Global Profile

Accurate data on migration is difficult to obtain because many migrant workers lack official status. According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2010 there were 200 million international migrant workers and their families.

This figure excludes 15 million refugees, those whose movement across a border has been forced by fear of persecution or violence. Migrant workers choose voluntarily to reside outside their country of birth.

Migration in Europe © Fòrum Barcelona 2004

The OECD group of richer countries reports that inward migration fell in 2008 and 2009, the flow constrained as economic recession took hold. By contrast, the previous five years saw an average annual increase of 11%, as the thriving global economy boosted demand for labour.

The majority of migrants live in the richer countries of Europe and North America, including about 40 million in the US and 10 million in Germany. In Europe, one in eight people of working age is a migrant; in North America this ratio is one in four.

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of migrants have moved from one rich country to another; only 37% of global migration involves movement from poor to rich countries.

In most Arab Gulf countries up to 80% of the labour force is filled with migrant workers. The major sending countries are Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. These countries also supply labour for Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. About 10% of the population of Philippines, 8 million people, are engaged in work away from their home country.

Since the early 1980s, demand for female migrant workers has grown, mostly for domestic services. Almost half of all international migrants are women, often leaving their children and families behind.
Migrant Workers: Supply and Demand

Migrant workers are motivated by a lack of opportunities at home and the belief that they can achieve a better life in a foreign country. They join the supply of migrant labour when the combination of these “push” and “pull” forces overwhelms the wrench of leaving familiar surrounds and the risks of the unknown.

Immigrant Domestic Worker in US © Institute for Policy Studies

The choice of destination is greatly constrained by the expense and debt incurred for travel costs, official permit fees and, all too often, the unofficial levies of intermediary fixers. The poorest are least able to overcome these obstacles and about 40% of all economic migrants head for the nearest country.

Demand for migrant labour is determined by the extent to which a domestic workforce is unable or unwilling to meet the needs of its national economy. There may be shortages of skills or, more typically, vacancies arise in jobs rejected by the local population, often described as “3D” (dirty, dangerous and difficult). Many migrant workers are professionals who take on jobs that do not utilize their full skills and potential.

Foreign labour has such a dominant role in many Middle Eastern economies that it has become a packaged commodity. Airline schedules are synchronized with the timing of temporary contracts whilst living conditions are customized to fulfil cultural needs.

However, these established channels of migration are insufficient to absorb the supply of labour. Many aspiring workers choose to take their chance as “undocumented” migrants, entering a country by overstaying a visa or by crossing an unprotected border.

Work is often to be found thanks to opportunist employers who ask no questions in return for a pliant labour force, unable to demand the protection of minimum standards of pay and conditions. The UN estimates that there are 20-30 million undocumented global migrants, including 11 million in the US.


Moves by the government in Thailand to tighten up the documentation of migrant workers pose real dilemmas for migrants from Burma, from AlJazeera English
Migrant Experience

Many migrant families have greatly improved their fortunes, especially in accessing higher standards of health and education for their children. However, too many experience the unacceptable face of international migration.

Fair deal for migrant workers ©ILO

Anxious to create a flexible labour supply and to avoid social costs, the receiving country often extends only minimum protection. Weak labour laws encourage unscrupulous recruitment agencies and employers to withhold wages, confiscate identity documents and deny reasonable time off work.

Conditions for domestic workers in the Middle East in particular have attracted the attention of human rights organisations. Often concealed within private households, workers are vulnerable to sexual abuse and slave-like labour conditions.

In many countries undocumented migrants live in daily fear of round-ups, abusive treatment in detention centres and mass deportation. Whether documented or not, about two million Burmese can expect no favours from the authorities in Thailand. Indonesian workers in Malaysia face periodic clamp-downs by the state, enforced by unsympathetic local vigilante groups.

Integration with host communities is a critical to the well-being of international migrants. However, resentment and discrimination can fester especially where there is competition for jobs and housing. Xenophobia has been a blot on the new South Africa, exploding into violence during 2008 when 60 people were killed and homes of thousands of Zimbabweans and other immigrant groups were destroyed.


