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February 24, 2023
February 24, 2023

Ms. Fatou NDIAYE – Chief of Mission; International Organization for Migration(IOM) Accra, Benin and Togo speaking on Fair & Ethical Recruitment of International Labour through Safe and Well-Managed Migration organized by IMPRAC on 31st January 2023

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In her opening remarks, Ms. Fatou Ndiaye the Chief of Mission of the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) in Ghana acknowledged that Labour recruiters play an important role in
matching job seekers with employment. She also noted that various research by IOM has
revealed many instances of unethical recruitment and abuse of migrants’ rights. Ms. Ndiaye
referred to a study conducted by the IOM in 2019 on “Protecting Vulnerable Migrants in West
and Central Africa” which was financed by the Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migrants
(PRM) of the Department of State of the United States Government on the situation of the
migration of Ghanaian domestic migrant workers to the Middle East, which revealed that women
were persistently victims of sexual exploitation and abuse in the migration for work industry.
The study also shows that out of the total respondents for the study, 31 per cent of women
reported denial of food compared with 25 per cent of their male counterparts. Further others
report of abuses related to canning, sexual assault and extra unpaid task within the Ghanaian
migrant workers population in the Middle East.

In response to the challenges of unethical recruitment and the abuse of migrant rights, IOM is
supporting the development of policies, legislation and administrative structures to promote
efficient, effective and transparent Labour migration flows, facilitating recruitment of workers,
promoting integration of Labour migrants at the new work place and society, promoting IRIS
ethical recruitment standards as well as supporting the Government of Ghana in developing the
National Labour Migration Policy and its implementation through the National Plan of Action in
collaboration with the ILO and other UN sister Agencies to promote ethical recruitment and
protection of migrant workers.

In her concluding remark, she applauded the International Migration Policy, Recruitment &
Advisory Centre (IMPRAC) for the remarkable work to ensure fair and ethical recruitment and
pledged IOM support for safe and well-managed migration for decent work abroad within the
framework of the objectives of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM).

February 24, 2023
February 24, 2023

Dr. Mary Chinery-Hesse, Chair-Board of Directors(IMPRAC), Chancellor;University of Ghana,Legon & former Deputy Director General of the International Labour Organization(ILO) speaking on the Fair & Ethical Recruitment of International Labour through Safe and Well managed Migration Forum organized by IMPRAC on 31st January,2023

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As a former Deputy Director General of the International Labour Office (ILO), the issue of Fair and Ethical Recruitment of International Labour and the whole issue of labour mobility is undoubtedly very close to my heart; especially, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is a United Nations multilateral treaty governing the protection of migrant workers and families. Labour mobility and its direct contribution to national labour market needs and economy are key pillars within the continental integrative agenda of Africa. 
 

Migrant workers are often exploited during the recruitment and deployment phases of the migration cycle by labour brokers or recruiters that charge excessive fees, provide misleading information about the job offer and exploit aspirant migrant workers through false promises and coercion. This exploitation is often discovered during employment audits or labour inspection in countries of work, when the damage has already been done and requires remediation by employers or governments.

 

It is therefore important for governments to domesticate the ILO Convention 143 concerning Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of Migrant Workers. Each Member for which this Convention is in force undertakes to respect the basic human rights of all migrant workers.
 
When lacking financial and material resources, some migrants are often forced to take on crippling debts in order to migrate, or they may fall prey to unscrupulous recruiters offering them jobs abroad that do not exist. They may have to use perilous means of transportation to reach their destination. Some will have to turn to facilitated movement including engaging the services of smugglers, and some may fall prey to human traffickers.
 

Conclusion:

To Conclude, I would like to make a few recommendations for consideration by this august Forum;

  •  Firstly, it is important for governments to domesticate all the relevant ILO Conventions on the rights of migrant workers and their families in all its aspects;
  •  We need to provide policy guidelines and legal frameworks to facilitate the remittance transfers by migrant workers to their families or countries of origin;
  •  Employers should provide the necessary conditions to ensure decent work including provision of reception facilities and means to facilitate contact their families back home as living abroad can be lonely and sometimes depressing.
  • Given the important contribution to the economies of their home countries, I would urge the government to put in place the relevant mechanism to ensure Fair and Ethical recruitment of Ghanaian for work Abroad and to review some of the Foreign Recruitment Processes by Private Employment Agencies.

 

IMPRAC which is headed by a distinguished Ghanaian with over 30 years of experience with the UN Migration Agency – IOM, providing both policy and operational support and assistance to governments and migrants is willing and readily available to provide the required support to the government, migrants and Ghanaians willing to travel abroad for work.

 Finally, I would urge the organizers to ensure that the outcome of this meeting is operationalized to influence and contribute to the policy debate on Fair and Ethical Recruitment of Ghanaians for descent work abroad.

February 24, 2023
February 24, 2023

Amb. Charles Abani – UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC),Republic of Ghana speaking on Fair and Ethical Recruitment of International Labour through Safe and Well-managed Migration on the Forum Organized by IMPRAC on 31st January, 2023 at Holiday Inn, Accra Airport

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The growing pace of economic globalization has created more migrant workers than ever before, with 281 million people living outside their country in 2020 alone. That’s 3.6% of the world’s population. Indeed, 2019 saw a total of 970,600 persons depart Ghana, with majority headed to Nigeria, the USA, the UK and Cote d’Ivoire. With the COVID-19 pandemic and global crises impacting economic stability, these numbers are set to only rise further.

However, the lack of integrity in the International Recruitment process is leading to the exploitation of migrant workers either during recruitment or the deployment phase of the migration cycle by unscrupulous labour brokers, impacting their human rights.

For this purpose, there is a need to address the issue of unethical migrant worker recruitment in order to reduce risk and vulnerabilities. Migrant workers are empowered to contribute to development when there is transparency in the recruitment process, due diligence, and practices that uphold UN conventions that promote migrant workers rights. To that end, allow me to present some of the UN initiatives in Ghana that are addressing these challenges:

  • Through the cooperation framework, the UN has committed to supporting the implementation of the National Labour Migration Policy(2020-2024) and it’s plan of action.
  • Furthermore, to promote ethical recruitment and the protection of labour migrants, the UN has supported the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to develop a standard bilateral labour agreement(BLA) and model employment contacts to inform country-to-country labour exchange. The model BLA allows the GoG to enter into Labour Agreements with other countries upholding International Laws and conventions on the protection of migrant works.
  • Finally, through south-south cooperation, the UN, through IOM, has facilitated bilateral exchanges between the Government of Ghana and the Government of Mauritius, as part of the process of implementing the Ghana-Mauritius Permanent Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation. To this end, the bilateral labour agreement has been submitted by the Government of Mauritius for consideration by the Government of Ghana and Seychelles to facilitate bilateral labour exchange facilitated in 2019.

Considerable efforts are underway to improve fair and ethical recruitment. The Government promulgated legislative instruments to govern the recruitment of domestic workers.

I would like to express my gratitude once again to all of you and especially IMPRAC for putting this excellent event together.