The development of rapid migration was precipitated mainly plantations, tin mines, infrastructure such by government intervention in rural de- as roads and railways and the distribution velopment and agriculture. The develop- and services sectors all depended on im- ment of plantations in Sabah and Sarawak migrant labour through various systems in the 1960s also attracted labour migra- of recruitment and repatriation of work- tion from Peninsular Malaysia, facilitated ers from China, India and Indonesia. The by the Government through the Sabah British colonial government and the pri- Labour Migration Fund. This rural-to- vate sector played an important role in rural migration involved workers in the this labour migration process in the coun- agricultural sector, especially landless try. These immigrant workers who were farmers and plantation workers with rela- brought in through formal and informal tively low levels of skills, suited for agri- systems of recruitment and repatriation cultural occupations. fulfi lled the demand from the public and Rural-to-urban migration accelerated private sectors for labour with specifi c at- after government intervention in urban tributes. The immigrants became perma- and industrial development was stepped nent residents and part of the cosmopoli- up, especially after the Second Malaysia tan Malaysian society, and their future Plan. Specifi c regions became centres for generations became citizens after inde- inward migration from rural areas, e.g. pendence in 1957. Klang Valley, Pasir Gudang, Penang. Strat- egies by the Government to distribute industries to rural areas of Peninsular Malay- Current Situation sia, Sabah and Sarawak helped to ease the concentration of infl ow of rural migrant Malaysia’s rapid economic development workers to these specifi c areas. The devel- since independence has relied on Malay- opment of industrial zones, especially in sian workers moving from rural-to-rural the east coast states of Kelantan, Teranganu and rural-to-urban areas and immigrant and Pahang in the past three decades to workers, especially from ASEAN (Associ- cater for manufacturing and downstream ation of South-East Asian Nations) coun- petrochemical and heavy industries, has

115 seen infl ows of workers into the emerg- medical health care has created an in- ing industrial zones. The low quality of creased demand for paramedical staff such life in the traditional rural areas acted as a as nurses. Today, the country has to rely on “push” factor for workers to migrate out immigrant skilled health care workers to of their existing environment to new en- meet this demand. vironments with better opportunities for The rapid expansion of the manufactur- an improved quality of life, which acted ing sector created an increased demand for as the “pull” factor. workers in the various manufacturing in- The “push” and “pull” factors at the industries, especially textiles, electrical goods ternational level in the region also caused and electronics. There is also a rapid ex- workers to immigrate into Malaysia for pansion of small and medium-sized indus- employment. The accelerated economic tries in the food, furniture and metal fab- development programmes and the sus- rication enterprises. These industries have tained high economic growth rates in Ma- created an increased demand for skilled laysia over approximately three decades and semi-skilled industrial workers. Im- caused the infl ux of migrant workers to migrant workers make up for “shortages” meet the increasing demand in the Malay- in these industries. Today, it is obvious that sian labour market. The incidence of im- immigrant workers are part of Malaysian migrant workers, especially from Bang- society. The number of immigrant work- ladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines ers in the country can only be estimated, and Thailand, in Malaysia has been the and several fi gures have been put forward focus of debate in recent times. The imple- from time to time. As at July 1999, the total mentation of several strategic infrastruc- number of registered foreign workers ac- ture development and urban development cording to the Government was 715,145, of projects increased the demand for labour, whom 73 per cent were Indo nesians, 19 per especially in the construction sector. Fur- cent Bangladeshis, 3 per cent Filipinos and ther, adjustment by Malaysian workers to the remainder from other nations such as better economic opportunities between the India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. industrial sectors in the economy also saw The incidence of foreign workers in the other sectors such as plantations, forestry various sectors of the economy was 37 per and services sectors experiencing labour cent in manufacturing, 24 per cent in agri- “shortages”, i.e. inadequate numbers of culture, 22 per cent in domestic services, 9 workers responding to the wage levels per cent in construction, 8 per cent in the and conditions of employment offered by services sector. However, all Malaysians employers in the respective industries or are aware that the actual number of im- sectors. migrant workers and their dependants far The demand for domestic maids and exceeds this number. It is estimated that ap- assistants increased with rapid urbaniza- proximately 1.5 million immigrant workers tion, greater participation of women in the (both legal and illegal) work in Malaysia. labour market and better income opportu- Estimating the number of the illegal immi- nities for Malaysians. This demand was in- grant workers in Sabah and Sarawak is dif- itially met by women and men from rural fi cult, because of the relaxed entry and exit areas but is now fulfi lled by women and opportunities for immigrants. Further, con- men from neighbouring ASEAN countries. tractors for labour services have devised Hotels, restaurants and other enterprises their own routes for entry and exit into and in the hospitality industries also rely on out of Malaysia for illegal immigrant work- foreign workers, especially for jobs on the ers. Both the workers and the contractors lower rungs of the hierarchy or in some know the high risk involved in the illegal skilled occupations, e.g. chefs. Apart from traffi cking of workers. However, this traf- these sectors, we also see a trend of “short- fi c continues because of the poor quality ages” in the skilled categories of labour. of life in the neighbouring countries, such For example, the expansion of private as Indonesia.

116 Malaysian employers prefer to contract This is especially true in the emerging work out to immigrant workers through multimedia industries. Employment gen- contractors for labour services, as these eration through high-tech industries must keep labour costs low. This illegal traffi c take this situation into account. Otherwise, in workers is therefore a lucrative business investors will take advantage of excellent for contractors and agents who supply im- infrastructure facilities in Malaysia but will migrant labour. create only limited employment opportu- Apart from the inward migration of nities for Malaysians. As remedies to these workers, consideration must also be given problems have inherent time lags, there is to the outward migration of Malaysians a need to review and evaluate the current to work in other countries. Skilled Malay- Manpower Development Plan and poli- sian workers respond to better wages and cies to cater for the future. A dynamic and terms and conditions of employment in labour-market sensitive approach is needed Singapore, Taiwan, West Asian countries in the Manpower Development Plans, so and other parts of the world from time to that Malaysians can prepare themselves time. This global traffi c of workers out of to take up the employment opportunities Malaysia also causes “shortages” in spe- created in the expanding new industries, cifi c sectors of the economy. especially in the high-tech and information technology industries. Further, special in- centives must be given to employers and Main issues for unions workers for retraining of workers, so that they can acquire new skills. The challenge There are four main issues for trade unions of the future is to have a multiskilled labour concerning labour migration. force, which will respond to changes in demand for skills in the labour market as a re- Manpower development policies. The Gov- sult of changes in technology and organiza- ernment has recognized the need for a Na- tion and methods of work. In this way, the tional Manpower Development Plan and productivity and earnings of workers can for programmes suited to the nation’s suc- be enhanced without compromising the cessive stages of development. However, quality of work and the competitiveness although the demand for training oppor- of the industry. tunities in various skills has been high, the available opportunities have been limited. Labour market policies. Malaysia expe- This is because the private sector did not rienced declining unemployment rates play an active role in training until recent during almost a decade of sustained eco- times, when the Government embarked on nomic growth. The 2.6 per cent unemploy- policies to allow the private sector to be- ment rate in 1997 is considered an excellent come more active in education and train- achievement. This rose to 4.9 per cent or ing. The formulation, implementation and 443,200 workers in 1998, as a result of the evaluation of manpower development pol- East Asian economic crisis. Employment icies have helped to improve the available in the construction sector declined by 13 training systems to cater for current and per cent whilst in agriculture and forestry future needs. However, the time lag in- it went down by 5.3 per cent. However, the volved in increasing the supply of trained levels of unemployment do not indicate the manpower has to be recognized. In the cur- extent to which the characteristics of em- rent situation, where industries will have ployment have changed over time, espe- to implement advanced technologies – i.e. cially with the presence of immigrant work- shift away from labour-intensive to capital- ers. The Government encouraged employ- intensive and high-tech methods of producers to repatriate immigrant workers who tion – the available trained manpower is became unemployed as a result of the East limited, and this compels investors to seek Asian economic crisis. Between 1998 and permission to bring in immigrant labour. 1999, approximately 300,000 immigrant

