Social protection:
Migrant labour

The products of the construction industry are fixed in space, so production takes place on a project-by-project basis with the production site constantly moving. This implies that the labour force has also to be mobile. An ILO Issues and Policy brief, Migrant labour in the construction industry, (pdf, 7kb) September 2007, looks at the incidence of migrant labour in the sector.

A tripartite meeting was convened by the ILO in Geneva in March 1996 to discuss 'social and labour issues concerning migrant workers in the construction industry'. The meeting concluded that some countries will continue to rely on foreign workers to fill jobs in construction. Measures should therefore be taken to provide for their legal admission and ensure that they have adequate protection in accordance with ILO and United Nations Conventions.

Useful links/resources

• ILO International Labour Migration Branch