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Bilateral Labour Mobility Agreements

Bilateral Labour Mobility Agreements. Georges Lemaitre OECD 4 October 2004. Bilateral agreements. Montreux Conference June 2003 Organised by Swiss Federal Office of Immigration, Integration and Emigration and OECD Overview of labour recruitment practices

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Bilateral Labour Mobility Agreements

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  1. Bilateral Labour Mobility Agreements Georges Lemaitre OECD 4 October 2004

  2. Bilateral agreements • Montreux Conference June 2003 Organised by Swiss Federal Office of Immigration, Integration and Emigration and OECD • Overview of labour recruitment practices • Implementation within certain sectors • Viewpoint of sending countries, employers and social partners • Other forms of recruitment

  3. Outline of presentation • A typology of agreements / workers covered • Objectives of agreements • General characteristics of agreements • Implementation - administrative procedures • Recruitment methods • Ensuring returns • Outcomes

  4. A typology of agreements / workers covered • Guest workers • Seasonal workers • Cross-border workers • Contract / project-linked workers • Trainees • Working holidaymakers

  5. (Varying) Objectives • Receiving countries • Create cross-border regional labour markets • Offset labour shortages • Promoting cultural / political ties and exchanges • Encourage co-operation in managing migration • Sending countries • Create cross-border regional labour markets • Ensure protection of workers’ rights • Employ surplus labour • Enhance welfare (remittances) • Obtain foreign exchange

  6. Some general characteristics • Relatively common (150+ in OECD) but numbers of workers covered generally small, except for neighbouring countries • Accord privileged access to labour market for specific nationalities • Generally concern low-skilled jobs or workers, with age limits • Limited by quotas

  7. Implementation - administrative procedures • Promotion / advertising of programme • Recruitment, testing and certification of applicants • Information sharing among administrations, intermediaries, employers, migrants • Efficient travel logistics • Joint review committee Desire to manage process tends to result in additional procedures and restrictions.

  8. Recruitment methods • Private agencies (in both sending and receiving countries) • Simple matching function • Comprehensive hiring package • Public administrations • Recruitment services by receiving countries abroad • Screening of migrants by sending countries • Migrant networks

  9. Ensuring returns • Through • Involvement of all interested parties (public administrations, intermediaries, employers, workers) • Possibility of subsequent assignment for worker • Possibility of subsequent rehiring for employer • Focus on jobs /assignments which are by nature temporary

  10. Outcomes • Participants happy but limited entries a problem • Language proficiency an issue => intermediaries • Agreements work best when labour needs are by definition temporary • Best managed schemes are those that are less bureaucratic

  11. Publication Migration for Employment Bilateral Agreements at a Crossroads OECD / IMES (Forthcoming December 2004) English and French

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