On line discussion
What role can international labour standards and the ILO play in the protection of migrant workers’ wages?
The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has identified non-payment of wages, delayed payment of as key modern-day wage protection issues that can also lead to debt bondage and forced labour, with migrant workers being especially vulnerable. This event presents a new ILO guidance note on the protection of wages for migrant workers.
Adequate wages and timely payment are essential for securing decent work and social justice and have perhaps the most direct and tangible effect on the everyday lives of workers. For migrant workers, in particular low-wage migrant workers, wages frequently form a vital form of income for families and communities in the form of remittances.
Yet, wage protection is a major challenge for many of the world’s workers, particularly migrant workers. The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has identified non-payment of wages, delayed payment of as key modern-day wage protection issues that can also lead to debt bondage and forced labour, with migrant workers being especially vulnerable, and debt bondage as key modern-day wage protection issues.
The ILO is launching a Guidance Note to outline the position of international labour standards on wage protection, focusing on wage-related issues faced by migrant workers. Migration is a risk factor for labour exploitation, including forced labour. Migrant workers may face discrimination, xenophobia and racism, unfair recruitment processes, and restrictions based on their migration status (including restrictions on ability to change employers, for example in sponsorship arrangements or other temporary migration schemes, see below), which can contribute to labour and wage-related abuses. The issue of non-payment of wages is one the most common forms of complaints by low-wage migrant workers and especially workers in irregular status.
Yet, wage protection is a major challenge for many of the world’s workers, particularly migrant workers. The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has identified non-payment of wages, delayed payment of as key modern-day wage protection issues that can also lead to debt bondage and forced labour, with migrant workers being especially vulnerable, and debt bondage as key modern-day wage protection issues.
The ILO is launching a Guidance Note to outline the position of international labour standards on wage protection, focusing on wage-related issues faced by migrant workers. Migration is a risk factor for labour exploitation, including forced labour. Migrant workers may face discrimination, xenophobia and racism, unfair recruitment processes, and restrictions based on their migration status (including restrictions on ability to change employers, for example in sponsorship arrangements or other temporary migration schemes, see below), which can contribute to labour and wage-related abuses. The issue of non-payment of wages is one the most common forms of complaints by low-wage migrant workers and especially workers in irregular status.
Watch recording of the event
Programme
Moderator- Ms Miriam Boudraa, Senior Programme Officer, ILO International Training Centre (ITCILO)
- Ms Michelle Leighton, Chief, ILO Labour Migration Branch
- Ms Katerine Landuyt, Technical Specialist, ILO Labour Migration Branch
- Mr Robert Hortle, Commissioner of the Victorian Wages Inspectorate, Government of Australia
- Ms Irem Arf, Migration Policy Advisor, International Trade Union Confederation
- Ms. Bassina Farbenblum, Founder, Migrant Justice Institute
- Ms Henriette McCool, Social Innovation and Human Rights Manager at VINCI
- Mr Patrick Belser, Wage Specialist, ILO Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch (INWORK)