News and statements on labour migration (Labour migration)

Edging closer to justice: The journey of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon

15 August 2014

One migrant domestic worker in Lebanon decided to fight the “kafala” system and escape her employers. She took her case to a Lebanese court, and, seven years on, has been rewarded by achieving a measure of justice, a feat that would have seemed impossible to achieve a mere decade ago.

Can you speak Italian?

02 July 2014

Italian companies are increasingly turning to Albanian migrant workers who are going back home to work at their call centres. An EU-funded ILO project is helping employment centres in Albania to modernize and to assist migrant workers looking for a new job.

Syrian refugee children at work… and in a play

25 June 2014

Abject poverty is forcing many Syrian refugee families to send their children to work. In Lebanon, host to over a million refugees from Syria, current and former child labourers held a musical and theatrical performance to mark World Day against Child Labour.

Needs of Ukrainian Migrant Domestic Workers Discussed at the National Conference in Ukraine

24 June 2014

60 participants, among which representatives of government, workers’ and employers’ organizations, academic community, civil society and UN agencies, participated in the conference on Effective Governance of Labour Migration and its Skills Dimensions. Presentation of the Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers and their families (GAP-MDW) generated a constructive dialogue on rights and integration of returnee migrants into the Ukrainian society.

Domestic work, Work like any other

16 June 2014

The well-publicised case of the abused Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih placed a spotlight on the plight of a vulnerable and often invisible population, migrant domestic workers. Yoshiteru Uramoto, ILO's Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, explains how we can contribute to end this plight, relying on international labour standards.

Ryder: We’ve endorsed an “agenda that really matters”

12 June 2014

World parliament of labour offers hope to millions of victims of forced labour, discusses migration, ways out of informality and overcoming mass unemployment.

ILO adopts new Protocol to tackle modern forms of forced labour

11 June 2014

A new legally binding ILO Protocol on Forced Labour aims to advance prevention, protection and compensation measures, as well as to intensify efforts to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery.

Jordanian Prime Minister calls for increased international assistance in dealing with Syrian Crisis

09 June 2014

The Syrian refugee crisis has stretched public finances and strained the capacity of Jordan's civil services to cope, the Jordanian Prime Minister told delegates to the ILC on Monday. Abdullah Ensour also outlined the serious impact the crisis has had on the Jordanian labour market.

Ryder: Migration poses major policy challenges

28 May 2014

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder calls for fair migration policies and stronger measures against forced labour at the opening of the 103rd session of the International Labour Conference.

ILO Director-General’s opening remarks to the International Labour Conference