Transcript Slide 1

Metropolis Policy Research Seminar on Temporary Migration:
“Should I Stay or Should Go?”
Ottawa, March 12, 2008
‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’
It depends.
Elements of Good Practice
in Managing Temporary Foreign Workers
Jobst Koehler
Research and Publication Division
IOM, Geneva
Outline
1) IOM and Labour Migration
2) Temporary Foreign Worker Programmes (TFWPs) and their
Admission Policies
3) Making TFWPs Feasible:
•
•
Ensuring return
Guaranteeing fair treatment
4) Making TFWPs Development-Friendly
5) Conclusion
What is IOM?
• An intergovernmental, non-profit organization
established in 1951, IOM is committed to the principle that
humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and
society
•122 Members and 91 observers including 20 States and
71 global and regional Intergovernmental organizations
and Non-Governmental Organizations.
IOM and Labour Migration
IOM’s purpose in labour migration is to facilitate the
development of policies and programmes that can
individually and mutually benefit the concerned
governments, migrants and society by:
– Providing effective protection and services to
labour migrants and their dependants;
– Promoting economic and social development;
– Promoting forms of labour mobility as an
alternative to resorting to irregular migration.
IOM Services facilitating labour migration
9.
M
o
n
i
t
o
r
i
n
g
2
Database and
Registration of
potential workers
3
Recruitment
Order
4
Selection
1
Information
dissemination
LABOUR MIGRATION
OPPORTUNITIES
5
Pre-departure
Services
8
Return and
Reintegration
7
Reception, Post
Arrival & Emp.
6
Travel and Transit
Assistance
Scope of Labour Migration Activities Globally
•
The Labour Migration Division currently has 47 active
labour migration projects as of February 2007
•
Labour migration projects exist to cater to the needs of
countries of origin, destination and migrants
•
Globally, the majority of IOM projects are located in Asia
(Colombo process), South America, and Europe.
• Addressing the labour migration needs for Africa is a
key objective of the Labour Migration Division
• Policy tools relating to labour migration (e.g. Handbook
on Establishing Effective Labour Migration Policies in
Countries of Origin and Destination)
Temporary Foreign Worker Migration
Working Holiday
Makers
2003
2004
2005
France
Germany
Italy
0.1
0.3
0.4
Seasonal Workers
2003
2004
2005
14.6
15.7
16.2
309.5
324.0
320.4
68.0
77.0
70.2
2004
2005
10.2
10.0
10.5
43.9
34.2
21.9
143.7
146.6
110.2
7.2
8.3
11.9
2.9
40.3
43.7
44.3
15.7
98.0
113.4
111.2
Japan
Republic
of
Korea
New
Zealand
20.7
21.4
29.0
United
Kingdom
46.5
62.4
56.6
19.8
Other Temporary
Workers
2003
United
29.9
31.8
31.9 192.5 221.8 218.6
[1]
StatesSource:
OECD (2007: 52), compiled from residence and work permit data
Temporary Worker and TFWPs
Categories of temporary workers
Admission programmes
Frontier Workers
Seasonal Workers
Contract Workers
Guest Workers
Professional and technical workers
Intra-Company Tansferees
Working Holiday Makers
Occupational trainees/Apprentices
Entertainers/Athletes
Service providers/sellers
Self-Employed
Students
Au Pairs
Trainees and apprentices
Seasonal agriculture
Youth or student programme
Working holiday makers
Points System
Priority occupations
Special sector
Facilitated entry
Intra-company transferees
TFWPs: Admission Policies (I)
Temp.
Worker
Admiss.
Program
Occupation
al
Trainees/ap
prentices
Seasonal
Workers
Abella 2006
Seasonal
Agriculture
Youth/
student
Program
Pre-entry
Control
Selection
Variables
Condition
Other
controls
Bilateral
Country of
Agreement Origin
s (BLA)
(CoOs)
Industry
Training
Max no
Allowance
Accommodation
Return
No change
of status
No family
Quotas/
BLAs
LM Tests
Wage
Housing
Med Insur.
Return
No family
No.
CoOs
Age
Education
TFWPs: Admission Policies (II)
Temp.
Worker
Admiss.
