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ITUC launches recruitment platform for migrant workers

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja 
10 April 2018   |   3:39 am
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has launched a new web platform to help protect migrant workers from abusive employment practices.  The web platform provides migrant workers with peer-to-peer reviews about recruitment agencies in their country of origin and destination. The Recruitment Advisor, developed by the ITUC with support from the ILO Fair Recruitment initiative,…

ITUC General Secretary, Sharan Burrow

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has launched a new web platform to help protect migrant workers from abusive employment practices. 

The web platform provides migrant workers with peer-to-peer reviews about recruitment agencies in their country of origin and destination.

The Recruitment Advisor, developed by the ITUC with support from the ILO Fair Recruitment initiative, lists thousands of agencies in Nepal, Philippines, Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries.

The platform allows workers to comment on their experiences, rate the recruitment agencies and learn about their rights. Initially available in English, Indonesian, Nepali and Tagalog, it will be further developed in more languages.

Governments provided the list of licensed agencies and a network of trade unions and civil society organizations in all target countries ensures the sustainability of the platform by reaching out to workers and speaking to them about their rights.

Public and private recruitment agencies, when appropriately regulated, play an important role in the efficient and equitable functioning of both the migration process and labour markets in countries of destination, by matching the right workers with specific labour needs and labour markets, as well as creating invaluable skills assets for countries and communities of origin when workers return home.

Ultimately Recruitment Advisor will promote recruiters who follow a fair recruitment process based on ILO General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment and will provide useful feedback to Governments regarding the practices of licensed recruitment agencies, which could be used to complement more traditional monitoring systems.

Recruitment is a critical stage when migrant workers are more vulnerable to abuse. 

Speaking on the initiative, the ITUC General Secretary, Sharan Burrow said: “Unscrupulous recruitment agencies take advantage of the lack of law enforcement by governments or because workers are simply not aware of their rights.

It is time to put power back into workers’ hands to rate the recruitment agencies and show whether their promises of jobs and wages are delivered.”

The ITUC Scribe insisted that an organized workforce cannot be enslaved, but when there is a governance failure and no law enforcement, then slavery can flourish. 

She added: “Together we will stop unscrupulous recruitment practices, we will eliminate slavery in the supply chains and we will end modern slavery.

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