Asian Recruiters Join Call for Action on Ethical Recruitment
Thailand - The private sector must do more to promote ethical recruitment of migrant workers, a conference in Bangkok has heard.
Members of the Alliance of Asian Associations of Overseas Employment Service Providers (AAA-OESP) met last week at a European Union (EU) – IOM organized event to establish better practical standards for ethical recruitment to increase protection of Asian migrant workers and help them to benefit more from their migration experience.
IOM Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Andy Bruce highlighted the crucial role of the recruitment industry. “International recruitment is perhaps the most important step in the labour migration process. When recruiters function in accordance with internationally accepted standards of ethical recruitment, their services provide enormous benefit to migrants and their communities, to employers in need of foreign workers to fill job vacancies, and to economies in countries of origin and destination,” he said.
Recognizing the need for ethical and professional conduct in adherence to laws and worker’s rights, the prohibition of bonded labour, human trafficking and child labour, reduced fees, as well as transparent and accountable business models, the Alliance is taking steps towards better self-regulation and organization in these areas.
At the Bangkok conference Estrelita S. Hizon, representing the current chair from the Philippines said: “The private sector cannot escape its own share of this responsibility. We must unite to stop abuses within our ranks and in our name. This will not only enhance our legitimacy and credibility within policy and development circles, but will also generate respect among ourselves.”
Before the Alliance meets again in six months to take stock of progress, a Secretariat will be set up in the Philippines. Members will look into no-placement fee policies, continue to work jointly with IOM on developing an International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS), explore possibilities of recruitment innovations including national agency rating systems, and engage in a better social dialogue with governments, media and civil society.
The Bangkok event, organized under the auspices of the Colombo Process, was facilitated by IOM as part of EU-funded regional project: Strengthening Labour Migration Management Capacities in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines.
For more information please contact
Yuko Hamada
IOM’s Regional Office for Asia-Pacific in Bangkok
Email: yhamada@iom.int
Analysis:
According to best estimates, over 2.5 million Asian workers leave their countries every year under contract to work abroad. Most workers from South and Southeast Asia head for the Gulf States to perform various types of service, trade and construction jobs. Others move to North America, Europe and Asian countries. Wherever these migrants go, they contribute significantly to the growth of both sending and receiving countries.
As the numbers of temporary labour migrants have been on a constant rise over the past four decades, facilitating international migration has become a highly profitable business for individuals and organizations that facilitate migration. Since the 1970s, the number of private recruitment agencies and sub-agents that facilitate the international migration process have expanded in Asia. By the 2000s, the majority of Asian migrants were paying for the services of a recruiter in order to migrate. Some of the negative effects include high recruitment fees, which can lead to debt bondage, deceit about the terms and conditions of employment contracts, processing of fake employment and immigration documents which leave migrants unprotected in destination states, confiscation of identity documents, and emotional and physical violence.