All project publications
International labour standards and migrant workers’ rights: A Guide for policymakers and practitioners
This ILO guide brings together the international labour standards most relevant to the protection of migrant workers’ rights. It offers practical guidance on how these standards apply throughout the migration experience, supporting rights-based...
New ILO-GCC joint report
Wage Protection Systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A regional analysis
This report, developed by the ILO in close collaboration with the GCC Executive Bureau, addresses a critical knowledge gap concerning the design and operation of Wage Protection Systems (WPS) in GCC countries. Drawing on public documentation and...
Leaflet
Project Brief: The FAIRWAY programme phase 2
The FAIRWAY Programme Phase II is a four-year interregional development cooperation initiative, supported by SDC, that aims to improve conditions for migrant workers by strengthening labour migration governance in the labour migration corridor...
Country briefs of the regulatory frameworks governing migrant workers in the Arab States
The country briefs map the key legal provisions dealing with migrant workers in eight Arab countries, summarizing the legal rules about who pays for recruitment, whether passport confiscation is prohibited by law, minimum working conditions...
Guidance Note
Guidance note: Wage protection for migrant workers
Working time and wages are the working conditions that have the most direct and tangible effect on the everyday lives of workers and employers. Wages can determine job choice, the number of hours worked, and whether or not to migrate for employment....
Skills needs in Kuwait following the Covid-19 pandemic
Based on desk research and a survey of 240 firms across multiple sectors in Kuwait, carried out from October to December 2021, the report explores how the skills needs of companies in Kuwait changed following the pandemic. Providing a...
Making decent work a reality for domestic workers in the Middle East: Progress and prospects ten years after the adoption of the Domestic...
To mark the tenth anniversary of this historic Convention and to explore the progress made over the last decade, a global report has been produced by the ILO. Recognizing the importance of the domestic work sector in Middle East, the ILO FAIRWAY...
Thematic brief
Thematic brief: Promoting internal labour market mobility in the Arab States
This thematic brief was developed to further discussions during the Africa – Arab States Interregional Tripartite Meeting on Labour Migration on 15-16 November 2021. It sets out the rationale and promising practices for promoting internal labour...
Report
Promoting fair and ethical recruitment in a digital world
This joint report by the ILO and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) explores innovative state-facilitated digital technology platforms from four different contexts, with a focus on the Employment Permit System of the Republic of...
Information Brief: Promoting balanced media reporting on migrant workers in the Arab States
This information brief looks at how Arabic-language media in Jordan and Kuwait report on migrant workers, based on media monitoring research in 2019, and suggests recommendations to strengthen the inclusion of migrant workers in the media.
Leaflet
Project Brief: The FAIRWAY programme phase 1
The FAIRWAY programme addresses underlying causes of decent work deficits at their source through national-level interventions in selected countries of origin in East, West and North Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Morocco). In the...
Policy Brief
Discussion Note for Policymakers: Interregional dialogues on migration involving countries in the Middle East and Africa
Migration from African countries to the Middle East is increasing. While Egypt continues to dominate the stock of African migrant workers in the region, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, emerging yet fragmented data...
Guidance Tool for Construction Companies in the Middle East
This Guidance Tool, developed by the ILO and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), is intended for companies operating in the construction sector in the Middle East and particularly the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Companies can use...
Brochure
10 Things you should know about Migrant Resource Centres in the Arab States
Based on the publication ‘A Mapping of Migrant Resource Centres in the Arab States’ this brief outlines global good practices in the establishment of migrant resource centres.
Infographic
Infographic: Protecting Migrant Construction Workers in the Middle East
In this exploratory paper we focus on good policies to protect migrant workers in the region, giving examples of what has ensured their protection elsewhere as well as the benefits this can bring to the sector.
Brief
Migrant workers in an irregular situation through no fault of their own: pathways and response options in the Arab States
A migrant in an irregular situation or an undocumented migrant is someone who is not authorized to enter, stay or work in the country of destination. There are many pathways to an irregular situation in the Arab States, and migrants often have...
Employer-Migrant Worker Relationships in the Middle East: Exploring scope for internal labour market mobility and fair migration
Reforming migrant worker visa-sponsorship schemes in the Middle East can benefit the economies of receiving countries as well as the migrant workers themselves.
10 Things Governments Can Do to Ensure Fair Recruitment
Ways forward in recruitment of low-skilled migrant workers in the Asia-Arab states corridor
This White Paper serves to further stimulate policy dialogue for fair migration in the countries of origin and destination in Asia the Arab States corridor