Enhancing Labor Migration Management in the Greater Mekong Subregion Training Program on Enhancing Labor Migration Management in the Greater Mekong Subregion Copyright© International Organization for Migration 2012 

MODULE 4: International migration law framework for the protection of migrant workers and International cooperation for facilitation of labour migration (IOM) 4a. Migrants’ civil rights, employment related rights and other rights 4b. Universal and regional legal frameworks 4c. and 4d. Developing labour migration policies in countries of origin and destination 4e. The GMS initiatives on a migration framework This module guides participants by going through the steps of migration concepts which are broken down into fundamental elements of migration: types of migration, migration response in ASEAN and GMS, Migration and Development and Migration Trends and Patterns. Having this understanding, the latter session provides migration into the context of ASEAN region and further to the GMS, where participants are from. The session poses guiding questions in leading participants to analyze migration from the GMS framework while considering broader global governance structure. Participants have a chance to examine, through discussions, bilateral labour arrangements, including Memorandum of Understandings which frames labour mobility in the subregion reflecting ILO’s principle elements of bilateral agreements. Copyright© International Organization for Migration 2012 

Copyright© International Organization for Migration 2012 Learning Objectives 4e To learn issues and gaps exist in the subregion. To propose activities to tackle those issues. To share views in utilizing legal framework exist in the subregion This module guides participants by going through the steps of migration concepts which are broken down into fundamental elements of migration: types of migration, migration response in ASEAN and GMS, Migration and Development and Migration Trends and Patterns. Having this understanding, the latter session provides migration into the context of ASEAN region and further to the GMS, where participants are from. The session poses guiding questions in leading participants to analyze migration from the GMS framework while considering broader global governance structure. Participants have a chance to examine, through discussions, bilateral labour arrangements, including Memorandum of Understandings which frames labour mobility in the subregion reflecting ILO’s principle elements of bilateral agreements. Copyright© International Organization for Migration 2012 

4e. The GMS initiatives on a migration framework Copyright© International Organization for Migration 2012 

Economic integration and labour mobility Important to speed-up the transition towards knowledge-based economy and enter the competition for global talents to be competitive in AEC 2015 To rely on cheap low-skilled labour increases competitiveness in some sectors, but slows the integration process In view of AEC 2015, GMS must ensure its competitiveness as a whole. Intra-GMS investment should create centres of excellence throughout the countries: facilitating the emergence of sub-regional skill specialisations and incentivise the movement of skilled labour within the GMS Attract sector-related talents from outside GMS 5

Economic integration: skills and talents Recognition of skills is central to economic integration and in the competition for global talents: Mechanisms for skills recognition have to be designed Skill recognition mechanisms also decrease the risk of brain drain induced by de-skilling Highly skilled migrants need attractive environment (visa, family members, land ownership, competitive research sector) 6

Irregular migration – trafficking - smuggling Irregular migration needs to be reduced; it undermines sovereignty, reduces the benefits of migration, distorts labour markets and makes migrants vulnerable Regular channels are costly and complicated; migrants often prefer to pass through brokers Recruitment practices associated to trafficking especially women and men in the fishing sector Irregular migration being difficult to estimate, this makes it difficult to have control on labour market. Also, this favors informal and illegal networks and rings while national sovereignty on labour market is undermined, with repercussions on economy. Regular status is thus profitable for migrants and for countries. It gives access to protection from arbitrary detention or expulsion. In Thailand it gives access to public health services. However, both regular and irregular labor migrants face risks and vulnerability due to weak enforcement of labor standards The large proportion of migrants in the region makes it important to ensure access to health and education for their children: migrants as well as countries of destination will benefit from this Access to social protection for migrants and their families is thus a major issue in GMS, intimately related to the regularization process. Regularization is a costly and difficult process for migrants and penalties against employers who hire irregular migrants are generally poorly enforced. In Thailand, before 2009 only migrants who were already registered could apply for work permit: for this reason, the number of work permit renewals was decreasing since 2004. In 2009 the registration was opened to new migrants, and more than 1 million registered.

Data are scattered among ministries and institution Knowledge gap Insufficient data to analyze migration and formulate policies  benefits of labour migration for the region not being maximized Data are scattered among ministries and institution Qualitative data are important to understand the social structures driving and driven by migration 8

