Portada   Español  Principios y objetivos   Derechos Laborales

Ethical Perspective Missing in Migration and Development Debate

Money Matters Overshadow Need for Ensuring Workers’ Rights

A Commentary by Peter Waldorff

This document is available here for download to your publications, website or blog.

They pass us daily on the street, many on their way to low-wage jobs with no benefits. They care for our elderly parents and grandparents, they staff our hospitals and clinics and they keep our public utilities up and running. But they are denied their human rights while employers and governments benefit from their labour.

Many States fail to see the important role of migrant workers in our society. Despite the valuable contribution they make every day to providing essential services, they suffer indignities we cannot imagine, violations of basic human rights we wouldn’t tolerate:

• Racism, xenophobia and sexual harassment
• Paying excessive fees to recruitment agencies
• Victimisation by bogus employment contracts
• Seized passports by employers
• Hazardous conditions and low, substandard wages
• Prohibited from joining a union

There are about 200 million people living outside their country of birth, according to figures from the United Nations, generating more than $300 billion in remittances that flow back to their home countries. What about the social and economic impact on families, communities and gender equity in the workplace? What about fair migration laws and sustainable development policies that ensure migrant rights?

It seems everyone benefits more from the labour of migrant workers than the workers themselves. Employers in industrialised countries gain higher profits by paying lower wages and not providing benefits. Governments of destination countries are happy to fill labour market shortages through temporary and circular migration. Governments of origin countries support migration because the billions in remittances help keep their developing economies alive.

The relationship between migration and development is high on the agenda of many international organisations and governments. The topic is hotly debated and there are multiple studies, facts and statistics that highlight the need for comprehensive and coherent policies.

Public Services International is concerned that the focus of the debate emphasises the economics of migration at the expense of migrants’ rights. Though we recognise the benefit of remittances in reducing poverty levels through increased income, improved housing, and education and health care at the household level, it is deeply disturbing that remittances are increasingly being used by States as a substitute to sustainable investment in public services and the domestic economy. Instead of striving to secure and sustain their workforces, certain developing countries are exporting their workers to generate remittances as a way to development.

The absence of available and adequately funded public services and the employment opportunities they create drives people to migrate in search of a decent life and better employment prospects. Quality public services are the foundation of decent work and the key to a decent life, giving people a real choice whether or not to migrate.
Migration, when pursued as a way to development, carries with it serious social consequences for migrant workers and the families and communities they leave behind, particularly in cases when migrant workers are prevented from bringing their families with them. No amount of remittances can fill the void created by the absence of a parent nor can it alleviate the psychological and emotional stress it brings on children and family members who are left behind.

Forced economic migration also leads to the disintegration of communities. The difficulties and isolation that many migrant workers have to endure by leaving their families and communities are not factored into the migration for development debate. Women migrants are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and forced or bonded labour, yet States have failed to find an adequate response to this growing global market in women and girls.

The migration of skilled workers reflects the global inequity in the investment and distribution of scarce human resources. The failure of many rich countries to develop their own human resources in critical areas such as health and education has led them to resort to international recruitment to address staffing needs. At the same time, failed reforms and decreased spending in public services in both origin and destination countries have led to the departure of skilled workers to find other employment, or to work abroad. A combination of these trends intensifies the global shortage in the skilled workforce.

Unfortunately, the labour migration policies of industrialised countries exacerbate the brain drain in developing countries. Without serious consideration of developmental challenges and poverty levels in developing countries, States design policies that draw skilled workers from these countries while filtering out low-skilled migrants through stricter immigration controls, security measures and employment sanctions.

The bottom line: Rich States, rather than investing in quality public services, see a short term solution by poaching much needed expertise from developing countries, arguing that this promotes a win-win equation in the development cycle—an absurd notion. The fact is industrialised countries are draining the best skills from the rest of the world, especially from developing countries. This is a particularly critical situation for the seven million social and health care workers we represent.

Your voice can be part of a worldwide call for demanding rights for migrant workers in this critical debate on migration and development. We are proud to join other Global Unions calling for improved conditions and guaranteeing human rights for migrant workers. We call on our affiliates and partners across the globe to organise migrant workers; to assist migrant workers through collective bargaining and representation, and to advocate and promote the rights of migrants in public policy debates.

All workers, including migrants, deserve protection from exploitation. Concerned people should continue to:

• Promote the rights of all workers, particularly women in health and social care
• Organise women migrant health and social care workers into unions to protect their rights
• Strengthen cooperation between unions and States through goal-oriented dialogue
• Advocate for ethical recruitment practices
• Lobby for increased spending for quality public services as a way to achieve sustainable development

Let’s confront this issue head-on. We’ve seen too much pain but we must continue to create bold solutions. We’ve felt too much frustration but we must stand firm when debating the issue with government officials and heads of state. We’ve advocated change but seen migration policy increasingly become a function of the labour market, without due regard to human and labour rights. We’ve seen enough. It’s time to act.

About the writer: Peter Waldorff, a prominent trade unionist from Denmark, is General Secretary of Public Services International, a global federation of public sector trade unions headquartered in France that represents 20 million public sector workers.

Related Files