117 workers were repatriated. However, many other labour legislation, for example the immigrant workers did not respond to this Employees Provident Fund Act or Social exercise and chose to join the informal sec- Security Organization Act. tor in search of casual employment. Home-based work has emerged re- The labour market is divided into the cently in many industries, especially in formal and informal sectors. It is not really textiles and electronics where workers, as free a market as it is often perceived to especially women, are employed to per- be. The presence of a large immigrant form work for an enterprise through a con- workforce, both legal and illegal, creates tract for services. All obligations other than a further division in the labour market. It payment of a fi xed sum are avoided, e.g. is obvious that employers can select their maternity benefi ts, sick leave, holiday pay, workers from amongst either Malaysians Employees’ Provident Fund, social secur- or immigrants. They can also choose be- ity and other benefi ts. There is as a result a tween the formal and informal sectors of declining quality of life for workers in the the labour market. Employers are cost- informal sector in particular, and all work- conscious and choose workers who are not ers in general, especially in the plantation, only inexpensive but also have the neces- construction and services sectors. sary skills and comply with strict discipline and hard work. The preference will be for Industrial relations. The Industrial Rela- immigrant foreign workers, who will actions Act and the Trade Unions Act gov- cept both lower wages and worse terms ern the formal industrial relations system and conditions of employment, as their pri- in the country. The presence of immigrant mary objective is to earn as much money as workers and the challenges faced by them possible within a short span of time. A fur- for representation through their respective ther phenomenon is the presence of con- trade unions is great. Although the law al- tractors for labour services. Their control lows immigrant workers to become mem- over certain types of workers, especially bers of trade unions, the employers and the in the low-wage jobs, creates a further seg- contractors ensure that they do not. Thus, ment in the labour market. These contrac- they are prevented from seeking relief for tors for labour services facilitate casual em- their grievances through the formal indus- ployment and are in control of the informal trial relations system. The existing trade sector of the labour market. Trade unions unions with Malaysian workers in mem- are concerned about the gradual enlarge- bership also fi nd it diffi cult to sustain their ment of the informal sector, as employment collective bargaining strength when work- in this sector is casual and does not com- ers are prevented from becoming members ply with basic standards of labour legisla- of the union. Immigrant workers who are tion as regards maintaining an acceptable illegal are totally helpless, because they quality of life for the workers. Abuses with cannot be identifi ed in the formal system. regard to wages and terms and conditions The legal immigrant workers face vari- of employment by labour contractors often ous tactics by employers and contractors go unchecked because of the informal so- to keep them out of trade union member- cial control mechanisms available to labour ship. The formal industrial relations sys- contractors. These can include workers’ in- tem is therefore weakened by the emer- debtedness to contractors and other obliga- gence of an informal system controlled by tions which, if breached, can incur severe contractors and employers. Unfair labour consequences. This unhealthy trend is on practices can fl ourish in these situations. the increase, with more work being made This phenomenon is a matter of grave casual and performed on an informal basis concern, as it calls into question the prin- without a contract of service but through a ciples and systems of governance. Further, contract for services. Workers in the infor- the weak collective bargaining position of mal sector cannot expect full compliance trade unions does not deliver an equitable of provisions of the Employment Act and distribution of incomes. Free collective bar-

118 gaining, with total solidarity of workers re- Conclusion fl ected through trade union membership, is necessary to ensure that workers gain a ILO Conventions and Recommendations fair share of the income and wealth they provide for basic standards of protection of help to generate in society. welfare for workers in the following contexts in the migration process: Social security. The social security safety Before leaving the home country and net for workers in Malaysia is governed during the journey to the new country. by legislation and by provisions in collec- On arrival. tive agreements. However, these have real During employment. meaning only in the formal labour market. As immigrant workers are largely within In the exercise of social and civil rights. the informal market, employed on a con- During repatriation. tract for services through contractors, employers usually do not meet their social se- These ILO standards are useful guide- curity obligations. This evasion of respon- lines for governments to adopt in main- sibility by employers, in order to reduce taining fair treatment of immigrant work- costs, does not help to maintain standards ers. However, the infl ow of immigrant of social security. Malaysian workers de- workers was not fully in the control of the mand their right to social security. The Malaysian Government. Private entrepre- presence of immigrant workers, who are neurs saw the commercial opportunities prepared to suffer the loss of social secur- in the recruitment and supply of labour ity benefi ts in return for employment, to industries in need of such labour. This undercuts wages in the labour market. Im- free enterprise in labour supply has led to migrant workers suffer in silence the de- a neglect of standards in the recruitment of nial of paid sick leave, medical benefi ts, re- immigrant workers. It is therefore impor- tirement benefi ts, maternity benefi ts, paid tant for the Government to extend its cur- holidays and other monetary benefi ts. rent regulatory role from one of providing The Government has recognized all permits to one where it is involved at each the economic and social problems created stage, from the approval of permits to the by the “free market” traffi c of immigrant supervision of welfare standards for im- labour in the country. It has adopted drastic migrant workers in the various industries, measures recently to repatriate immigrant and of repatriation. Free enterprise in the workers, especially the illegal immigrants. traffi c of labour tends to create slave-like An amnesty was given to all illegal immi- conditions for workers. This is no longer grants who voluntarily returned to their acceptable in any civilized society. country by the end of July 2002. Approxi- The current challenge faced by the mately 350,000 illegal immigrant work- Malaysian Government is to deal with the ers applied for this amnesty announced “ghost population” of illegal immigrant by the Government. As a severe warn- workers. Retaliation by these communities ing to others, the Government introduced of workers is real and the process of deten- whipping as part of the punishment for il- tion and repatriation is going to be a major legal immigrant workers who are caught exercise for the security forces. However, by the authorities. These measures have there are lessons that can be learnt from checked the swelling numbers of illegal countries like Germany, which had a large immigrant workers. However, employ- immigrant, Turkish workforce. Whatever ers are lobbying for the recruitment of for- strategies are adopted will emphasize the eign workers through formal channels, and need for evaluation of the economic and under greater scrutiny by the government social relevance of immigrant workers in authorities, so that exploitation of workers the context of accelerated and sustained is prevented. economic development.

119 Trends in the regions

Can migrant workers save an ageing Europe?

The falling fertility rate and rising life-expectancy are causing an increasing imbalance in the ratio of the working to non-working population in Europe. European employers, for their part, complain that they cannot find the specialist workers they are looking for in the internal labour market. Could the arrival of migrant workers be the answer to these problems?

