Workshop On Strengthening The Collection And Use Of International Migration Data For Development

ROLE OF ADMINISTRATIVE DATA IN

UNDERSTANDING LABOUR MIGRATION

By Dr Coffi Agossou

Senior Labour Statistics Specialist

Outline

I- Decent Work and ILO Objectives II- International Labour Standards on Labour

Migration III Role of administrative data IV Key Variables Conclusion

QUIZ

11 MILLION ?

I Decent Work concept and ILO Objectives: Fair labour migration

what people, anywhere, want?:

• work for all who seek to work – be it wage- or self-employment, in the formal or the informal

economy

• freedom of choice – excluding forced or bonded labour and worst forms of child labour

• productive work – providing adequate income, ensuring competitiveness

• equity in work – meaning absence of discrimination in access to, and at work

• security at work – as concerns health and safety, pensions and livelihoods

• dignity at work – in terms of respect extended to workers and their rights at work

ILO concept of decent work The concept of Decent Work has been defined by the ILO

and endorsed by the international community as “Opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and

productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.”

1999 International Labour Conference Report

ILO Department of Statistics

Decent work as a global goal

• Endorsed by ECOSOC, Presidential Summits and Head of State Summits in all regions, UN system, European Union, among others.

• ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008)

endorses Decent Work Agenda and its 4 dimensions:

(i) International labour standards and fundamental principles and rights at work

(ii) Employment creation (iii) Social Protection (iv) Social Dialogue and tripartism

ILO Department of Statistics

Countries are invited to ratify the following key ILO conventions on labour migration:

• the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) and its accompanying Migration for Employment Recommendation (Revised), 1949 (No. 86);

• the Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962

(No. 118) • the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention,

1975 (No. 143) and its accompanying Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 1975 (No. 151);

II- International Labour Standards on Labour Migration

• the Maintenance of Social Security Rights

Convention, 1982 (No. 157); • the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour

Migration (2006); • the International Convention on the Protection of

the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families 45/118 (1990).

High Level Dialogue 2013 (GMG)

III- Role of administrative data

The objective here, is to discuss administrative data as possible source for statistics to be used for describing and analysing the number, structure, situation, development and impact of migrant workers.

Legal definition UN (ICMW), 1990

• : “A migrant worker is a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.”

The 5 main groups of migrants workers

• (a) Persons who are arriving in a country to work there, i.e. the inflow of foreign workers;

• (b) Persons who are leaving their country to find work abroad, i.e. the outflow of migrant workers;

• (c) Persons who are returning after having worked abroad, i.e the

return flow of migrant workers; • (d) Stock of foreign workers in the country; and • (e) Persons who are working abroad, i.e. the stock of migrant

workers abroad.

1. In-flow Of Foreign Workers The inflow of foreign workers to a country can be defined as those foreign citizens who during a particular reference period arrived in the country with the objective to take employment there.

• Possible administrative sources New entry or immigration visas New permission to work in the country Administrative entry registrations at the border Apprehension of clandestine border crossers New applications for asylum and new grants of refugee status New reports to tax and/or social security authorities Reports from recruitment agencies Statistical border registrations

The most cost effective source of statistics on the inflow of foreign workers is likely to be the registrations linked to the issuing of visas and work permits, in combination with the border control registrations, including those relating to the apprehension of clandestine border crossers.

2. Out-flow of migrant workers

The outflow of migrant workers from a country can be defined as those citizens of the country who during a particular reference period left the country with the objective to take employment in another country. Possible administrative sources New exit or emigration visas New permission to work abroad New members of special insurance schemes Reports from recruitment agencies Other administrative registrations: Border exit registrations

Statistics from receiving countries is the cheapest source of statistics on outflows of workers.

3. Return flow of migrant workers

The return flow of migrant workers to a country can be defined as those citizens of the country who during a particular reference period returned to their country after having been economically active in another country, as employed or unemployed, according to the ILO guidelines for the measurement of the economically active population.

• Very few governments have found it necessary to control the return

flow of its citizens, and the group is small relative to all the groups of which it can be regarded to be a part, such as nationals who are returning from visits abroad.

• The possible administrative sources can be found among those

discussed with respect to the outflow and inflow of migrant workers

4. Stock Of Foreign Workers The stock of foreign workers in a country can be defined as those foreign citizens who at a particular date or a during specific reference period would be counted as being economically active in the country, as employed or unemployed, according to the ILO guidelines for the measurement of the economically active population. Possible administrative sources

Accumulated entry or immigration visas Accumulated permission to work in the country Apprehension of clandestine foreign citizens Accumulated applications for asylum and grants of refugee status Population, tax and social security registers Reports from recruitment agencies .

5. Stock of workers abroad A country's stock of migrant workers abroad can be defined as those citizens of the country who at a particular date or during a specific reference period would be counted as economically active in another country, as employed or unemployed, according to the ILO guidelines on the measurement of the economically active population. Possible administrative sources Accumulated entry or immigration visas Accumulated permission to work in the country Apprehension of clandestine foreign citizens Population, tax and social security registers Reports from recruitment agencies

IV- Key Variables Descriptive variables which should be expected for all the five key groups include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following common variables:

• Age (group); • Sex; • Address/locality; • Citizenship; • Educational attainment; • Marital status. IN ADDITION:

For the inflows and outflows • the following descriptive variables are expected in addition

to the variables later variables : Occupation of last main job in home country; Occupation of job recruited (or looking) for in receiving country; Industry of last main employer in home country; Industry of employer in the receiving country; Type of work contract (status in employment) in last main job in

home country; Type of work contract in receiving country; Length of previous work periods in receiving country; Capacity to use language of receiving country; Date of (expected) arrival in receiving country.

For the return flow of migrant workers

Occupation of last main job in the receiving country; Industry of the last main job in the receiving

country; Length of last stay in the receiving country; Expected length of stay in home country.

For the stock of foreign and migrant workers

Activity status (employed/unemployed/outside of the labour force); Occupation of current job (or last job, if not

employed); Industry of current job (or last job, if not employed); Type of work contract (status in employment) in

current job (or last job, if not employed); Length of current stay in country, and total length of

employment periods; Type of family situation in home country; Type of living situation in receiving country.

Strengths and weaknesses of administrative records

Strengths

Weaknesses

o Best suited to measure flows

o Compiled continuously o Cost effective o Data relates to the

application of rules regulations

Data not always reported for statistical use

Coverage limited to admin. process

Limited information on characteristics of migrants

Information may relate to entries/exits not to number of ILM

Conclusion

Several of the administrative registrations discussed here cannot be expected to capture reliably the information needed for a number of the above variables, because of their limited relevance to the main objectives of the administrative systems; To capture the information needed for each variable one or more questions must be included on the registration form; These questions must be formulated in ways which makes it easy for the respondents to understand the type of answer which they should provide.