Migrant Labour and Trade Unions

1
Migrant Labour and Trade Unions

• A try-out presentation
• 24 August 2005, Turin

2
Why is Migrant Labour a Trade Union matter

• Trade unions promote and defend workers rights
• Migrants are workers and should be assisted
• information on their rights,
• linguistic education,
• legal assistance, and
• special assistance to address problems of women
  migrant workers.
• Others ..

3
ILO Conventions on Migrant Labour

• ILO Constitution and all ILO Conventions do apply
  equally to migrant regardless of them being
  regular or irregular
• Special action
• Convention 97 (Migration for Employment)
• Convention 143 (Migrations in Abusive Conditions
  etc)

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Convention 97Migration for Employment

• Provides for equality of treatment between
  migrant workers and nationals arising out of laws
  or regulations in four areas
• employment
• living and working conditions
• social security
• taxes and
• access to justice

5
Convention 143 Migrations in Abusive Conditions

• Protects migrant workers in abusive situation
  (irregular workers included)
• Affirms the basic human rights of all migrant
  workers, including the right of equal treatment
  and equal opportunities for migrant workers
• Extends protection to undocumented or irregular
  workers

6
UN Convention Migrants Rights

• Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
  and Members of Their Families
• Partly based on the ILO Conventions.
• (if ratified) the Convention
• protects migrant workers from exploitation and
  abuse
• guarantees their rights to trade union
  representation
• safeguards freedom of expression and political
  participation

7
ILO Action Plan

• Aims to ensure that migrant workers are fully
  covered by international labour standards as well
  as national social and labour laws
• Need for greater integration and better
  organisation of all migrant workers in trade
  unions,
• Need to also deal with the issues surrounding the
  feminisation of migration

8
ILO Framework Labour Migration (1)

• Next Tripartite Meeting of Experts on the ILO
  Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration (31
  Oct 2 Nov 2005)

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ILO Framework Labour Migration (2)

• Will discuss guidelines and principles
• based on best practices and international
  standards
• to support governments and social partners to
  improve their migration policies
• including migration management and protection of
  migrant workers and their families

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ILO Framework Labour Migration (3)

• And also
• wider application of international labour
  standards
• capacity building, awareness raising and
  technical assistance
• assist in strengthening social dialogue.

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Other Actions

• Project for managing labour migration as an
  instrument of development, covering 22 countries
  in East, North and West Africa (support European
  Commission)
• Project on enhancing national capacity on
  migration management in Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia
  and Thailand (support Korea)