Labour migration
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Labour migration

The lack of decent employment opportunities has led many to seek employment abroad. Some of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are among those most affected by both internal and external migration . The ILO estimates, for example, that 40 per cent of the Albanian workforce is working abroad, and that a quarter of the economically active population of the Republic of Moldova is working outside the country. As foreign workers are often employed in precarious work situations and are among the first to be laid off, this has aggravated the unemployment situation in the region following the crisis.
 
The ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Central and Eastern Europe provides assistance in forging national policies and resources to better manage labour migration so that it contributes positively to the growth and development of both home and host societies, as well as to the well-being of migrants themselves in the Central and Eastern European region. The ILO emphasizes the need to protect migrants’ labour rights in host countries. The team also helps to build the capacity of labour market institutions, including the social partners, on the design, monitor and evaluation of active labour market policies targeting migrant workers.

Highlights

  1. Video

    Fighting Human Trafficking in Moldova
    December 18, 2008

    Living in a poor rural area of Moldova, 17-year old Maria grabbed the chance for a better life when a family friend promised her lucrative work abroad. Instead she found herself doing forced labour on a farm in Russia, with no passport or money to get back home. Breaking this cycle of human trafficking will involve improving decent work prospects for Moldavians at home, as ILO TV reports.

  2. Article

    From high fashion ‘alta moda’ to dress-making in Ukraine
    December 17, 2008

    At 16 per cent, the region of Chernivtsi in Ukraine has the highest unemployment rate in the country and the lowest number of women employed. This is why the region was chosen for an ILO project, funded by Development Cooperation Ireland, that addresses the root causes of labour migration and tries to stem irregular migration and trafficking through training, job placement and entrepreneurial activities. ILO Online reports from Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

What's new

  1. New EU-ILO programme to help Ukrainian and Moldovan migrant workers

    01 March 2011

    A new technical cooperation project started in Ukraine and Moldova on 1 March 2011 with funding by the European Union to support these countries to develop and effectively implement rights-based migration policies and programmes, in line with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) international labour standards and the principles and guidelines of the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration.

  2. Trafficking of people and forced labour in Central and Eastern Europe

    01 January 2009

    Until recently, the spotlight throughout Europe has been on forced labour involving undocumented workers or those who have not migrated through regular channels. However, trafficking for labour exploitation, including forced labour, is now moving up the agenda of policy-makers as more evidence of its existence comes to light. The ILO report on forced labour - The Cost of Coercion - reviews the situation in Central and Eastern Europe

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