Email this page

Labour Movement

Artist, Raymond Burki, 1 milliard de personnes au chômage. Collection du Musée monétaire cantonal

This work was done in Geneva

The process of globalisation has resulted in a dramatic expansion of cross-border trade and investment. Globalisation has also prompted an upsurge in cross-border labour mobility. According to the United Nations, 175 million people were living outside their country of birth in 2000, this is roughly equivalent to 3% of the world’s population.

These figures are low however, when compared to labour movement trends in the late nineteenth century. One reason for this change is the increasingly restrictive migration policies pursued by Governments in the developed world. Restrictions however, do not ultimately halt labour movement. The last decades have seen a significant growth in illegal movement with its accompanying problems of human trafficking, criminal activity, brain drain, family break-up and social costs.

A number of initiatives have been launched to help regulate labour mobility in recent years. The International Labour Organisation produced a report at their 92 nd Session entitled ‘Towards a fair deal for migrant workers in the global economy’. The Global Commission on International Migration aims to help formulate a “coherent, comprehensive and global response to migration”. The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is a UN treaty ratified by 24 countries.

Governments at the World Trade Organisation are also involved in negotiations on the temporary movement of certain types of workers or service suppliers. These negotiations take place in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which is part of the Doha Work Programme. Mode 4 of GATS establishes an international agreement that allows for the temporary movement of service suppliers across borders. This is a critical economic activity for many developing countries. The World Bank put overall remittances to developing countries at USD 72.3 billion in 2001, considerably higher than total official development assistance and private non-FDI flows. Further liberalisation and commitments in Mode 4 are however, being resisted by developed countries.

QUNO aims to enhance the fairness of the negotiating process in Mode 4 by providing information to decisions-makers and facilitating off-the-record dialogues. Links to other initiatives on regulating labour movement will be made.

Click here for more Labour Movement Resources.