"Towards a Global Social Contract on Migration and Development", 28-30 June 2017, Berlin
ILO Director-General Guy Ryder’s opening speech to the Tenth GFMD Summit Meeting
Co-Chairs, Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentleman,
As this Forum gathers in Berlin and marks its tenth anniversary, I think we are all conscious that the international community stands at a critical moment – [IOM DG] Bill Swing has just described it as a rendezvous with history – in its attempts and its efforts to chart the future governance of migration and human mobility. I think we are all conscious as well that our collective work over the next year to frame the first Global Compact on Migration will go a very long way to determine whether in, let’s say 5 years or 10 years in the future, we will be seen to have made a real difference in the lives of those who arrive at our frontiers seeking safety, seeking security, or simply a livelihood. And I think that this will determine whether or not we will make a reality of this notion of a global social contract.
Co-Chair, as you have just said, most of the mobility that is taking place today is directly or indirectly linked to the search for a decent job, for decent work. As you’ve just heard, 150 million, that’s 74 per cent, of all working age migrants are in the labour force, and this in the context of global unemployment which may reach 200 million this year. And I think it’s a fair assumption that the migration trends that we see now will continue into the future. And if we are to foster the benefits of these movements for all concerned, then our policy choices matter greatly.
Quite properly, we will be held to account in the future, not on the small steps we might be able to agree but on whether we could have done much more. Did we succeed in finding ways to improve the lives and working conditions of women and men migrant workers, and of our youth? Were we able to fix governance structures which we know to be badly defective? Will we be able to foster a fair sharing of prosperity for all in our societies? And did we contribute to removing the toxicity which surrounds too frequently the public debate on migration? The fact is that we need to act now if we are able to give adequate responses to those who put those questions in the future.
This Forum is a vehicle, and an important vehicle, that can help us to shape our responses. The deliberations on the future of this Forum, its relationship with the United Nations system, I think take on particular urgency and pertinence this year. And they allow us also to reexamine how we can maximize the contribution of all stakeholders to this Forum. Let me say that the ILO is encouraged in this regard to see the evolution of the Business Mechanism in your discussions.
At the ILO we know from our own experience – nearly 100 years of experience – as a tripartite body that the contributions not just of business, but also of those representing labour, together with governments, can help identify the right policy mix to stimulate labour market productivity and integration, and help to bridge public support.
Ladies and gentleman, two weeks ago, that tripartite constituency of the ILO from some 170 countries came together at our annual Conference and had a major debate on labour migration. And it was an encouraging debate because it produced a consensus on what is lacking and what is needed to more fairly and more effectively govern migration. I think that these conclusions can help give direction not only to ILO’s future work, but also help perhaps inform the formulation of the Global Compact, the future work of this Forum, and of course our joint implementation of the migration-related Sustainable Development Goals.
Let me just pick out for you four messages from that debate which I think may be useful to you.
There was a very clear message that labour migration can yield many positive benefits for all, when it is well-governed. This is not illusion, this is not utopia, this is entirely possible. But at the same time, policies which are not firmly grounded in respect of human rights, including labour standards, present high risks and costs for migrant workers, for businesses and for the countries concerned. They also run the risk of reducing the status of migrant labour to that of a commodity. And so policies linked to employment can help foster the right balance between meeting labour market needs and ensuring migrant worker rights are protected in but also out of the workplace.
The second message. Experience tells us that quite frankly we’ve not reached this proper balance. Major gaps remain in a number of areas and they require our urgent attention. One of these is the elimination of the high costs and recruitment fees paid by migrant workers. These can amount to a year’s salary of such a worker, they can lead those workers into situations of forced labour and they can promote the phenomenon of trafficking. And by the way this has motivated the ILO’s recent adoption of Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment. I believe we need to work together now on these issues.
The third message is quite honestly that we’re also not utilizing the full potential offered by migrant workers if we do not recognize their skills and their experience. There are opportunities to extend cooperation across migration corridors to build skills recognition mechanisms, and this would help business productivity but also offer potential for opening up more regular migration channels.
The last message is that our Conference Discussion highlighted very clearly the broad benefits of social dialogue between governments, employers and workers. It is difficult to imagine the global social contract without the participation of the global social actors – it doesn’t make sense.
Lastly, if I may Co-Chair, you’ve put us all together on this panel today – David [Malone], Filippo [Grandi], Bill [Swing], Louise [Arbour] and myself – and I think it’s a subtle message which I think we are picking up, that you expect us to work together coherently in the international system to back the work of this Forum, to get the Global Compact into place, and to get this global social contract working.
Thank you so much.