Migrant workers are an ever-present feature of global supply chains, found in all sectors and all geographies. Low-income migrant workers are amongst the most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and are often the least able to assert their rights. For many, a lack of viable options to sustain a livelihood at home increases their willingness to accept poor working conditions abroad. Exploitation of migrant workers can be found at all stages of the migration cycle - from recruitment, through employment, and during the return home.
Much of IHRB’s work in this area is focussed on how workers are recruited and in particular the payment of recruitment fees to secure employment. IHRB migrant worker initiatives include:
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Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity: A key framework for understanding and addressing the challenges facing migrant workers at every stage of the migration cycle.
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Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment: A coalition of leading international companies and expert organisations committed to eradicating the payment of recruitment fees by workers in their supply chains.
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Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment: The annual Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment (GFRR) is a thought leadership platform for accelerating the responsible recruitment of migrant workers around the world.
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Responsible Recruitment Network of the Americas: A collaborative space to engage, share, and build regional capacity for multistakeholder action on responsible recruitment across sectors and the region.
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Labour Migration Network listserve: A simple email sharing system for anyone to directly share news and resources and make global connections with other practitioners from around the world.
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Responsible Recruitment Gateway: Open source tools and resources to support companies in implementing the Employer Pays Principle,