Program
Pre-entry
Control
Contract/
Project
Workers
Work
Permit
Unskilled
Work
Permit
Working
Holiday
Makers
Abella 2006
Selection
Variables
Condition
Other
controls
BLA;
CoOs
Contract.
Regulation Industry
LM test
Project
Employee
of
Contractor;
No
Change of
Employer
Financial
Security
Bonds;
Employer
responsible
for return
Quotas/
BLAs;
LM Tests
Duration of Foreign
Stay
Workers
levy;
Return
No change
of status;
Bonds
No.
CoOs
Making TFWPs Feasible
Two issues need to be resolved:
 Ensure return
 Guarantee fair treatment of
temporary
o Need to avoid labour market distortions
and structural dependence
Making TFWPs Feasible:
Ensuring Return (I)
Policies for encouraging and enforcing return
Carrots
Sticks
• Prospect of permanent
residency/employment
• Financial Security Bonds
• Options for re-entry
(Reporting
obligations)
• Quota systems
• Mandatory saving
schemes
• Strict enforcement of
immigration laws
Making TFWPs Feasible:
Ensuring Return (II)
“Carrots”:
•
Granting flexibility for obtaining longer worker permits
e.g. Italy- after two years of seasonal employment, 3 years work
permit; Spain’s “T” permit- after 4 years in total.
•
Option of re-entry can help migrants to maintain networks
e.g. Swiss Seasonal Worker Schemes- 70% return.
• Re-entry on conditions of reporting to consulate authorities
(e.g. Spain)
• Sponsor rating according to compliance with reporting obligations
and immigration conditions (e.g. UK’s Points-based System)
•
Quota systems as incentive for sending countries to cooperate
on return of visa overstayers: e.g. “privileged nationality” quota in Italy
and UK former Sector-Based Scheme.
Making TFWP Feasible:
Ensuring Return (III)
“Sticks”:
• Employers are required to purchase security bond which is
confiscated if migrant labour employees overstay permit
e.g. Greece, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.
• Migrant workers are required to pay a proportion of their
earnings into a fund redeemable upon return (special
saving accounts):
e.g. in Taiwan and selectively UK.
• Standard methods of enforcing “temporariness” are expulsion:
e.g. EU granting “period of voluntary return” with possibility
of re-entry.
Making TFWPs feasible:
Ensuring Fair Treatment
• Facilitated
the
travel to destination country and on return to
country of origin;
• Minimum wage guarantees and safe working
conditions;
• Access to health care and social protection; the
provision of suitable accommodation;
• Monitoring or inspection mechanisms to ensure that
the promised employment and living conditions
are being met.
Making TFWPs Development-Friendly (I)
Development-sensitive approach to recruitment:
• Targeting the poor and low-skilled in Country
of Origin (CoOs);
• Developing skills through pre-departure
orientation and training;
e.g. regional authorities in Spain, France,
and Italy provide “training abroad”
schemes where workers are trained
before accessing labour market.
• Sensitive to CoOs own seasonal demand for
labour.
Making TFWPs Development-Friendly (II)
Leveraging remittances and encouraging productive return:
• Dissemination of information on remittance services
and options via pre-departure orientation and
in Migrant Resources Centres established in
countries of destination
• Matching investment of remittances in livelihoods
and businesses with training, credit and
advice
e.g. IOM/UNDP project in Tajikistan:
business and agricultural loans were
extended to labour migrant households
investing in matching amount from
remittances.
Conclusions (I)
• Many types of temporary labour migration programme:
• Those that admit temporary workers to fill temporary jobs
• Those that admit temporary workers to fill yeararound/permanent jobs
• Those that admit probationary immigrants.
• Some TFWPs allow for greater fexibility in determining periods
of stay
• Greater experimentation with economic incentives of return or
offering attractive investment opportunities in CoOs.
• Policy incentives may not have significant impact on decisionmaking of migrants if information on policies is not
accessible for the target population.
Conclusions (II)
• Cooperation
with CoOs is necessary for effective
implementation of TFWPs.
• Important to bear in mind that policy interventions are only
one of a number of factors considered by migrants
to return (e.g. conditions in home and destination
country, personal characteristics).
• Better understanding of benefits of TFWPs through
monitoring, evaluation and research.
Conclusions
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Queries to: [email protected]