Jonathan Equeter Journalist

uropean Governments are asking them- several European countries, we have seen Eselves serious questions as to what sort a higher percentage of people over the age of immigration policy they should pursue. of 65 compared to children under 15,” says Since the economic recession of 1973, op- Joseph Chamie, Director of the United Na- portunities to migrate legally from outside tions Population Division.1 “This is a his- the European Union (EU) to the EU Mem- toric phenomenon because it’s the fi rst time ber States have been heavily restricted. ever that there have been more old people In most Member States, the only ways to than children.” gain legal and long-term residency are on The ratio of the working population humanitarian grounds (mainly political to the population of retirement age natur- asylum) or if family members are already ally follows this trend. The United Na- resident there. Nevertheless, hundreds of tions Population Division highlights the thousands of illegal immigrants manage to fact that the ratio of people of working age penetrate the borders of ‘Fortress Europe’ to those aged over 65 is going to fall sig- and a proportion of them do from time to nifi cantly in developed countries by 2050. time benefi t – after years of being exploited It forecasts, for example, that by 2050, to- and living a precarious existence – from day’s ratio in France of 4:1 will fall to 2:1, waves of action by governments to grant in Germany from 4:2 to 1:8, in Italy from them legal status. 3:7 to 1:5, in Spain from 4:0 to 1:4 and in Demographic changes are currently the United States from 5:4 to 2:7. There are causing governments to review this policy, major fears as to how to fund pensions and because practically all European countries, health care. Simply raising the retirement as well as Japan and the majority of other age will not resolve the problem; it will just developed countries, will, over the next 50 condemn people to work until they die! “If years or so, face a reduction in the size of we want to maintain the same ratio in 2050 their population and an older population. as we have today, people will have to work This development can be explained by two until they are 74 in France, 76 in Germany, factors: (1) a rising average life-expectancy, 76.5 in Italy, 76.8 in Spain and 73.1 in the largely the result of medical advances and a United States,” says Joseph Chamie. better standard of living; and (2) low fertil- The fall in population size (and there- ity rates, which are well below the replace- fore the single market) is another source ment level. “For the past 15 years or so, in of concern for European Governments and

120 is a direct result of the low fertility rate: too. Jobs would also need to be found for 1.6 children per family in industrialized all these potential migrants. “In the cur- countries as compared with 2.7 per family rent economic climate, providing jobs for in the world as a whole, according to the these millions of immigrants would mean United Nations Population Division. Over reducing the size of the labour factor in the the next 50 years, this will result in a fall of growth equation, and therefore unprece- more than 25 per cent in the populations of dented performance that no expert would Italy and Russia, 15 per cent in Japan and dare to dream of today,” points out Belgian 12 per cent in Europe as a whole. By 2050, demographer Michel Loriaux, lecturer at the European Union (excluding enlarge- the Catholic University of Leuven.2 ment) is set to have 20 million inhabitants Although it will probably be impossible less than the United States, while in 1995, it to fi nd jobs for the tens of millions of mi- boasted over 100 million more. As the pop- grants by 2050, European employers still ulation of European countries declines, the complain about the lack of highly skilled population of developing regions is rising staff on the labour market, especially in signifi cantly. Whereas in 1950, the ratio of the new technologies sector, and are cry- inhabitants in developing regions to those ing out for immigration to be reopened to in developed countries stood at 2:1, this let in these kinds of workers. Some govern- ratio is now 4:1 and according to demo- ments have reacted positively to this ap- graphic forecasts it will increase to 7:1 by peal, even if it means turning their backs on 2050. The natural population increase in part of public opinion. German Chancel- the European Union for the whole of 2000 lor Gerhard Schröder provoked strong re- was matched by India in just the fi rst six actions, mainly from unions, when he an- days of this year! nounced his intention to call upon 20,000 foreign information technology experts at a time when some 4 million were out of 700 million new migrants work in Germany. The blow was softened in Europe by 2050? when it was made clear that these workers would be issued fi ve-year visas only In early 2000, the United Nations Popula- and that there were no plans to extend this tion Division published a report en titled move to other sectors of the economy, but Replacement Migration: Is it a Solution to De- what will happen to workers who might clining and Ageing Populations? and opened wish to stay in Germany at the end of the the public debate by quoting fi gures which fi ve years? Will the Government dare to or- hit the newspaper headlines. It presented ganize forced repatriation of highly quali- various scenarios calculating the number of fi ed workers as if they were immigrants migrants required in the European Union whose applications for political asylum depending on the results to be achieved. had been turned down? This is unlikely To maintain the size of the potential work- since it would not encourage potential fu- ing population, some 80 million migrants ture migrants to come to Germany when will be needed by 2050, and to ensure a other programmes are introduced to at- balanced ratio of working to non-working tract foreign know-how – and Germany population, Europe will need to attract al- is competing with other developed coun- most 700 million migrant workers! In the tries to gain the best specialists in certain latter scenario, by 2050, immigrants and sectors. their descendants would represent three However, the call for foreign man- quarters of the population of Europe. power is not only directed at the highly Everyone agrees that this is unrealistic as qualifi ed but also at workers needed for it is hard to imagine that an “ageing” con- semi- or unskilled jobs – and the reasons tinent could, in 50 years, absorb around given here are sometimes less respectable three times its current population, all the than that of boosting the economy, as is the more so since the latter would be ageing, line with highly qualifi ed workers. For

121 example, farmers in Greece, angered by called upon. “We want to see an agree- arrests of immigrants by the police, have ment between the social partners, if not called upon the Government to stop the at company level, then at least at sector round-ups, going as far as promising to level, before employers call for visas for escort immigrant workers back to the bor- migrant workers,” says Béatrice Hertogs, der personally once the harvests are over! Confederal Secretary for social protection They explained that they could not man- and equality at the ETUC.3 age without the migrants, who agreed to The decision to bring in migrant work- work for half the daily salary of a Greek ers is not an easy one for governments to worker, despite wages in Greece being take, faced as they are in almost all coun- amongst the lowest in Europe. In many tries of the world, and in particular in devel- developed countries, it is an open secret oped countries, with public opinion’s neg- that in a number of sectors (construction, ative perception of migrants. “They cause agriculture, catering, the clothing industry, more unemployment”; “They sponge etc.), nationals of those countries are put off our social security system”; “We’ve off by the working conditions and wages already got enough of them”: such sen- paid to the lowest categories of workers. timents are heard the world over in con- The term “DDD” (“demanding, danger- versations about migrants. These negative ous, dirty”) is used to describe those jobs reactions have been confi rmed recently in that nationals refuse to do. But would the form of huge numbers of votes for far- such jobs be so demanding, dangerous right parties in several European countries and dirty if employers treated their work- (Austria, France, the Netherlands and so ers with dignity and complied with labour on). But most studies show that immigra- legislation? tion has not had a negative impact on unemployment or social security. There is also increasing criticism of the Unions want to find way developed countries are pillaging internal solutions first the human resources of Southern countries. “Having unrestrainedly siphoned Most unions in Europe are tempering em- off huge quantities of their former colo- ployers’ calls for immigration. Accord- nies’ natural resources, [developed coun- ing to the ETUC (European Trade Union tries] are now running the risk of doing Confederation), labour-market tensions precisely the same thing with these same are not only the result of demographic (now independent) countries’ human re- problems and of insuffi cient supply and sources at a time when it is being loudly demand, but also of shortcomings in sys- proclaimed that it is these human re- tems of continuing vocational training and sources that represent these countries’ deteriorating working conditions. Union- main source of wealth,” highlights Michel ists want to see improvements in these Loriaux.4 That said, if pillaging is what is two areas before calling in reinforcements going on, then it suits those involved since from outside. The ETUC also stresses the host countries (wanting skills), countries of fact that resorting to foreign manpower origin (wanting the currency sent by mi- makes no sense when there are legal im- grants abroad back to their families) and migrants who are unemployed as well as the migrant workers themselves (wanting illegal ones already in the country, all the to boost their income) all fi nd migration more so when such immigrants have the an attractive option. Initiatives can be in- necessary qualifi cations to perform the troduced to strengthen this common inter- jobs required. As such, vocational training est: helping countries of origin to reinvest for unemployed immigrants and granting funds earned in the host country, assist- legal status to illegal immigrants is seen ance for encouraging migrant workers to as a priority by unions, who also want to return home temporarily or for creating be consulted before migrant workers are local businesses and so on (see box).