Desperate migrants from Zimbabwe experience abuse and loss of dignity as local South Africans turn to violence, from AlJazeeraEnglish
Migrant Rights

Human rights campaigners acknowledge that the right to work in a foreign country does not equate with immediate access to the full benefits of citizenship. Their efforts focus on establishing minimum standards of working and living conditions consistent with the principles of international human rights law.

The initial step towards this goal was achieved in 1990 with the adoption by the UN of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, also known as the Migrant Workers' Convention. It tackles every stage of the migration process and enjoys the status of one of only nine core global human rights treaties.

Although the Convention entered into force with 20 country ratifications in 2003, not one of the major destination states has ratified it. In consequence, migrant workers remain at the mercy of national immigration laws which often provide little or no recourse against discrimination and exploitation.

Since it became apparent that national economic interests would prevail over the principles of the Convention, many of the principal sending countries now take more proactive measures to protect their citizens. For example, following reports of deaths and abuse of female domestic workers in Lebanon, the governments of Ethiopia and Philippines became more cautious about permitting travel to that destination.

In a forum known as the “Colombo process”, a group of Asian sending countries has met regularly since 2003 to share ideas for protection of their migrant workers. A number of bilateral agreements also exist to reconcile the interests of parties involved in migration channels. On the global scale, the International Labour Organization is the UN agency responsible for promoting the cause of migrant rights.


The hardships and violence experienced by Asian domestic workers in Lebanon, from AlJazeeraEnglish
Remittances

According to the World Bank, the value of remittance payments from migrant workers to their families in developing countries reached $325 billion in 2010, almost three times the amount of foreign aid for that year.

The fall from the record $338 billion in 2008, before the impact of global economic recession, has been much less than feared. Remittances have the advantage over foreign aid of reaching households directly, offering limited potential for diversion, other than bank transaction charges which averaged almost 9% in 2010.

The World Bank figures do not capture all remittances, due to widespread informal transactions, especially in Africa. Nevertheless, for many of the least developed countries, they represent more than 10% of GDP and the greatest source of foreign currency.

Fragile states such as Zimbabwe and Haiti might have been plunged into even deeper chaos without such generous contributions from their diasporas. In Somalia, 40% of households depend entirely on revenues from migrant exiles.


Families in Moldova, Europe’s poorest country, are dependent on remittances but children experience the stress of absent parents, from World Bank.
Migration and Development

Although remittances cannot be channelled into formal development projects, studies by many institutions - including the African Development Bank – demonstrate a correlation between poverty reduction and the volume of remittances. The Asian Development Bank estimates that 4.3 million people in the Philippines would fall below the poverty line without payments from abroad.

These studies also conclude that the natural emotional ties between migrant workers and their communities back home open up more broad-based opportunities for development. Trade, business investment, transfer of skills and even government borrowing through “diaspora bonds” can be stimulated by networking within diaspora groups.

Protest against UK Immigration and Asylum bill © STAR, Student Action for Refugees

These benefits are countered by the loss of skilled workers from poor countries, often described as the "brain drain". As many as 20,000 African professionals are believed to leave the continent each year. This is of especial concern for the health sector which suffers serious staff shortages.

African governments have been understandably reluctant to adopt a positive attitude towards migration. However, the multilateral development agencies increasingly advocate that international movement of labour is a positive feature of globalisation, subject to proactive policies to optimise its benefits and protect rights.

A 2006 UN high-level dialogue led to the formation of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, a consultative body which encourages partnership and policy-making on migrant labour.

The 2009 UN Human Development Report called on rich governments to reduce the barriers of entry to low-skilled migrant labour. Many economists believe that totally free movement of labour would be the most effective means of reducing global inequality.


Michael Clemens, research fellow at the Center for Global Development explains why more research is needed in countries of origin to understand how migration contributes to development
Political Obstacles

Political realities in the richer countries confront such appeals to open their doors. Even the most liberal leaders have been unable to sway public perception that migrants compete for scarce jobs and unsettle cultural identity.

