Photos and videos on labour migration

December 2013

  1. 2013: The world of work in pictures

    20 December 2013

    From disaster recovery, to rising unemployment and the protection of workers across the globe, ILO News looks back at the most memorable events and images from the World of Work in 2013.

November 2013

  1. Skills mismatch and austerity measures encourage emigration - Metka Hercog discusses with Croatian National Television

    06 November 2013

    During an interview with Croatian National Television, ILO's Metka Hercog discussed the recent increase in European youth unemployment and related migration flows, and how affected countries like Croatia should respond. Despite expectations that migration would stall, the crisis deeply changed the distribution of, but did not inhibit, migration flows. Countries which before the crisis received many immigrants are now turning into major sending countries. High unemployment and related emigration continue to shrink these countries' labour force, particularly among youth. Current austerity measures are one of the main reasons for high youth unemployment and an upsurge of emigration. Croatia, which is facing increased outflows of young skilled people, would benefit from rolling back the existing and announced austerity measures. Public investments in Croatia should aim for job creation at all skill levels. At the same time, ILO urges investment in training and education of young people to improve their employability and access to the labour market.

October 2013

  1. Migrant worker resource centres in Viet Nam

    29 October 2013

    Migrant worker resource centres (MRCs) in Viet Nam provide a variety of services to potential migrant workers and their families. Through the support of the GMS TRIANGLE project, MRCs have been incorporated into five Employment Service Centres in provinces that send high numbers of migrant workers. This video shows three young people navigating their way through regular migration channels, receiving recruitment agency pre-departure training and visiting the MRC for information.

  2. ILO Director-General Guy Ryder calls for more regular migration channels in the EU

    21 October 2013

    ILO Director-General Guy Ryder addressed a conference of the European Commission on EU labour law in a video message. Recalling the recent Lampedusa tragedy, he advocated joint efforts of the European Union, the ILO, governments, workers' and employers' organizations to create more regular migration channels.

  3. Labour problems in Qatar "eminently fixable" says ILO

    03 October 2013

    ILO Director General Guy Ryder discussed accusations of forced labour and other labour violations on Qatar's World Cup and other construction sites, saying that while there had been progress to address these issues on paper, implementation is the major problem but an "eminently fixable" one. He went on to say that Qatar has the resources to do the job and that the necessary political will needs to be applied on all sides before more lives are lost on construction sites.

  4. Making decent work a reality for migrant workers

    01 October 2013

    Decent work and the search for jobs lie at the heart of international migration and development debates. Migrant workers should have access to the same rights and protections as national workers, but often end up in situations of exploitation and abuse at work. They often work for poor wages, with little to no social protection and are often the subject of labour market discrimination. During and beyond the 2013 UN General Assembly High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, the ILO will continue to promote effectively operating labour markets offering decent work to all workers, including migrants

  5. Collective Bargaining In Jordan's Ready Made Garment Sector

    01 October 2013

    A collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between two apparel employers associations and Jordan’s garment union was signed in May 2013, in an unprecedented step to strengthen their partnership, promote social dialogue and improve the working conditions of some 40,000 workers in the sector.

May 2013

  1. In the Philippines, decent and productive jobs need to be created, urges the ILO

    21 May 2013

    Al Jazeera English reports from a small town in Batangas, Philippines called "little Italy" where most of its inhabitants have found work abroad. The remittances they have sent back changed its face from a village of coconut trees to Italian-style villas. However, the absence of these migrant workers comes at a cost to their children who have been left behind. Director Lawrence Jeff Johnson of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines talks to Al Jazeera English about migration as a choice and the importance of decent and productive work.

April 2013

  1. Tricked and Trapped in Forced Labour

    12 April 2013

    ILO estimates 600,000 forced labour victims in the Middle East

January 2013

  1. Trade Unions Help Migrant Workers Realise Labour Rights in Thailand

    24 January 2013

    Four people from Myanmar, living in Thailand, meet the ILO Director General, Mr. Guy Ryder and tell their personal stories about vulnerability and hardship as migrant workers. Thai trade unions, the ILO and a Burmese support group in Thailand are working together to ensure these and other migrant workers can enjoy the same labour rights as Thai workers. The ILO's TRIANGLE project has set up a series of Migrant Worker Resource Centres in Thailand and five other countries of Southeast Asia, supported by AusAID. The video contains some graphic imagery of a young worker's injured hand.