122 Strengthening the links between migrants and their countries of origin Involving host countries and countries of origin in the management of migratory flows limits the risk of countries of origin feeling that their highly skilled workers, whom they have paid to train, are being pillaged. The International Organization for Migrations (IOM) is one of the main players in this field. It aims to forge links between dispersed communities in developed regions and their country of origin. The latter draw up a list of their needs (e.g. building a hospital, a school, transfer of skills and so on) and the IOM acts as a go-between, liaising with the dispersed communities so that, if they wish, they can make a financial or knowledge-based contribution to meeting these needs. One of the IOM’s programmes, Migration Development in Africa (MIDA-GEN), no longer involves the systematic return of qualified migrants as in the past since the IOM is well aware that it is not realistic to ask migrants to return to their countries of origin to assist in its development. Instead, the IOM organizes short stays back in their countries of origin for highly qualified migrants, long enough, for instance, for them to teach some university classes or perform complicated surgi- cal operations before returning to their host country. The Belgian Government has employed this system to fund the return of such migrants to Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. The IOM wants to extend this type of programme to other countries in Africa.

Beyond the debates on the sensitiv- tural or religious origins do we want to ity of public opinion or the morality of attract migrants? What selection criteria attracting workers from the least devel- will be applied? What is the scope for oped countries to Europe, European Gov- integration? There are several possible ernments certainly are, for whatever rea- paths: the United States’ random model son, beginning to acknowledge the need (Diversity Lottery) in granting permanent to modify their “No to economic immigra- visas; the Canadian version of the quota tion” policy, whether to appease employ- model, which defi nes the profi le of mi- ers wanting either highly trained (because grants the country needs; the model of the intensive training of the unemployed can Gulf States which bring in foreign work- be a lengthy process) or semi-skilled mi- ers, often in greater numbers than their grants, or to try and begin to provide a own populations, but do not grant them short-term solution to the problems posed any right to permanent settlement or citi- by an ageing and declining population. zenship, a fact that raises serious human What does remain to be found, though, is rights issues; or even the hypocritical a joint way of doing this since in view of “laissez-faire” model currently operated the elimination of the European Union’s in most European Union countries, under internal borders, several European coun- which the authorities turn a blind eye to tries have called for immigration to be the arrival of illegal immigrants and then dealt with jointly at European level. And from time to time implement programmes in this regard, things are still at the design to grant them legal status: the disadvan- stage, not least because not all economies tage here though is that for the “host coun- need the same type of migrants. tries” the illegal immigrants arriving do “How can you regulate the ‘schizo- not necessarily fi t into the structure of phrenic’ situation in these countries that the labour market while the migrants are desperately looking abroad for qualifi nd themselves in extremely precarious fi ed professionals while at the same time situations and vulnerable to exploitation tightening controls and security measures until they are granted legal status. Would at their borders?” asked Walter Schwim- it not be a better idea, in some respects, to mer, Secretary-General of the Council of have a European “immigration and citi- Europe at a conference in Helsinki in Sep- zenship commission” along the lines of tember 2002. There are plenty of questions those already in place in several emigra- to be asked: From what geographical, cul- tion countries?

123 Although the migration of workers and Notes their families to developed countries will 1 Speech given on the occasion of the 50th Anni- not be the magic answer for resolving all versary of the International Organization for Migra- the labour markets’ problems in terms of tion (IOM), November 2001. demographics and the shortage of work- 2 Passage taken from Emmanuelle Bribosia and ers, it will at least alleviate them to some Andrea Rea: Les Nouvelles Migrations. Un enjeu eu- extent in the short term. Other, comple- ropéen (“New migrations: a European challenge”), mentary, solutions could be found, such Ed. Complexe, 2002, p. 70. as encouraging more women to work, 3 Speech made at the conference entitled “Immi- improving vocational training for the un- gration: The Role of Civil Society in Promoting In- tegration”, organized by the European Commission employed, and enabling some categories and the European Economic and Social Committee of the elderly to play a productive role in (ECOSOC), Brussels, 9-10 September 2002. the economy. But those are issues for other 4 Passage taken from Emmanuelle Bribosia and debates … Andrea Rea, op. cit., p. 73.

124 Trends in the regions

Migration and integration – some EU pointers

Do immigrants integrate? Should immigrants integrate? These questions are of crucial importance to the European Union as it moves towards a common immigration policy. A new report for the European Commission reviews 17 EU-backed research projects in this field.

Ian Graham Journalist

hese days, you can drive straight across shortages in a number of key sectors. Part Tmost of Western Europe’s national bor- of that labour shortfall may be supplied ders. No booms swinging up and down. from the Central and Eastern European Nobody to check your passport. Many, countries that are now candidates for EU though not all, of the European Union membership, but most will have to be (EU) Member States have agreed to abol- drawn from countries outside the EU. ish frontier controls. To abolish, that is, the The employment aspects of immigra- controls on their internal frontiers. Where tion are among the Commission’s top pri- the EU meets the wider world, the checks orities for discussion and research. Improv- are getting tighter. ing skills and qualifi cations is a particular The free movement of people was one concern. Integration and social inclusion of the founding principles of what is now are other major topics. But so are illegal im- the European Union. Internally, it has migration and the need for effective con- made big progress towards that goal. But trols. One hopeful sign is that some empha- this inward liberalization has brought with sis is being placed on dialogue with gov- it a growing need to coordinate the immi- ernments in the immigrants’ countries of gration policies of the Member States. departure. That dialogue is to include “pol- EU competence in the areas of migra- icies of co- development”, which sounds tion and asylum was established by the like a recognition that illegal immigration 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. By 2004, EU cannot be countered effectively without management of migration is likely to have tackling the poverty that causes it. Whether become a reality. Legislation has already the lip service turns into debt service will been drafted by the European Commis- depend on the EU governments. sion, the EU’s powerful civil service. An In any case, the Commission is walking “open coordination” of Member States’ mi- a fi ne line. To make the right decisions, it gration and asylum policies was launched needs to draw on detailed research about in 2002, together with a “virtual European the integration of existing immigrant pop- observatory on migration and asylum”. ulations within the EU. From the 1970s on- What kind of policies will the EU adopt? ward, those populations increased rapidly Open Door or Fortress Europe? Probably but very unevenly across the EU. For Or- neither. On the one hand, immigration ganisation for Economic Cooperation and has become a sensitive issue in many EU Development (OECD) fi gures on selected countries. On the other, the economies of Western European countries (not all in the Western Europe face medium-term labour EU), see table 1.

125 Table 1. Foreign resident population in selected OECD countries (thousands)

Percentage of total Country 1980 1985 1990 1995 1999 population 1999

Austria 283 272 413 724 748 10.0 a Belgium … 845 905 910 900 8.8 Denmark 102 117 161 223 259 4.9 France 3 714 b … 3 597 … 3 263 5.6 c Germany 4 453 4 379 5 242 7 174 7 344 8.9 Ireland … 79 80 94 126 d 3.3 d Italy 299 423 781 991 1 520 e 2.6 e Luxembourg 94 98 … 138 159 36.6 Netherlands 521 553 692 757 651 4.1 Norway 83 102 143 161 179 4.0 Portugal … … 108 168 191 2.0 Spain … 242 279 500 801 2.0 Sweden 422 389 484 532 487 5.5 Switzerland 893 940 1 100 1 331 1 400 19.2 United Kingdom … 1 731 1 875 2 060 2 208 3.8

Notes: a Figure for 1998; b Figure for 1982; c Metropolitan France only; d Figure for April 2000; e Figure for December 2000. Source: OECD: Trends in international migration, Paris, 2001.

