Advancing Fair and Safe Labour Migration

Background

Labour migration is a strategic pillar of Pakistan’s economy, with over 9 million Pakistanis working abroad. Weak regulation of recruitment processes, high migration costs, and limited institutional coordination continue to expose workers to exploitation and irregular migration. Women remain severely underrepresented (at around 0.4 percent), reflecting structural barriers and limited access to safe, skills-based migration pathways.

The project will support the implementation of the National Emigration and Welfare Policy 2024 by strengthening legal and policy frameworks in line with international labour standards. It will enhance institutional capacity and coordination to promote fair and ethical recruitment and improve oversight of recruitment agencies. The project will also expand safe, skills-based and gender-responsive migration pathways, with a particular focus on increasing women’s participation and reducing exploitation and irregular migration.

Objective

The objective of the project is to create safe, legal, and inclusive migration pathways for Pakistani workers by strengthening governance, aligning recruitment and migration practices with international labour standards, and enhancing stakeholder capacity to ensure fair recruitment, protection, and welfare, focusing on women and marginalized groups.

Expected Outcome

The intervention will focus on the following two outcomes of support:

• Strengthened legal and policy frameworks, that promote fair and ethical recruitment and safe migration standards.
• Improved migration governance through enhanced institutional and stakeholder capacity, increased awareness, and strengthened collaboration to promote fair and ethical recruitment practices and safe migration pathways.

Partners

Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MoPHRD), Provincial Labour Departments, Employers’ and Workers’ Organizations.

Target Beneficiaries

Individual migrant workers, returnee migrant workers, women migrant workers, government officials, recruitment agencies, trade unions and employers.

Geographical Focus

Pakistan

For further information please contact
Sadia Hameed
Project Coordinator
Email: [email protected]