Benefits of safe, orderly and regular labour migration management

Well managed labour migration requires adherence to international standards and the fulfilment of migrants’ rights based on evidence policy formulation and whole of government approach, and rely on strong partnerships.

Migrants

All recent IOM World Migration Reports (WMR) have noted that current migration patterns will continue in the twenty-first century. This is driven by, inter alia, demographic trends marked by negative population replacement rates in the industrialized world, resulting labour market deficits in the North that cannot be met locally, coupled with projections of significant growth in the labour force in developing countries from an estimated 2.4 billion in 2005 to a projected 3.6 billion in 2040 and continued high unemployment in developing countries, perpetuating continuous North–South economic and social disparities.16 All of this is exacerbated by natural, man-made, as well as slow-onset disasters – most notably those induced by climate change – that are likely to result in additional migration flows. These population movements – still representing only 3 per cent of the world’s population, but, numerically the largest in recorded history – are spurred on by the information, communications and transport revolutions, and can be expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Migration can generate large benefits for migrants, their families and countries of origin. The wages that migrants earn abroad can be multiplied from what they could earn doing a similar job at home (IOM 2018). The wage differences and relative income gains from migration are largest for lower-skilled workers, whose international movements around the world are the most restricted (Gibson and Mckenzie 2011). The increase in migrants’ earnings can also lead to considerable improvements in the welfare and human development of migrant families, either directly if they are with the migrant in the host country, or indirectly through remittances.

Importantly, the beneficial effects of migration for migrants and their families go beyond economic impacts and frequently include improvements in other dimensions of human development such as education and health (UNDP 2009). For example, according to a recent report by the World Bank 2016, “migrants from the poorest countries, on average, experienced a 15-fold increase in income, a doubling of school enrolments, and a 16-fold reduction in the child mortality after moving to a developed country”. Thus, the benefits of safe and regular migration pathways are immense for the migrants, many of which are likely to migrate regardless of the possible pathways.

Countries of Origin

In addition to benefiting individual migrants and their families, there is a large research literature that evidences the wider beneficial effects that emigration can have for migrant’s countries of origin (WB 2017).

Emigration can reduce unemployment and underemployment, contribute to poverty reduction, and – with the appropriate supportive policies foster broader economic and social development in the origin countries in a variety of ways. For example, the remittances sent by migrants back to their countries of origin provide significant financial capital flows and a relatively stable source of income affecting both migrant families and the country. Remittances are generally a less volatile and more reliable income source for foreign currency than other capital flows in many developing countries (WB 2016).

Beyond these economic impacts, emigration can generate beneficial societal consequences for the countries of origin, including poor and fragile states. It is increasingly recognised that migrants can play a significant role in the post-conflict reconstruction and recovery (OECD 2013). Or diaspora organizations and groups can provide knowledge and capital to their communities of origin, and in this way help strengthening the capacity and stability in these countries.

Countries of Destination

Likewise, there is widespread agreement that migration can also generate economic and other benefits for destination countries. The precise nature and size of these benefits at a given time critically depend on the extent to which the skills of the migrants are complimentary to those of domestic workers, as well as on the characteristics of the host economy. In general, immigration adds workers to the economy, thus increasing the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.

By nature or necessity, migrants are often more likely to be the risk takers, and this quality has led to enormous contributions to many destination counties in areas such as technology, science, the arts and a range of other fields. In addition to enhancing national income and average living standards in destination countries, immigration can have a post effect on labour market by increasing labour supply in sectors and occupations suffering from shortage of workers, as well as helping address mismatches in the job market. These positive labour market effects are not just evident in high-skilled sectors, but can also in particular occur in lower-skilled occupations (Ruhs and Anderson, 2010). Immigration increases both the supply of and demand for labour, which means that labour immigration (including of lower-skilled workers) can generate additional employment opportunities for existing workers. Beyond the labour market and macro economy, the immigration of younger workers can also help with easing pressures on pension systems of high-income countries with rapidly ageing populations. IOM is firmly of the belief that there is need for enhanced capacity on the part of African countries if they are to manage migration in all its complexity, minimize the problems that unmanaged migration creates across borders and regions, and more fully reap its benefits. The various actions that States undertake in an effort to comprehensively manage migration and respond to the challenges and opportunities it presents hinge on capacity, coherence, and cooperation; more work is needed in all these areas. States have the responsibility to develop policies that channel migration into safe, orderly, humane and productive avenues, which benefit the individuals and societies to which they are connected.

IOM continues to promote the view that by its very nature, migration requires sustained international and multi-sector cooperation. Migration requires the engagement of multiple stakeholders – countries of origin, transit and destination of migrants; international and civil society organizations; private sector employers, recruiters and service providers; social partners; migrants themselves and their organizations. It is this belief that laid the ground for the annual Pan African Consultations on Migration (PAFOM) that IOM supports the AUC with, and which in no small measure created the impetus that resulted in the continental free movement protocol deliberations in recent years, resulting in the continental free movement that was passed at the January 2018 AU summit. The AUC/DPA 2016/2017 free movement protocol deliberations has bequeathed Africa with just the foundation that it needs to be able to ensure its citizens can more freely access opportunities that exist on the continent without having to lose their lives making dangerous, perilous journeys both within the continent as well as across deserts and oceans. Initiatives such as the JLMP will contribute significantly to giving effect to the continental free movement protocol.

14 E.g. within the ECOWAS FMM framework

15 ILO, Migrant Domestic workers, http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/policy-areas/migrant-domestic-workers/lang-- en/index.htm

16 IOM, The World Migration Report 2018