Research on Europe’s present-day im- there is an implicit understanding that migrants certainly does exist, and some of integration is a necessary aspect of social it has been conducted under the Commis- cohesion.” In both the review and the re- sion’s Targeted Socio-Economic Research search projects, this is nuanced through programme (TSER). A new review of 17 references to multiculturalism, and there TSER projects provides some useful point- is certainly no implication that immigrants ers for policy-makers in Europe.1 And, in- must embrace every aspect of the receiv- deed, beyond Europe. Many of the fi nding country’s culture. Integration “is a two- ings are of wider application. way process: it requires adaptation on the Part of the review looks at research meth- part of the newcomer but also by the host odology. This will be of interest to other re- society. Successful integration can only searchers in the fi eld, as will a detailed list take place if the host society provides ac- of suggested indicators of integration. cess to jobs and services, and acceptance of In the present article, we concentrate the immigrants in social interaction.” more on the research fi ndings, and the The review itself warns that there is no conclusions that the review draws from substitute for reading the original project them. As in the review, the various topics reports. The same warning should be are grouped under three main themes. sounded, but more strongly, in the case of The assumption underlying the re- this article. It is a summary of a summary, search is that integration is a good thing. intended purely as a pointer towards fur- “In many of the projects under review, ther reading and debate.

126 Theme 1: Migration in Europe Human Rights, in ILO Conventions Nos. 97 and 143, and in two UN Conventions What is immigration? The review assumes on children’s rights. The review fi nds that that the conventional sense of the word is immigration due to family reunifi cation is “movement from one country to another “increasing relative to work-related move- followed by permanent settlement”. But ment”. However, “there remains much in fact, the patterns of mobility into and variation in how European countries in- within Europe are more complex, and have terpret international Conventions on this become even more diverse in recent years. matter” (see table 2). Interestingly, while “The TSER programmes contain much evi- family reunifi cation was once the main dence on this development. There are more cause of female immigration into the EU, different types of migrants. In Italy, for ex- sisters now seem to be migrating for them- ample, there were 16 different permit cate- selves. More and more women are entering gories for foreigners in 1990, but already 21 Europe in search of jobs, notably in tour- by 1999. Germany has fi ve standard types ism and domestic work. of residence permit, varying by type of tol- eration and length of stay allowed, plus two exceptional categories. Nor are mi- Theme 2: Living conditions grant careers necessarily linked to specifi c of the migrants types of employment. There is evidence of mobility between countries and loca- The main fi ndings are that “immigrants tion on the one hand, and between differ- generally experience lower living condi- ent types of work on the other.” tions than local citizens, particularly in employment and housing. Immigrant chil- What causes migration? The main fi nd- dren tend to perform relatively poorly in ing is that “the informal or underground school, with greater problems of conduct economy is not caused by the presence of and higher drop-out rates”. (often illegal) immigrants”. In fact, it is the Children, understandably, tend to be other way round: “the informal economy better integrated than their parents. “Most is a major pull factor in migration, in both still identify with their parents’ country of Southern and Northern Europe. Further- birth. But fears that the children of immi- more, illegal work may be found in any grants are a time bomb waiting to explode, area of economic activity and is not con- or that they are fi red with political and re- fi ned to foreigners. High unemployment ligious radicalism, fi nd no support from in Southern Europe is neither evidence of the research.” the absence of any pull factor, nor does it indicate that migrants compete with local workers, except those in an already mar- Theme 3: Migration and social cohesion ginal position in the labour market. A comparison of Germany and France suggests EU countries have taken varied approaches that the former’s attempts to clamp down to integration. Some have been more as- on illegal entry are less successful at curb- similationist, some more multi cultural. ing the informal economy.” In the research, however, there were “on the one hand, signs of convergence and, Family reunifi cation. When you import on the other, little evidence that any one labour, you import people. And people country was more successful at integrat- tend to have families. Immigrant working newcomers than others”. ers’ right to a family life is clear. It is also Concerning the frequent stigmatiza- well anchored in international law, as the tion of immigrants, “it is clear that immi- Family Reunifi cation Evaluation Project grants are not the only groups in society points out. Family reunifi cation is pro- enduring exclusion, nor is their presence vided for in the Universal Declaration of the only cause of exclusion. But locally

127 Figure 2. Beneficiaries of family reunification in the European Union

Country Spouse Minor children Parents Other relatives

Belgium yes under 18 dependent yes (also under 18 living with person over 60 Denmark de facto for special reasons with parental responsibility dependent partner) under 18; under 21 for France yes Member States to the not considered — European charter under 16 unmarried; for humanitarian Germany yes — under 18 for specific cases reasons Greece yes under 18 dependent — depending on the depending on individual depending on Ireland yes individual circum- circumstances the circumstances stances Italy yes under 18 dependent dependent non-minor children Luxembourg yes under 18 yes non-minor children yes (also if non-reunifi- in exceptional Netherlands de facto under 18 dependent cation causes circumstances partner) difficulties Portugal yes dependent dependent may be considered Spain yes under 18 dependent non-minor children dependent under 18, dependent, for extraordinary United Kingdom yes widow mother; unmarried reasons widower father

Source: Family Reunification Evaluation (FARE) Project 2001.

and nationally, immigrants are stigma- ents will also feel more accepted and more tized and often construed as criminal or involved in their education.” However, “a deviant; this is apparent in the markedly survey of teacher training programmes higher levels of incarceration of foreign- across the EU fi nds wide disparities in the ers. The research fi nds that conditions in level of provision and fi nds that national the country of origin as well as obstacles models of integration signifi cantly inform to legal immigration may force migrants curricula. It is noteworthy that the major- into illegality. Their fi ndings emphasize ity of trainee teachers in all the countries that criminalization by the wider society studied had positive attitudes to cultural risks producing the very class of criminal diversity. There is a need for common ac- foreigners it so fears. In a related fi nding, ceptable standards for teacher training in government crackdowns on the informal multiculturalism across the EU.” economy in Spain and Italy may cause the public to further disparage those, often immigrants, who work in it.” Discussion points In the research on education, “strong support is found for multicultural policies, In view of the diversity of the research, the which may improve the attitudes of chil- review deliberately refrains from drawing dren as well as their immigrant parents. If any conclusions. It does, however, list eight children feel accepted at school, their par- recurring issues, and suggests that they

128 could help to identify topics for further their central theme, has been the impor- investigation and discussion. We quote the tance of the informal economy in immigra- points here in full. tion and integration. The informal economy is partly a result of the combination of Policy. “Several of the studies demonstrate stricter migration control and deregulation the importance of government policy in of labour markets. It acts as a magnet for shaping the conditions for immigration undocumented migrants, but also helps to and integration. They also show that poli- provide the conditions for economic and cies in this area have often had unforeseen social integration. The informal economy and even undesirable consequences. An is generally seen as undesirable and even obvious example is the way increased bor- pathological. However, it might be better der restriction has created the conditions to see it as a dynamic factor in social ad- for a transnational migrant smuggling in- aptation and change, and to seek ways of dustry. All EU countries have changed making it function to achieve desirable ob- their policies on immigration, integration jectives.” and citizenship in recent years – often several times. Policy should therefore be seen Social exclusion. “This is another theme as a collective learning process.” that runs through most of the reports. Many immigrants and their descendants Public opinion and leadership. “Public remain at the margin of society, with seri- opinion appears in many cases to drive of- ous consequences for social cohesion. One fi cial policies. Attitudes have often proved of the most disturbing fi ndings is that so- a constraint on policies designed to achieve cial exclusion has, in many places, come to greater equity, or to remove barriers to par- be seen as a ‘normal condition’ for immi- ticipation. Public opinion has to be taken grants and minorities. It important to un- seriously in democracies, but it is impor- derstand social exclusion as a cumulative tant to realize that opinion is itself socially process, in which localized processes in constructed. The media and political lead- various sub-sectors of society (the labour ers play a big part in this. Public opinion market, social rights, housing, health, ed- has often been infl uenced by unwilling- ucation, etc.) interact to cause exclusion ness to face up to realities and to take un- from society for minorities defi ned in popular decisions. Far-sighted leadership terms of origins, race, ethnicity, gender, is vital, and the EU could play a major part generation and location.” in developing the long-term perspectives needed for this.” The ambivalence of welfare services. “Government services play a crucial role The actors in immigration and integration. in integration. Equal access to education, “An important cause of policy modifi ca- welfare, health and other services is vital tion has often been the neglect of various if immigrants are to avoid social exclusion. actors in initial policy formation processes. However, research has indicated that some It is vital to realize that a wide range of so- types of service provision actually add to cietal groups have a stake in immigration exclusion, by separating immigrants from and integration, and should be included in the rest of the population. Some special policy debates. Integration is not just the services for minorities may hinder inte- result of state policies, but of the attitudes gration in education and the labour mar- and actions of a wide range of groups and ket. This is one reason for the scepticism individuals. Above all it is vital to include of many people towards multiculturalism, immigrants and ethnic minorities at all which has led to a move away from such stages, if policies are to succeed.” policies in some places. It is important to make it clear that multiculturalism, as an The informal economy. “A recurring theme appropriate strategy for ethnically diverse in many of the research reports, whatever societies, has two dimensions: one is rec-

