Advancing social justice, promoting decent work
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Research study on effectiveness of implementation of sub policy and National Action Plan on Return and Reintegration
This research study by the ILO Country Office for Sri Lanka and Maldives commissioned at the request of the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment of Sri Lanka, focuses on the experience of Migrant Workers and their families through their return and reintegration journey back to Sri Lanka. It includes the experiences of migrant worker returnees during the COVID 19 pandemic, a time fought with many challenges in servicing returnees for both government and civil society organisations.
Return migration refers to the return of migrant workers from a destination country to their home country. According to the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, return migrants are “persons returning to their country of citizenship after having been international migrants (whether short-term or long-term) in another country and who are intending to stay in their own country for at least a year” (UNDESA, 1998). According to the migration statistics guidelines of International Labour Organization (ILO) (2018), return international migrant workers are defined as “all current residents of the country who were previously international migrant workers in another country or countries”.
The minimum duration of labour attachment abroad required for a person to be considered a return international migrant worker relatively short, such as six months (Wickramasekara, 2019). Returnees can play an important role in facilitating the transfer of qualifications and skills to origin countries as they bring back skills, experience and entrepreneurship abilities which can help countries to rebuild better.
The analysis provides qualitative and quantitative evidence-based information on the experiences of both Migrant Workers and their family members. The efforts of duty bearers in their return and reintegration, with immediate and short to medium-term recommendations for enhanced implementation of the Sub- Policy and National Action Plan on Return and Reintegration – for action by the Government, and civil society organisations including migrant workers associations; trade unions; and employers’ is also considered in this study. Another objective of this study is to better inform any necessary updates and changes to future policies and strategies.
