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Building Blocks for the Establishment of Temporary Labour Migration Programs. 2nd RCM Workshop on Temporary Migrant Workers Programs Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana, April 28-29, 2011. Purpose.
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Building Blocks for the Establishment of Temporary Labour Migration Programs 2nd RCM Workshop on Temporary Migrant Workers Programs Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana, April 28-29, 2011
Purpose • Creating a temporary foreign worker program requires governments to work through a series of steps and to make decisions. • Establish the key questions that a country needs to address in order to structure and build a Temporary Labour Migration Program (TLMP) • Focus only on the essentials at this stage • Each question raises specific issues for the operation and management of a TLMP, but these are a next step after the initial structure is laid out
Key questions • What are the goals of a TLMP? • What are the legal rules surrounding entry for migrant workers? • What is the legal status of a migrant worker? • What worker protection mechanisms exist? • What is the role of employers? • What are the labour market needs? • How to meet labour market needs with a TLMP? • Will sending countries play a role?
What are the goals of a TLMP? • Addressing labour needs of employers and industry and support economic growth? • Protecting the domestic labour market? • Protecting the integrity of the immigration system - provide a legal avenue and protection for existing migrant movements? • Temporary or permanent programs - structural and ongoing needs?
What are the legal rules surrounding entry for migrant workers? • Options depend on existing legal system and purpose of the TLMP • Specific legislation or adding to existing laws? • Programs established under mandates of ministries or other? • Are rules “transparent”? • are they clearly spelled in law / prescriptive legislation? • Or based mostly on regulations, policies, guidelines or other more flexible mechanisms? • What is the capacity to enforce provisions? `
What is the role of employers? • Open to all employers or limited? • Sector-based, coordinated, individual? • Requirements/fees/costs on employers for hiring of temporary migrants? • Employer registries? • Monitoring and compliance frameworks?
What are the labour market needs? • High-skilled, semi-skilled, and/or lower-skilled? • Driven by employer demand or migrant workers’ arrival? • Seasonal or ongoing? • Other?
How to meet labour needs with a TLMP? • Labour market needs raise operational questions. For example: • Open to all occupations or limited? • Numbers respond to employer demand or limited? • Labour market tests / proof of need (case-by-case or open admissions)? • What skill or education levels are needed? • Same criteria for all skill levels or variations?
What is the legal status of a migrant worker? • What document is provided to migrant workers guaranteeing their status? • Do work permits open or tied to a specific employer/ occupation? • Do migrant workers have the same rights that are enjoyed by local workers? • Are migrant workers paid the same as domestic workers? • Do migrant workers pay tax? • What access do migrants workers have to domestic health and social services?
What worker protection mechanisms exist? • Same labour protections as country nationals or limited? • Awareness of protections by temporary migrants? • Access to recourse mechanisms by temporary migrants? • Role of interested parties (e.g. source country governments, international organizations, labour unions, advocacy groups)
Will sending countries play a role? • Formal or informal relationship with receiving countries? • Role in promotion and recruitment in receiving country? • Role in assisting nationals during employment abroad? • Programs for returning workers? (Development, health monitoring, etc.)
Each question and each stage of a LMTP raises its own set of questions and options • For example • Is movement solely temporary or are there pathways to permanent residence? • Will third parties and labour recruiters play a role? • Tracking, monitoring and employment information systems and sharing? • Will resources allow monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, and how will rules be enforced? • Single ministry or multiple ministries or agencies?