Include migration into the national regional development agenda Labour mobility and regional development Recognize that migration is related to market integration and liberalization  goods, services, investment and migrant workers Include the social dimensions of migration in the integration process; recognize pros and cons and the rights of migrant workers Include migration into the national regional development agenda Strengthen national and intra-regional collaboration on migration data. Increase protection mechanisms for migrants in cross-border settings Conduct labor awareness campaigns for potential migrant workers in three districts of Cambodia and Lao PDR and other countries in the subregion Set up monitoring and evaluation mechanisms which involve representatives from different stakeholders to provide safety nets for migrants across borders in the subregion Provide pre-departure and pre-employment orientation through Migrant Resource Center and other existing public and private facilities Develop user-friendly information materials on existing legal instruments including MOU and bilateral agreements to help migrants to understand migration procedures Strengthen capacity and legal framework in managing labor migration in the GMS Conduct expert-level review in analyzing implementation of existing MOU in the subregion Conduct capacity building training in order to improve understanding and knowledge of government officials dealing with migration issues Introducing monitoring system at the migrant workers’ work places can be encouraged in order to minimize exploitation at the work place. Review inspection capacities of relevant ministries and develop standard operating procedures Develop a guide to improve coordination mechanisms among different ministries dealing with migration Develop a subregional labor market information system to capture and analyze market trends Review the effectiveness of cross-border provincial agreements between Thailand and Cambodia and Lao PDR Design and implement gender-sensitive migration policies in order to facilitate safe migration and reduce vulnerability of women migrants, especially those engaged in domestic work Enhance social protection for migrants and their families Review access to basic social services for migrant workers and their families in countries of destination Develop network support systems for migrants and their families Conduct information campaigns for migrants and migrants families Conduct awareness raising programs for migrant workers in regards to the right to create associations and unions in order to claim their rights Promote Ethical Recruitment and Employment Review existing framework to regulate recruitment agencies and identify key obstacles to minimize migration costs Assess lessons learnt to identify good practices which exist in the subregion that reduce costs incurred through recruitment phases Organize workshop for representatives of private recruitment agencies to promote ethical recruitment practices Strengthen Return and Reintegration Support to Migrants Review support mechanisms for return and reintegration Develop schemes to recognize skills obtained from countries of destination Conduct a pilot project to provide counseling and vocational training assistance to migrants upon their return, which allow countries of origin to harness the skills that migrants acquire while working abroad Provide a certification programme for migrants to obtain certified skills while working Increase Knowledge Management Mechanisms Organize an expert-level meeting to identify research gaps in understanding and analyzing the socio and economic impacts of migration such as those impacts upon demography, labor market information, and political drift Assess the impact and utilization of remittance and knowledge sharing on products and services related to remittance channeling and utilization in the subregion Conduct research in order to analyze the impact of border mobility and suggest policy recommendations Develop information system to capture migration flows on cross border mobility   Effective Use of Remittance Assess money transfer mechanisms in the subregion and identify challenges in irregular ways of money transfer Increase awareness and knowledge about the effective use of remittance through conducting financial literacy programs targeting migrants’ households

Increase protection mechanisms for migrants in cross-border settings Conduct labor awareness campaigns Set up monitoring and evaluation mechanisms Provide pre-departure and pre-employment orientation through Migrant Resource Center and other existing public and private facilities Develop user-friendly information materials on existing legal instruments Strengthen registration and identification cards for migrant workers (especially under MOUs with TH)  increase number of regular, documented migrant workers. Enhanced protection and enforcement to promote regular migration  better integration of migrants Better governance through: pre-departure training, information, standardization of training and skills, access to social services and portability of benefits, remittance transfer channels, productive return

Strengthen capacity and legal framework in managing labor migration in the GMS Conduct expert-level review in analyzing implementation of existing MOU in the subregion Conduct capacity building training Introduce monitoring system at the migrant workers’ work places can be encouraged Review inspection capacities of relevant ministries and develop standard operating procedures Develop a guide to improve coordination mechanisms among different ministries dealing with migration Develop a subregional labor market information system to capture and analyze market trends

Enhance social protection for migrants and their families Review access to basic social services for migrant workers and their families in countries of destination Develop network support systems for migrants and their families Conduct information campaigns for migrants and migrants families Conduct awareness raising programs for migrant workers in regards to the right to create associations and unions in order to claim their rights

Promote Ethical Recruitment and Employment Review existing framework to regulate recruitment agencies and identify key obstacles to minimize migration costs Assess lessons learnt to identify good practices which exist in the subregion that reduce costs incurred through recruitment phases Organize workshop for representatives of private recruitment agencies to promote ethical recruitment practices

Strengthen Return and Reintegration Support to Migrants Review support mechanisms for return and reintegration Develop schemes to recognize skills obtained from countries of destination Conduct a pilot project to provide counseling and vocational training assistance to migrants upon their return, which allow countries of origin to harness the skills that migrants acquire while working abroad Provide a certification programme for migrants to obtain certified skills while working

Increase Knowledge Management Mechanisms Organize an expert-level meeting to identify research gaps in understanding and analyzing the socio and economic impacts of migration such as those impacts upon demography, labor market information, and political drift Assess the impact and utilization of remittance and knowledge sharing on products and services related to remittance channeling and utilization in the subregion Conduct research in order to analyze the impact of border mobility and suggest policy recommendations Develop information system to capture migration flows on cross border mobility

Effective Use of Remittance Assess money transfer mechanisms in the subregion and identify challenges in irregular ways of money transfer Increase awareness and knowledge about the effective use of remittance through conducting financial literacy programs targeting migrants’ households  

Thank you! Yuko Hamada Senior Labour Migration/Migration and Development Specialist International Organization for Migration (IOM) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific E-mail: yhamada@iom.int Copyright© International Organization for Migration 2012