129 ognition of the right to be culturally dif- sub-groups in each place. Policies need to ferent, while the other is the provision of reﬂ ect such diversity. On the other hand, the conditions for social equality, such as there are also clear trends to convergence language courses, vocational training and in settlement experience, community for- access to mainstream services.” mation and national laws and policies. This convergence can serve as the basis Human rights and the rule of law. “Much of for collaborative policy making. It points the research indicates that social divisions to the value of comparative research and and inequality are in part due to the lack international exchange of experience. The of rights experienced by many immigrants, transnational collaborative approach epit- especially in the early stages of settlement. omized in the multi-national TSER studies In several countries, the law courts have can serve as blueprint for EU-wide coop- acted as a corrective to discriminatory poli- eration in this ﬁ eld.” cies (for instance on family reunion, security of residence, and access to services) put forward by governments and bureau- Note cracies. It is essential for social integration 1 Stephen Castles, Alisdair Rogers, Ellie Vasta and cohesion that immigrants and minor- and Steven Vertovec: Migration and integration as ities should enjoy full human rights and challenges to European society – assessment of research have equal access to the legal system.” reports carried out for the European Commission Targeted Socio-Economic Research (TSER) Programme, Centre for Diversity and convergence. “The research Migration and Policy Research, University of Oxford, England. As we went to press, the review was unpub- reports show the diversity of experience lished. However, it is likely to be available by early of various groups of migrants, of various 2003 on the TSER web site at http://www.cordis.lu/ immigration countries, and of various tser/home.html

130 Trends in the regions

Arab labour on the move

The Grand Maghreb is one of the main suppliers of manpower to Europe while the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) receive thousands of migrant workers.

Steve Ringel Journalist

onstantly on the move, the Arab world led by the Palestinian Authority. Some 61 Cis experiencing a major migration of its per cent of workers in Oman are foreign- workers. None of the countries in the Arab ers, while the ﬁ gure is 83 per cent in Ku- League1 can really be described as large- wait and 91 per cent in the UAE. With a scale host or sending countries. Many population of 19.5 million, Sri Lanka has workers from countries such as Oman for many years provided around 500,000 and the Syrian Arab Republic migrated housekeepers to the Middle East. during the 1970s and these countries In 1975, the number of immigrant were consequently forced to call upon im- workers from GCC countries increased by migrant workers to replace the workforce 1.12 million. Over the past decade (1990- they were lacking. Others, such as Algeria 2001), the number has increased from and Egypt, became sending countries in 5.21 million to 9.42 million, with the ma- the mid-1990s in the wake of the civil war jority of such workers coming from Asia. raging within their borders. Iraq is a spe- As an indication, the private sector in GCC cial case. Although traditionally a country countries employs less than 10 per cent of that exported workers, like Saudi Arabia local workers. it turned to importing migrant workers in In contrast to the European Commu- the 1980s. Due to the Gulf War, its level of nity where internal trade accounts for 50 economic activity is now lower than it was per cent of the total, there is very little in the 1980s and it has become one of the trade between Arab countries, account- main sending countries. ing for just 5 per cent to 9 per cent of total The Grand Maghreb region of North volume. Since 1996, Saudi Arabia has been Africa (comprising Algeria, the Libyan pursuing a restrictive policy on immigrant Arab Jamahiriya, Mauritania, Morocco workers. According to a report by the UN’s and Tunisia) is still the main source of Arab Economic and Social Council,2 Riyadh has migration. According to Boutros Boutros- drawn up a ﬁ ve-year economic plan de- Ghali, over the next 30 years, between 20 signed to encourage the hiring of Saudi na- and 25 million North Africans and Arabs tionals in the country. To this end, the Gov- will join the population of Europe. A sim- ernment plans to offer loans as an incen- ilar number of workers has also migrated tive and to issue recruitment licences only to the six member States of the Gulf Co- to those employers hiring a certain quota operation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, of Saudi nationals. Thereafter, companies Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United are obliged to increase the number of Saudi Arab Emirates (UAE)). The vast majority of workers they employ by at least 5 per cent migrants are from South-East Asia, Egypt, a year otherwise they will face penalties. Jordan, Sudan, Yemen and areas control- Even as early as 1996, Saudi Arabia de-

131 clared 13 professions closed to foreigners they do not have any legal status. In 2000, and a year later, a further 11 were added the ILO launched a project to create an in- to this list. Bahrain and Oman have also ternational database designed to offer a brought their labour legislation into line viable solution to discrimination against with Saudi Arabia’s. In 1997, Riyadh in- migrant workers. In addition, the train- creased the budget available for providing ing measures that it presented to govern- training for local workers to US$11.1 bil- ments in order to implement an effective lion, an increase of over 40 per cent com- policy against all forms of intolerance to- pared with the previous year. wards migrants were reinforced in 2000. Between 1990 and 1995, foreign The ILO is also supporting the United Na- workers in Saudi Arabia were paid a tions’ efforts to ratify its 1990 International total of US$100.3 billion (an average of Convention on the Protection of Migrant US$16.7 billion a year). In countries such Workers and Members of Their Families as Pakistan, Tunisia and Yemen, foreign and has played an active role in UN ini- workers are paid a total of 30 per cent tiatives to introduce an International Mi- more than the amount of Public Develop- grants’ Day. ment Aid (PDA) provided by the interna- Nevertheless, the UN has not received tional community. support from member States for its suggestion to convene a conference to address migration issues. UN Secretary-General Kofi Substantial wage difference between Annan has called for such a conference locals and expatriates three times since 1995. Of the 189 member States, only 78 have responded to the sug- All too often, migrants fall victim to diffi - gestion: 47 were “in favour”, 26 opposed cult working conditions. They are forced it and 5 offered “partial support”. to work extra hours without pay and have In December 1999, the ILO organized no contract. Many of them do not receive a symposium of regional Asia/Pacifi c un- social security or legal protection. They are ions in Malaysia, which concluded that mi- often branded criminals and are blamed grant workers have traditionally been ig- for all kinds of traffi cking, diseases (AIDS), nored by unions: in their home countries, drugs and yet more ills. Nationals of GCC they are not considered because they do countries generally hold management po- not belong to a union. Despite helping to sitions in both the public and the private reduce the unemployment rate in their sectors and as such, there is usually a sig- sending country and generally boosting nifi cant wage difference between the local their home country’s economy, they re- population and expatriates. main largely outside the unions’ main Unions are not well-established in the area of interest. In host countries, even if Middle East, especially in Oman, Qatar, they form a permanent part of the regional Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In this context, economy, they are seldom welcomed with Yemeni workers are in a much better posi- open arms by the locals because they im- tion since they do have a functioning and pact on market standards and wages. active union organization. In Israel, Pales- Those who attended the symposium also tinian workers are not allowed to form or recognized that migrants are not necessar- join unions. According to the ILO, some ily in direct competition with local work- Arab countries do not even comply with ers and that the latter’s working condi- its Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. tions would also become more favourable 138). This is the situation in Morocco, in if those of migrants were improved. Par- particular, where 12 is the legal minimum ticipants also considered it essential that working age, as established in 1947. unions take account of migrant workers. Migrant workers are vulnerable to ex- Unions in the Asia/Pacifi c region are ploitation, racial discrimination, and sex- well aware of the intrinsic diffi culties of en- ual and physical abuse, particularly when couraging migrants to join a union or take

