A group of 33 private international recruitment agencies and
national associations from nine labour sending countries in Asia
(Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines,
Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam) have agreed to form an association
of Asian international recruitment agencies.

The association will be committed to promoting ethical
recruitment practices, sharing information and good practices on
placing workers abroad, and advocating on issues of common
concern.

Private recruitment agencies in Asia have been at the forefront
in facilitating labour migration. From the Philippines alone, over
a million workers were deployed abroad in 2006, most of them
through private agencies.

The migrant remittances that result constitute one of the most
important sources of income from abroard in all nine of the
participating Asian labour sending countries.

But some recruitment agencies have faced criticism in the past
over the high placement fees that they charge to migrant
workers. 

The cooperation agreement emerged from an IOM workshop: "Placing
Workers in Europe and Ethical Recruitment." The 3-day event, held
in Manila and funded by the European Commission, ended
yesterday.

For further information, please contact:

Ricardo Casco

IOM Manila

Tel. 00-63917-812-2660

E-mail: "mailto:rcasco@iom.int">rcasco@iom.int