The International Labour Organisation (ILO) notes that millions of people worldwide continue to leave their home countries every year in search of work. But many are not looking simply for better work. Propelled by poverty and insecurity, they are looking for any work.

These migrants face many challenges including poor conditions of work and discrimination.

Migrant workers are increasingly in demand, not only for
high-skilled information technology and professional jobs,
but also for many of the low-paid, less skilled jobs in agriculture, cleaning and maintenance, construction, domestic service, and health care.

But, migrants are often relegated to the
“three D” – dirty, dangerous, and degrading – jobs that
national workers reject or are not available for. Many
migrants work in precarious and unprotected conditions in
the growing informal economy.

The ILO notes that barriers erected to mobility
between potential migrants and labour market demand for
foreign labour in host countries leads to the unfortunate
result of making smuggling and trafficking of human
beings; a highly profitable enterprise at the expense of gross violations of basic human and labour rights.

The protection of migrant workers and improvement of
their working conditions have been concerns of the
ILO since its establishment in 1919. The emergence
of international labour migration as an important
global phenomenon has called for an intensified ILO
role in this area.

Labour migration policies that are not founded on a respect for human and labour rights can exact high costs on
individual migrants and their home societies. There is evidence that 10-15 per cent of migration today involves migration under irregular situations – entering or working in countries without authorization. Irregular migration leads to high levels of exploitation, forced labour, and abuse of human rights.

The global challenge today is to formulate policies and mechanisms to regulate and manage labour migration and ensure that it contributes positively to development of both home and host societies and to the well-being of migrants themselves.

Source: International Labour Organisation. www.ilocarib.org.tt