The economic and social policy issues raised by labour migration cut across practically all spheres of the normative and technical activities of the International Labour Organization.

The search for employment and socio-economic security is the principal motive for the migration of workers, which gives rise to important employment policy issues in both origin and destination countries. The social protection of all workers, including migrant workers, is a the core of the ILO’s work, whether it is to protect workers against forced labour and against discrimination, provide them with social security coverage, reduce poverty and create decent jobs, create more and better jobs for women, combat trafficking and stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The normative function of the ILO is one of its major means of action. Since its establishment in 1919, the tripartite members of the ILO have adopted 186 international labour conventions and a greater number of international labour recommendations, which together constitute international labour standards. All international standards apply to migrant workers unless otherwise specified.

Two conventions specifically bear on migrant workers. These are Convention No.97 on Migration for Employment (Revised), 1949 and Convention No.143 on Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions), 1975. The provisions of the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) focus on the standards applicable in the recruitment of migrants for employment and their conditions of work. The Migrant Workers (supplementary provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) includes the issues of irregular migrants and calls for sanctions against traffickers and reiterates that member States have a general obligation to respect the basic human rights of all migrant workers. Convention 143 also provides that migrant workers should not only be entitled to equal treatment, but also to equality of opportunity, i.e. equality with regard to access to employment, trade union rights, cultural rights and individual and collective freedoms. The aim of C.143 is not to facilitate the movement of surplus labour. Rather, the objective is to bring migration flows under control and hence to eliminate “illegal migration” and suppress the activities of those who seek to organize “clandestine movements” of migrant workers.

According to the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its follow-up, all ILO member states have an obligation to respect, to promote and to realize in good faith and in accordance with the Constitution, provisions of the eight conventions falling in the four categories of fundamental principles and rights at work: freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; effective abolition of child labour; and elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. The provisions of the eight fundamental conventions apply, without distinction, to all migrant workers regardless of their legal status or the duration of their stay (temporary or permanent) in the host countries.

In the Asian region, the ILO has been providing support in the form of policy advice and technical cooperation projects to governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations. They include:
§ Advisory services on expansion of overseas employment;
§ Capacity building of overseas employment administration, for example regarding new legislation regarding migrant workers;
§ Establishment of regular channels for admission of foreign workers: for example on the regularization of migrant workers in irregular status and the implementation of MOUs with neighbouring countries;
§ Protection of migrant workers, such as domestic workers from , and the and trafficked persons from the Mekong Sub-region and ; and
§ Policy advice, such as through a project on “Enhancing national capacity on migration management in , Lao PDR, and ”; and an ILO-IOM project on migration policy development in .

It has also been conducting a number of major action programmes, a high profile one being the Mekong Subregional Project to Combat Trafficking in Children and Women. In a subregion where the campaign against human trafficking is largely centred on law enforcement and legal frameworks, the Mekong Project’s emphasis on prevention strategies and on alternative decent employment in origin communities is gaining policy acceptance and increased national ownership.

The ILO has focused special attention on migrant domestic workers who tend to be among the most vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation and abuse and who also represent one of the most important categories of migrant workers in the region. To raise awareness of their vulnerability and disseminate knowledge of good practices to promote decent employment, the ILO has been conducting advocacy and capacity building workshops that target public and private recruitment agencies, the (potential) migrant domestic workers and their families and local communities in both sending and receiving countries. A subregional project on Mobilizing Action for the Protection of Domestic Workers from Trafficking and Forced Labour covers the sending countries of and the and the receiving countries of , and (SAR, ).

In the wake of the tsunami disaster in southern , the ILO has taken a leadership role within the UN country team on advocacy and support to help migrant workers in the affected provinces re-establish registration documentation and regain productive employment. Together with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), the ILO has assisted migrant workers, mostly from , to facilitate with re-registration and other administrative tasks that the migrant workers have to do as a prior step to gaining employment. The ILO has also adjusted ongoing work on labour migration to take into account the lessons learnt through the experience of responding to the tsunami disaster on migration policy.

Labour migration was given prominence in a general discussion at the 92^nd Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 2004. The ILC unanimously adopted a resolution and conclusions that called on the ILO and its constituents to carry out a plan of action for migrant workers that should include:
§ Development of a non-binding multilateral framework for a rights-based approach to labour migration which takes account of labour market needs, proposing guidelines and principles for policies based on best practices and international standards;
§ Identification of relevant action to be taken for a wider application of international labour standards and other relevant instruments;
§ Support for implementation of the ILO Global Employment Agenda at national level;
§ Capacity building, awareness raising and technical assistance;
§ Promoting and strengthening social dialogue on migration; and
§ Improving the information and knowledge base on global trends in labour migration, conditions of migrant workers and effective measures to protect their rights.

Proposals for a plan of action for labour migration in this region will be discussed at the ILO 14^th Asian Regional Meeting (ARM), scheduled to take place in 2006. The proposals include actions and activities related to:
§ Assessment of labour supply and demand in the region as a rational basis for decisions on future migration;
§ Regional networking for the management of labour migration, including arrangements for a skills qualifications system;
§ Asian code of practice for the protection of migrant workers; and
§ Code of practice for Asian recruitment agencies.

The 14^th ARM will provide the opportunity for both sending and receiving countries in to consult with each other at tripartite levels and to arrive at practical solutions for promoting decent work for migrant workers.