Migrant Workers: Protection of Labour Rights and Labour Market Programs
- To promote dialogue and cooperation among Ministries of Labour of the Americas on the protection of labour rights of migrant workers and on migration processes undertaken by States according to their national legal systems.
- To share experiences and programs on the promotion and protection of labor rights of migrant workers and labour market programs, with special emphasis on Canada 's temporary foreign workers program.
- To identify lessons learned and key guidelines for future inter-American action on this topic.
The Workshop “Migrant Workers: Protection of Labour Rights and Labour Market Programs”, which took place in Ottawa, Canada on November 28-29, 2006, was organized jointly by Human Resources and Social Development Canada and the Department of Social Development and Employment, SEDI of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The Workshop was an activity of the Inter-American Network for Labor Administration (RIAL), which is the cooperation mechanism of the OAS Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML). In its first stage the RIAL is funded by the Government of Canada, through its Labor Program.
| Attachment | Size |
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 Agenda | 339.74 KB |
| Agenda (French) | 235 KB |
| List of Participants | 201.11 KB |
Background and mandates:
The IV Summit of the Americas and the XIV Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) of the OAS reaffirmed “that all migrants, regardless of their immigration status, should be accorded the full protection of human rights and the full observance of labor laws applicable to them, including the principles and labor rights embodied in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998).” The Plan of Action of the IV Summit established the commitment to strengthen constructive dialogue on international migration and to establish collaboration mechanisms among countries so as to disseminate information on labor rights of migrant workers.
Additionally, the Plan of Action of the XIV IACML calls upon the Ministries of Labor to address the labor rights of migrant workers as one of the priority themes to be addressed within the framework of the promotion of decent work, and commits to “develop activities that promote decent work for migrant workers in the context of the Declaration of Nuevo Leon and in collaboration with the Inter-American Program adopted by the General Assembly in resolution AG/RES. 2141.”
With these mandates as guidelines and having confirmed the interest of various countries in sharing experiences on this topic, the authorities of the IACML during the Planning Meeting in December, 2005 decided to hold a workshop on the labour rights of migrant workers, to be hosted by HRSDC.
Welcome remarks and introduction
Labor migration: Framing the issue
Strengthening the capacity of the Ministries of Labor: Innovative initiatives to promote and protect the labour rights of migrant workers
The Canadian experience on labor market programs that manage temporary migrant worker flows and protect migrant workers rights
Continuation of Innovative initiatives to promote and protect the labour rights of migrant workers
Perspectives from social actors
Closing session
Summary
During the Closing Session, the Technical Secretariat presented a draft of the Workshop Summary, that was further reviewed and enriched by the delegations. This summary also contains a set of proposals for future work that the participants of the Workshop are presenting for the consideration of the IACML Working Groups during their meeting in May, 2007 in Costa Rica.
Support Information
Documents from international organizations
Websitest
Press Information
Article from Caribbean Net News - Nov. 28, 2006