Labour Migration Policy and Management, ILO, 2005

CONTENTS OF AN OPERATIONAL BILATERAL RECRUITMENT

AGREEMENT

1. Responsible AgencyThe responsibilities of different agencies in the country of origin and destination.

Should one country’s agency establish an office in the other country?

2. Exchange informationOn working and living conditions (wage systems, social security contributions, tax deductions, cultural habits and religious doctrines)

3. Migrants in irregular statusShould the status of migrants whose entry, stay or employment is illegal be regularized?

If so, under what conditions?Should migrants be returned?Would the sending country have an obligation to re-admit them?

4. RECRUITMENT OF MIGRANTSHow should jobs be made known to the sending country?

What details should be included regarding the job and the qualifications required?

5. List of Job Seekers

Should sending countries list job seekers who desire employment in another country? If so, how?

6. Pre-selection

Does the authority in the country of origin have the capacity to pre-select candidates for recruitment?

7.Final Selection

Which authority (in which country) has the final say in who is actually permitted to migrate?

8. Requests by employers

Should employers or their agents be permitted to request specific workers by name?

9. Medical ExaminationsShould migrants’ health be examined

before selection? Which country’s doctor should carry out the examination? Who pays?

Should danger to public health be a reason for excluding candidates from seeking employment abroad? If so, who determines the criteria for assessing what constitutes a danger to public health in the receiving country? Or should there be a joint determination?

10. Entry documents

Which identity cards, visas, passports or other documents are required for the movement?

11. Residence and work permitsShould the agreement cover both employment and residence permits?

Do migrant workers need to get permits to stay and to work in the receiving country?

Should the permits be granted before arrival or should the worker be responsible for obtaining them after arrival?

What are standard conditions of renewal?

12. TransportHow will workers travel? By what form of transport? Who should pay for it? When the worker returns to his or her home, who should pay for the journey?

13. Employment contractShould a general or model employment contract be attached to the agreement?

Should it be in several languages?Should the employer and the migrant worker sign a contract before the migrant moves?

How should the contract provide for cases where an employer finds a worker unsuitable or vice versa

14. Terms and conditions of employmentShould the agreement specify that terms and conditions for the migrant workers are the same as for nationals?

Should migrants be given the right/freedom to change employers? And if so, how can they find another job and within a certain period?

15. Complaint and Dispute Settlement

Should the agreement specify that migrant workers have the right to submit a complaint to an appropriate procedure?

Should they have right to redress to a labour court?

16. Right to organise and bargain collectively

Should the migration agreement comply with the principle that all workers, regardless of status, have the right to establish and to join an organization/union of their own choosing?

17. Social SecurityShould the agreement provide that migrant workers be given equal social security benefits as national workers receive?

Should there be a separate agreement regarding the payment of benefits abroad?

18. RemittancesShould the migration agreement facilitate systems for transfers of remittances?

lay down the principles and limits for the transfer of earnings and savings of migrant workers?

19. HousingWho is responsible for finding housing when the worker moves to the receiving country?

Is a foreign worker entitled to publicly supported housing schemes (affordable housing/social housing/community housing) on arrival?

20. Family migration and reunificationWhich principles and conditions should apply to a worker to be accompanied by a spouse, children or other family members?

What agreement should be made for the protection of unaccompanied children?

21. Welfare, Religious, cultural or other organisations

Should these organisations in sending countries be allowed access to migrant workers in the receiving country?

22. Joint CommissionShould the sending and receiving countries agree on establishing a commission whose purpose would be to oversee the implementation of the agreement and to resolve general problems that may arise in the course of its application?

23.Validity and renewal

Should the agreement end after a set period of time (ie 5 years)

Or should it become automatically renewable?

24. JurisdictionIn case a dispute (problem) arising out of the application of this bilateral recruitment agreement, should the problem be settled through the legal system of the country where the problem happened or the country where the problem originates (ie if transnational company, in the home country)?