132 part in union activities. Unions are unable put pressure on employers’ associa- to guarantee a satisfactory service to mi- tions to reintegrate migrants returning grants because of the situation in their dif- to their home country swiftly; ferent countries of origin where the princi- make reintegration of migrants easier ple of keeping religion and politics closely by organizing information sessions on linked is widespread; this characteristic is employment as well as training to ob- particularly evident in the “state-society” tain vocational qualifi cations. Unions relations seen in Arab countries. should also help to set up migrant co- Unions face different problems in host operatives and provide information, countries. Migrants change employers fre- particularly for migrants who have quently and work in a wide range of sec- been victims of abuse; and tors. They are also often very diffi cult – if not impossible – to contact. Language and ensure that female migrants receive cultural barriers make access diffi cult. In adequate protection, specifi cally in many cases, migrants themselves have not connection with discrimination and received a decent education and do not see human traffi cking. any need to join a union. Policies and practices in host countries, too, are often very Host countries. Unions should: restrictive and for those belonging to a press for legislation guaranteeing mi- union the chances of fi nding a job can be grant workers equal treatment in terms very slim. Unions themselves often do not of working conditions, social security, have the fi nancial resources or networks non-discrimination and other rights en- to assist migrants actively. They also fi nd shrined in ILO Conventions; it extremely diffi cult to make their views on extending services to migrants known use different forms of communication to members. to make their members aware of prob- The ILO relies on unions to put pres- lematic issues with a view to stamping sure on governments to ratify the 1990 out anti-migrant attitudes and fi nding Convention. The fi nal report by the sym- real solutions; posium of regional Asia/Pacifi c unions organize regular information sessions in Malaysia made the recommendations with locals to keep them up to date with below to unions. the developments in migration issues in the region. Unions should exchange Sending countries. Unions should: programmes and initiatives, and dis- offer accredited programmes and train- cuss the best course of action to take ing to prepare workers before they with regard to migration; and leave. They should provide country- specifi c information on recruitment, ensure that their charters do not contain employment, entitlement to social se- anything that may constitute discrimi- curity and international labour stand- nation against migrants. They should ards; encourage female migrants to join by offering benefi ts that would be attrac- negotiate standardized, internation- tive to women. ally recognized employment contracts. These should be signed by the em- They should cooperate in circulating ployer, the migrant and the job centre; up-to-date information on the social and work towards complete abolition of re- cultural aspects of sending and host coun- cruitment fees, in line with ILO Con- tries in order to keep cultural diffi culties ventions. They should ensure that be- between migrants and employers to a min- fore the migrant leaves, he/she has imum. They should cooperate in identify- the addresses and other details of local ing job and recruitment centres providing unions in the host country; false information to migrants, encourag-

133 ing substitution of employment contracts respective governments to incorporate or charging excessive fees. Legal action social clauses into international and bi - should be taken against such centres. lateral treaties. They should also sponsor Unions should work together to iden- International Migrants Day. tify agencies, immigration ofﬁ cials and contractors involved in human trafﬁ cking, in particular that of women or children. Notes They should ensure that legal action is taken against any individual involved 1 The Arab League comprises the following coun- in such activities and set up a commit- tries and entities: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, tee for migrant workers’ rights appointed Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Libyan Arab Jama- by union members to improve protection hiriya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, for migrant workers. In particular, they Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the should create databases to ensure the ILO Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). can intervene on the basis of authoritative 2 United Nations: ECOSOC report E/1998/100, information and put pressure on their New York, 1998.

134 Trends in the regions

Migratory problems in Russia

Russia’s immigration policy needs to strike a balance between economic demands and demographic and social perspectives.

Oleg Neterebsky Secretary Federation of Independent Unions of Russia (FNPR) Russian Federation

ttracting a cheap workforce means decline over the past few years; 1999 saw Acutting production costs and ensur- the biggest fall, with some 768,000 people, ing more competitive prices on domestic or 0.5 per cent of the population. “Unfortu- and foreign markets. Cheap labour fi lls po- nately, this downward trend in the popu- sitions left vacant due to the absence of a lation is continuing,” he said. pool of local labour. In general, the Government of the Rus- The unregulated infl ux of labour leads sian Federation believes that in the near to an additional burden on the social infra- future, migration processes will become structure, and as such “erodes” a cultural increasingly important to the country. Ac- and national environment which is grow- cording to forecasts, by 2005, the popu- ing more complex, while at the same time lation of the Russian Federation will al- lowering labour costs. ready have been reduced by 2.6 million The break-up of the USSR, Russia’s (falling from 144 million to 141.4 million). transition from a centrally planned and administered economy to a market economy, the different socio-economic condi- An ageing population tions in the former USSR and an easy system of entry and exit have caused a sharp Unwanted changes are also likely to occur increase in migratory fl ows. within the actual structure of the popula- As the Prime Minister of the Russian tion. During the same period, the younger Federation, Mikhail Kassianov, pointed population is set to fall by 5.5 million ac- out, some 8 million foreign nationals have cording to projections by the State Com- arrived in Russia over the past ten years mittee of the Russian Federation on Sta- while 4 million people left the country tistics (dropping from 27.8 to 22.3 million). during the same period. And even if the population of working age “The fall in the working population increases from 81.7 to 89.7 million during is not only a social problem but also one the same period, the numbers in this cate- which will determine the success or fail- gory will begin to fall again from 2005 on- ure of our country’s development,” said wards. The Committee forecasts that over- Mr. Kassianov, adding that “in the near all this category will be reduced by 7.4 mil- future, the development of our economy lion over the period 2006-2015. will rely precisely on there being a pool According to forecasts by the Centre of labour”. for Demography and Human Ecology, by The Prime Minister said that popula- 2050, there will be a total of just 86.5 mil- tion fi gures in Russia had been in constant lion native Russian inhabitants.

