Migrant workers, the ILO and the potential for labour justice

Abstract

International thinking and concern about cross-border migration among policymakers and practitioners are at historically high levels, so much so that there is now ‘greater political focus on migration within the international community’ (Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN), 2019: 3) than previously. Migration has come to be recognised as a multifaceted phenomenon in terms of who moves, for what reason and by what means. The intensification of efforts made over the last decades at the global level to coordinate policy on migration across the world is indicative of the recognition that the movement of people is a truly global phenomenon; not only in terms of its geographic reach implicating most if not all countries around the world but also for the wide ranging socio-economic and political implications spanning migrant origin, destination and transit countries. ‘Global’, thus, importantly also relates to the role of organisational actors whose globality is evidenced by (voluntary or involuntary) engagement with, and solution finding for, large-scale challenges that transcend national boundaries, such as labour migration. Despite these recent efforts to coordinate migration policy in recognition of its globality, international migration is clearly a phenomenon that has a far longer history worldwide. Yet, the fact that migration is typically framed as a ‘problem’ and that this framing has come in waves is often ignored. Throughout history, migrants have been in need whenever there is a (real or perceived) shortage of workers but subsequently are scapegoated during periods of economic and production downturns. All the time, migrants have been subjected to unequal bargaining power and legal barriers put in place to restrict their