The Tripartite Action to Protect the Rights of Migrant Workers within and from the Greater Mekong Sub-region

The project aims to strengthen the formulation and implementation of recruitment and labour protection policies and practices, to ensure safer migration resulting in decent work. The project engages the tripartite constituents in all of its objectives – strengthening policy and legislation, building capacity of stakeholders and providing services to migrant workers.

These goals are interdependent, with policy advocacy and capacity building activities driven by the voices, needs and experiences of workers, employers and service providers.
This is part of an ILO Regional Project that also covers Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam funded by Australia.

Objectives

  1. Migrant recruitment and labour protection policies strengthened, reflecting international standards and good practices, the interests of tripartite constituents and migrant workers and gender specific concerns
  2. Capacity of tripartite constituents and stakeholders enhanced to close the gap between intention and implementation of national policy, bilateral agreements and regional commitments related to the recruitment and protection of men and women migrant workers
  3. The rights of women and men migrants and potential migrants are protected through increased access to support services

Outputs

  1. Baseline survey in 3 target sites
  2. Written analysis of national legislation to assist in reviewing Overseas Employment Act and emigration procedures
  3. Informed discussions in parliament on migration
  4. Review and consultations on the MOUs Between Thailand and Myanmar on Cooperation in the  Employment  of Workers (2003); standard employment contracts and recruitment fees
  5. Operations Manuals for use in the Migrant Resource Centres
  6. Better cross country coordination of different stakeholders to respond to needs and cases of migrant workers, particularly between Myanmar and Thailand and Malaysia.
  7. Myanmar labour attaches competent to provide services to Myanmar migrants
  8. Regional and state officials fully informed on legal and policy framework and able to provide assistance
  9. Pre Departure Curriculums  developed and adopted for use in official pre-departure trainings for migrants
  10. Labour organisations and CSOs capacity built in relation to migrant issues
  11. Mechanisms developed and promoted, including a Code of Conduct,  to improve regulation, transparency and accountability in the recruitment process for women and men migrants
  12. Women and men migrants and potential migrants are empowered through increased access to information, legal and other support services

Expected outcome

It is envisaged that the project will be able to contribute to reducing labour exploitation by strengthening regional policies and capacities related to the recruitment and labour protection of women and men migrants. At the end of the project, it is expected that migrant recruitment and labour protection policies better reflect the interests of tripartite constituents and gender-specific concerns, capacities of tripartite constituents are enhanced to close the gap between intention and implementation of national policy, bilateral agreements and regional commitments related to the recruitment and protection of women and men migrant workers and the rights of women and men migrants and potential migrants are protected through increased access to support services.