Instead, nation states tend to pursue policies which treat migrant labour as economic cannon fodder. Immigration policy ebbs and flows in response to signals from domestic markets, a far cry from altruistic concerns from individual rights or global poverty reduction.

Labour migration is therefore an invariable victim of economic recession. New entry restrictions shut out prospective workers whilst those in employment will be the first to lose their jobs. The evidence is all too plain in the current rise of anti-immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric, especially in European politics.


The impact of the global economic recession on migrant workers, from OECD TV
Long Term Drivers

Just as anti-poverty campaigners seeking free movement of labour may be politically naive, the politicians too are guilty of overlooking long term realities. Not only is the familiar migration catalyst of global inequality gaining in potency, but also there are two new drivers in climate change and demographics making their presence felt.

Global Inequality
Despite the discipline of pursuing the Millennium Development Goals, the numbers of poor and hungry people in Africa and other regions are increasing, even as the fortunes made in big business and finance rise exponentially.

The universal economic paradigm of consumption-based “growth” is not working. Relatively strong growth rates in Africa over the last decade have not generated commensurate new jobs; India is still home to over 40% of the world’s underweight children despite its so-called tiger economy.

Modern communications ensure that awareness of this widening inequality is ever more intense. The dream of relocating from poorer to richer environment is a natural and inevitable human response.

Climate Change
Possibly the most serious impact of global warming is the deterioration in land quality through desertification, coastal erosion, salinity and the fall in yield due to rising temperatures. Whilst some regions may experience enhanced crop production or find ways to adapt to the stress factors, the poorest countries will be the hardest hit.

House buried by sand in Mauritania © Phuong Tran / IRIN News

The impact of these “slow onset” changes will merge with conventional economic duress to drive poor families off their land. It is not inconceivable that migration will become a proactive climate adaptation strategy.

Experts generally agree that the majority of climate-related displacement will be confined within national borders. Very approximate estimates suggest that, by 2050, 200 million people will have taken the bigger step of entering a new country, a figure comparable to today’s entire migrant worker population.

Demographics
The world has a highly uneven demographic profile. In developing countries, the workforce is projected to rise from 2.4 billion in 2005 to 3.6 billion in 2040. By contrast, in developed countries there are now more people over the age of 60 than under 15. Their workforce will remain static or fall.

The dependency ratio is causing considerable concern in mature economies, where funding of health and pension provision is inadequate to support ballooning numbers of older people, living ever longer.

The rational solution is to import migrant labour from countries in surplus. But politicians shrink from such options, preferring to provide tax incentives to encourage women to have more children.
Protection Gaps

Current national and intended international laws on migration presume a world in which individuals are free to make calm and rational choices. But it is increasingly clear that the combination of extreme poverty and environmental degradation that triggers displacement occurs through economic desperation rather than balanced judgement.

Despair as homes are demolished in Zimbabwe © UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

In a speech about migration, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has referred to “the push of danger or despair.” And the head of the UN Refugee Agency, Antonio Guterres, has acknowledged that the presumption that all economic migration is “voluntary” does not reflect reality.

Evidence of this desperation can be seen in the willingness of migrants to risk their lives in the attempt to reach their destination. The death toll from unsafe boat crossings from North Africa to Southern Europe will never be known.

Climate-related movement not only creates further ambiguity between forced and voluntary migration, but also disrupts the familiar cycle of potential labour movement. For example, displacement from slow onset impacts has the unfortunate characteristic of being irreversible. This is most painfully extreme for some low-lying small island states such as Maldives and Tuvalu whose citizens may be rendered stateless by rising sea levels.

The consequence is added momentum to calls for a new international convention for displaced persons whose circumstances are not captured by existing definitions. The UN Refugee Agency acknowledges that some degree of new international protection should be provided.

It is however uncomfortable with the terminology of “climate refugees” out of concern for destabilising the long-established rights of asylum under the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Agency is anxious to ringfence the unique legal association of refugees with political persecution.

Nevertheless, failure of international law to embrace all circumstances of cross-border mobility creates a vacuum in which migrant rights are expendable and which impedes the development of constructive policies.


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