135 During the same period and accord- In some countries (e.g. Armenia and ing to forecasts, gross domestic product is Azerbaijan), the number of people who set to increase fairly rapidly between 2002 have left to earn a living in the Russian and 2005, at a minimum rate of at least 5 Federation is equal to the number of per cent per annum, and the number of working people who have remained in working people inserted into the country’s the country. The main countries provid- economy is set to rise by almost 2 million ing manpower are Ukraine, Kazakhstan, over the same period. Moldova and Azerbaijan, closely followed Current estimates show that during the by Armenia and Tajikistan, while Belarus period in question, around 4 million peo- ranks lower down on the market for imple will plan to come to live permanently in ported manpower. Russia. But will that really happen? Well, Experts have long been checking their that depends on the state of the economy, economic forecasts by basing them on how attractive Russia is in economic and migratory fl ows: when people leave one social terms, whether or not the necessary country to go and earn a living in neigh- conditions prevail and how its immigra- bouring states it generally means that the tion policy develops. economic situation is far from good. If Accordingly, one of the priorities of those leaving include not only unskilled such a policy must be to promote immi- but also highly qualifi ed workers, the sit- gration into the Russian Federation, so uation is even worse. And when the lat- that this vital workforce can help keep the ter leave to work elsewhere as part of a economy of the country and its component semi-skilled workforce, the situation is regions afl oat. nothing short of disgraceful. On this last According to the Interstate Statistical point, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and indeed Institute of the Commonwealth of Inde- Ukraine are fi nding themselves in a par- pendent States (CIS-STAT), the fl ow of ticularly worrying situation: many engi- migrants from neighbouring countries neers are leaving the country to take on has once again increased following a pe- any kind of work in Russia and at any riod of decline towards the end of the wage. Things are a little better in Belarus 1990s. Director of the Institute, Constan- where fewer people are leaving and those tin Zatulin says: “Give or take a few minor who do are looking for work more or less fl uctuations, migration to Russia is just as in line with their qualifi cations and exper- substantial as that seen in other Russian ience. People in Armenia, Azerbaijan and regions; such migration balances out nat- Georgia have carved out a solid niche in ural losses.” trade and business. It is diffi cult to say exactly how many It goes without saying that a large proof these migrants from the CIS live in portion of workers arriving in Moscow Russia. V. Ivanov, vice-director of the fi nd work there and in the surrounding President’s administration and chairman region, or in large cities. In some towns, of an inter-departmental working group if all the migrants decided to go on strike, charged with drafting migration legisla- some sectors of the economy would be tion, claims that there are roughly 4 mil- paralysed. Trolleybuses would be unable lion illegal “economic immigrants” in Rus- to leave the depot, rubbish would be left sia. But statistics from the Russian Federa- uncollected and all building sites would tion show that more than 22 million people grind to a halt. who arrived in Russia from CIS countries Russia’s migration-related problems between 1997 and 2001 have not left “as are most clearly apparent in Moscow. required by law”. According to estimates This is not diffi cult to understand: eco- by experts from the Ministry of the Interior, nomic growth in the Russian capital is there is a whole army of workers from the stable at between 7 and 14 per cent a year CIS numbering around 5 million who are and a large proportion of the country’s fi - temporarily residing in Russia. nancial resources pass through it.

136 Migrations play a major role in Mos- illegally in Moscow, of whom between cow’s socio-economic development. The 100,000 and 150,000 are from faraway infl ux of manpower guarantees stable ac- countries (mainly Afghanistan and coun- tivity in many of the city’s economic sec- tries in Africa and South-East Asia). Based tors (construction, transport, maintenance, on this information, experts estimate that general economic activity and so forth). Im- between 400,000 and 600,000 people are migration enables the city’s demographics working without the required author- to remain at an acceptable level. ization. On average, natural losses in Moscow’s The imbalance between the infl ux of population stood at 66,000 a year between migrants and the opportunities for decent 1992 and 2000. For instance, in 2000, there paid work, and shortcomings in legisla- were 72,600 births and 130,700 deaths. tion governing the procedures for enter- The number of people arriving in the ing citizens of the Russian Federation into city to settle there permanently increased the population register for the district in to 103,300 (according to fi gures from the which they live are the main reasons be- Moscow City Statistics Committee). It hind a number of problems: why migrants also estimated that 36,600 people had left accept illegal jobs, why a criminal element the city, which meant net immigration of is beginning to pervade the economic life 66,700. Net immigration in 2000 offset the of the city under the infl uence of immigra- capital’s natural losses. tion, why criminal ethnic groups are mo- Nevertheless, in the context of a com- nopolizing different sectors of the econ- plex labour market, there are a number of omy, and why prostitution, begging and reasons why immigration (particularly il- vagrancy are on the increase. legal immigration) poses a serious threat to economic and social security, and health (epidemics). This huge infl ux of excessive Depopulation manpower into the city brings with it violations of labour regulations and deters Wide-scale emigration due mainly to the employers from using the most produc- negative impact of this excessive infl ux tive technologies. The fall in the popula- of immigrants to Moscow is also threat- tion’s income as a result of depreciation of ening the city’s socio-economic develop- labour has led to some groups and immi- ment. Emigration, which develops as a re- grants themselves becoming marginalized, sult of depopulation, is a serious issue in and is preventing the city’s companies from itself but especially if we consider the qual- boosting production of goods and services. ity of the population being lost in this way: In 2001, a total of 64,500 foreign workers those who leave the country are primarily were registered and working in Moscow. highly qualifi ed specialists who have been More than 37,000 people (for a fi xed quota left high-and-dry on the national labour of 50,000) were authorized to work in the market. The increase in this process is city’s bodies, institutions and companies. bringing with it other problems such as a In all, 995,500 people were registered as growing technological gap and irreparable residents and of those, 643,300 originated damage in terms of the continuity of intel- from the CIS. lectual potential, and is preventing people In addition, some 2.1 million peo- from benefi ting from the growth potential ple were arrested for violations of pass- afforded by economic effi ciency. port and residence regulations, of whom The seriousness of the threats arising 998,600 originated from the CIS. Action from migratory processes, along with the was taken against 513 organizations for signifi cant illegal element they involve, infringing regulations pertaining to hir- requires us to take steps both to regulate ing foreign workers. the infl ux of immigrants and improve the According to estimates, there are be- structure of this infl ux, and to halt the emi- tween 600,000 and 800,000 people living gration of intellectuals.

137 Therefore, it is important that, despite According to Constantin Zatulin, Di- its complex structure, the infl ux of mi- rector of CIS-STAT, “The root of migra- grants be controlled and adapted to both tory problems lies in the lack of a specifi c the priorities of socio-economic develop- federal migration policy.” He believes that ment and the potential for change, and that “attempting to resolve migratory problems it neither create more situations of confl ict through bodies that are answerable to the nor undermine the well-being and security Ministry of the Interior is pointless”. of inhabitants. Legislation on the legal status of for- On the basis of these measures, the Mos- eign nationals residing in Russia was due cow city programme of migration regula- to take effect in November 2002 and has tion for the period 2002-2004 was adopted. been described by the Director of the Fed- The programme is a fundamental idea that eral Migration Offi ce (FMS) as “a revolu- consists of two approaches: (1) using ex- tionary step”. isting economic and organizational tools Under the new legislation, the Govern- in Moscow to stamp out the practice of ment of the Russian Federation will set a underpaid work being performed by mi- specifi c quota of migrant workers for their grants (including on the markets) in com- region. Foreigners will be issued a special panies which maintain their profi tability migration card that will clearly state where artifi cially by hiring underpaid, illegal the worker is going, for what reason, for workers who essentially have no rights how long and by whom authorization at all; and (2) putting in place a modern, has been granted. Foreigners will also be information-based system for regulating liable to pay a substantial migration tax migrants that can genuinely infl uence the (around US$100), apparently intended to reasons behind these migrations in the in- save them from having to pay bribes. The terests of both the city and the migrants registration system will also be modifi ed themselves. to make it possible to register with the The measures put forward in the pro- FMS. All these measures are designed to gramme also include: systematically re- legalize and bring out of the shadows the placing the foreign workforce with man- “grey mass” of foreign workers and their power from Moscow itself and different income. Moreover, they will not be the only regions of Russia; helping migrants ob- ones facing penalties for working illegally tain the social guarantees prescribed by and not paying the corresponding contri- law; enhancing the work done by law-en- butions; the Russian “labour mafi a” – i.e. forcement bodies designed to crack down employers – are also affected. on antisocial activities by migrants; and The main diffi culty is that at the mo- creating the conditions required to reduce ment, no one can be sure whether the emigration of the city’s scientifi c, technical standards set out in the legislation adopted and creative potential. will be adhered to, nor how effective the In the late 1990s, the rapid rise in immi- work carried out by the system uniting gration to Moscow – together with its in- bodies called upon to guarantee adher- creasing impact on the capital’s economic, ence to the priorities of the national mi- social, health and epidemiological security gration policy will be. – forced the city authorities to draw up a So, then, the main – and most complex systematic approach to regulation. Fed- – question remains unanswered: “Are im- eral authorities are currently facing the migration and fl ows of labour a benefi t or same task. a curse for Russia?”

138