Roundtable with trade unions from origin and destination countries on promoting decent work for migrant care workers

The International Labour Organization (ILO), through its Migrant Care Project and with support from GIZ's Migration for Development and Economic Growth (MEG) programme, organized a Trade Union Roundtable on Promoting Decent Work for Migrant Care Workers in Hyderabad on 23 July 2026.

Held following the National Training Workshop on Pre-departure Orientation (PDO) for Indian health and care workers migrating to Germany, the roundtable brought together trade union representatives from countries of origin and destination, as representatives form global, regional, central and state level trade unions and workers organisations actively discussed challenges and way forward to strengthen social dialogue and cross border collaboration on labour migration governance and worker protection.

The roundtable was initiated by opening remarks by Yuki Otsuji, ACTRAV Specialist, ILO DWT South Asia and Neha Wadhawan, National Project Coordinator of the Migrant Care Project, provided the contextual overview for the discussions.

The discussions focused on strengthening coordination among trade unions to promote decent work for migrant care workers. Representatives from Indian Central Trade Unions, Public Services International (PSI), the South Asian Regional Trade Union Council (SARTUC), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) exchanged experiences and recommendations on recruitment practices, workers’ rights, social protection, and support services for migrant workers.

The roundtable concluded with discussions on a proposed joint statement and future cooperation between trade unions in origin and destination countries to advance the decent work agenda with skilled and fair labour migration pathways, stronger protection and grievance redressal mechanisms for migrant care workers.