The Mekong challenge - An honest broker: improving cross-border recruitment practices for the benefit of Government, Workers and Employers

Examines the laws and policies on migrant recruitment and to analyze the experiences of both formal and informal migrants.

Each year, many workers leave Lao PDR and Cambodia to seek new opportunities for themselves and their families in Thailand. Migration has the potential to bring many benefits to the individuals, economies and societies of both source and destination countries. However, the reality of migrants’ experiences does not always accord with their expectations; they can find themselves in situations of leveraged debt, in jobs that do not match recruiters’ promises, working in exploitative workplaces and not knowing enough about their rights.

The governments of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand have been working together to control the flow of immigrants into Thailand and have established a system of formal recruitment. In a country where the long land borders mean that it is easy for migrants to cross the border without proper documentation, it is important for recruitment agencies to provide an affordable, efficient and effective service, otherwise migrants may continue to cross frontiers informally. Since recruiters began bringing Laotian and Cambodian workers to Thailand through formal channels in 2006, recruitment processes have been developing and practices have been improving. However, recruiters are still not able to meet Thai employers’ demand for workers in a timeframe that meets their needs. Many migrants have also experienced disappointment with the services provided by the formal recruitment agencies.

In this context, the ILO commissioned this three-country research report to examine the laws and policies on migrant recruitment and to analyze the experiences of both formal and informal migrants. We hope the information presented in this report, and its recommendations, can form the basis of an informed dialogue about ways in which to improve policy and practice in the recruitment of migrant workers.