Employer delegates attending an International Labor Organization meeting in Geneva last week on labor migration called on the ILO to support a broad-based approach to migration that takes into account labor market needs.
The meeting was attended by experts from each of the ILO’s tripartite constituencies – governments, employers’ organizations and trade unions – who were joined by observers from UN agencies and international bodies including the International Organization for Migration. Employer representation in the ILO is organized via the International Organization of Employers.
Among the issues on the agenda was follow-up to last month’s UN High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development and ongoing work on a Post-2015 Development Agenda, in particular challenges and opportunities for the ILO. The meeting also addressed the effective protection of migrant workers, sound labor market needs assessment and skills recognition, and cooperation and social dialogue for well-governed labor migration and mobility.
“Demographic realities and business needs increase the need for greater labor mobility,” said Ellen Yost, a migration attorney with Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, told the meeting. “However, government policies around the world increasingly have the effect of restricting mobility. The employers’ group urges governments to recognize the importance of international labor mobility for economic growth, competitiveness and development and to adopt clearer, simpler and more consistent rules and procedures for easier cross-border movement of skills.”
Read more on the IOE website.
