Document 7471360
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Transcript Document 7471360
Regional and Bilateral Arrangements for Labor
Mobility: Potentials and Challenges?
Md. Shahidul Haque
IOM Regional Representative for the Middle East
UN ESCWA – ALO Regional Workshop on “Movement of Natural
Persons and its Implications on Development in the Arab States”
Cairo, 5 – 6 September 2007
Introduction
International labor mobility is a trans-national
process and neither destination nor origin
countries can address all related issues acting
alone.
Since the beginning of industrial civilization,
people have been moving to provide services or
to promote goods/services in foreign markets.
It was managed though consular and/or trade
arrangements
mainly
between
two
countries/entities.
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Introduction
International labor mobility remains a highly
regulated affair between or among states.
Labor mobility can be viewed from two general
perspectives:
Trade negotiation perspective
Labor market perspective
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Overall Migration and Mode 4
Migrants worldwide -- all categories
191 million
labor migrants
86 million*
Temporary labor
migrants
?
?
Mode 4
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*ILO estimates (Sept 2006)
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Overall Migration and
Mode 4
Mode 4: a very small number of
highly-skilled persons
191 million
In financial terms:
86 million*
considerable impact and
potential
?
?
3% liberalization for labor mobility may
lead to global economic welfare gains of
US 300 billions
for both developing and
developed countries
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Political Economy of Labor
Mobility
Migrants
(rights)
Markets
(liberalization/profit)
Destination Countries
(sovereignty)
Origin Countries
(benefit)
Transit
Countries
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Arrangements for Labor Mobility
Existing
arrangements
on
movements
employment overseas are as follows:
for
•Multilateral: no global arrangement for labor
mobility.
•Regional: mainly trade and integration
agreements with provisions for labor mobility.
• Bilateral: agreements for labor mobility and/or
trade agreements with provisions for labor
mobility.
•Unilateral: policies of some countries for labor
mobility.
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Multilateral Arrangements
No comprehensive global system or instrument to
manage labor mobility.
States jurisdiction to regulate migratory flows.
Differences exist between labor origin and
destination countries.
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Regional Arrangements
involving Labor Mobility
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) mainly aim at
decreasing trade barriers between parties (not to
manage labor mobility).
It treats mobility mainly in four ways:
Comprehensively deals with labor mobility
including permanent and temporary mobility.
Allows free movement of labor (entry to local labor
market).
Provides limited movement of labor.
Provides limited movement only for service
providers (no labor mobility) - GATS
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Examples of RTAs and Labor Mobility
RTAs providing full mobility of labor:
European Union
Agreement on the European Economic Area (ECA)
European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA)
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Examples RTAs…..
RTAs providing market access for certain groups:
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
and Canada – Chile Free Trade Agreement.
Group of Three (Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico)
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Examples RTAs….
RTAs using the GATS model with some additional
elements:
ASIA Free Trade Area (AITA)
Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements
(Morocco and Tunisia)
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Examples RTAs…
Agreements using the GATS model
Southern Common Market Agreement
(MERCOSUR)
Agreements providing facilitated entry for labor (no
market access)
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
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Bilateral Arrangements involving
Labor Mobility
Though a common mechanism to regulate interstate labor mobility and much more widely used
than RTAs, most temporary labor mobility takes
place outside bilateral state arrangements.
BLA is an arrangement (Treaties and MOU)
between states, regions and public institutions
that provide for the recruitment and employment
of foreign short or long term labor (OECD).
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Bilateral Arrangements
By 1900, trading nations or entities concluded
bilateral arrangements under “Treaties of
Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (FCN)” to
provide limited right for establishment/mobility.
In post WW – II, industrial nations resolved to
labor recruitment from abroad to address
domestic labor shortage.
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Bilateral Arrangements
By end of 1960s, a number of European countries
and the USA entered into bilateral agreements for
employing foreign workers (most of these
agreements were discontinued or replaced by the
1970’s).
By the early 1990’s: renewed interest in BLAs,
faced with labor demand particularly European
countries signed agreements with non European
countries to facilitate entry of labor.
In Asia, by late 70s bilateral agreements have
tended to address the labor mobility issues.
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Objectives of BLAs
Can bring order and predictability in the
management of labor markets (recruitment,
placement, integration and return).
BLAs address flow of low-skilled labor in
particular.
Origin Countries:
•
increase access to foreign labor market.
•
enhance economic development (remittance,
transfer of skill/knowledge).
•
higher protection for migrants.
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Objectives …
Destination Countries:
•
ease labor shortage and forge commercial and
economic relations with origin countries.
•
assist integration of foreign workers in a host
economy and society.
• Reduce irregular migration
•
ensure return of migrants after end of the
arrangement/labor market demands
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Categories of Bilateral
Arrangements
The most common categories of BLA are as
follows:
•
Seasonal or guest worker agreement.
•
Contract/project linked agreement.
•
Agreements for trainee or other short-term
training programs.
•
Working and holiday schemes.
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Examples of BAs including BTAs for
Labor Mobility
Canada Seasonal Agricultural Workers
Program.
Australia – New Zealand Closer Economic
Relations (ANZCERTA).
Japan – Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
US – Jordan Free Trade Agreement.
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Migration Management
and Mode 4
Two sets of realities
Developed along parallel tracks
Governmental
policies & practices
for
migration
management
Mode 4
Mode 4: not a migration agreement ; it’s about trade in services
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Migration Management
and Mode 4
Two sets of realities
Developed along parallel tracks
Relevant regulatory framework:
Governmental
policies & practices
for
migration
management
Mode 4
Framework governing migration
Mode 4: not a migration
agreement ; it’s about trade in services
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Conclusion
Regional and bilateral arrangements concerning
labor mobility have evolved rapidly through
broadening its scope, implementation process
and institutional framework.
Difficult to measure effectiveness of these
arrangements as they often pursue several
objectives.
Success of these arrangements depend on the
“political” will of the states and stakeholders.
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Thank you indeed.
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