Role of Bilateral Labour Agreements

Panhuys, C. et al. (2017). Migrants` access to social protection under bilateral labour agreements: a review of 120 countries and nine bilateral agreements, ESS – Working Paper No. 57, International Labour Organization. 54 pp. Accessible: www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/RessourcePDF.action?ressource.ressourceId=54405 An innovative online learning experience that combines modules at your own pace, webinars and discussions, case studies, forum debates, role plays and group work with current learning methods and technologies. Couples from countries have signed hundreds of bilateral labour agreements (BLA) to regulate the influx of migrants between countries. However, unlike bilateral investment treaties or preferential trade agreements, NAPAs have received little attention from social scientists or lawyers. We believe this is largely due to the fact that it was difficult to obtain information on the existence of these agreements.

To solve this problem, we participated in a multi-year project to try to identify each BLA signed from 1945 to 2015. Bilateral Labour Agreements (BLA) and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) have become popular tools for the protection of migrant workers to address challenges related to the accessibility of social protection (Wickramasekara, 2015). The International Labour Organization (ILO) has recognized BLA and memoranda of understanding as best practices for managing labour migration (Wickramasekara and Ruhunage, 2018). The terms of BLA negotiated and set by states can vary considerably. Nevertheless, there are several characteristics that agreements may have in common. For example, the country of destination protects migrant workers from ill-treatment in their jobs and guarantees access to health care. The country of origin, on the other hand, can meet the requirements by controlling the migratory flow. While both countries, sender and receiver, generally agree on worker surveillance (Chilton and Posner, 2017).

While BLA and Memoranda of Understanding have the potential to play a crucial role in ensuring that migrant workers abroad have access to social protection and contribute to a triple-win situation for all parties involved, they are far from ideal. According to the ILO, MPAs need appropriate management and monitoring to ensure that the provisions are effectively put into practice. This monitoring is generally poor, with more attention paid to recruitment conditions than to the protection and well-being of migrant workers (ILO, 2019). Wickramasekara, P. and Ruhunage, L. K. (2018). Best practices and provisions in multilateral and bilateral labour agreements and memoranda of understanding, International Labour Organization. 92 pp. Available: www.researchgate.net/publication/330933589_Research_report_on_good_practices_and_provisions_in_multilateral_and_bilateral_labour_agreements_and_memoranda_of_understanding We have created two datasets based on the 582 BLA we have identified. The first dataset – the BLA Treaty Dataset – used the contract as a compliance unit.

The second set of data, BLA`s DyadYear dataset, uses the dyad year as the unit of observation. The Dyad Year dataset is structured to be ready for analysis by other scientists and contains a number of variables from other public datasets (complete citation information can be found in the corresponding codebooks). You can find more details about these two agreements below. The course is aimed at stakeholders involved in the negotiation of bilateral and regional agreements/memoranda of understanding and migration issues, in particular those responsible for migration policy and/or international relations. political planners involved in the conclusion of bilateral working agreements; practitioners from public institutions and ministries responsible for migration policy and/or international relations; Representatives of workers` and employers` associations. For this dataset, the observation unit is a contract. The contracts came from various sources specified in the source of the variable agreement. We were able to obtain copies for 254 of the 582 bilateral collective agreements we identified. We have also divided the agreements into three types: new, amending and replacement. A modification agreement is an agreement that specifically refers to a previous agreement and contains changes to the terms and conditions. A replacement agreement is an agreement that explicitly replaces a previously existing agreement. Otherwise, we assume that the agreement is new.

Chilton, A. S. and Posner, E. A. (2017). Why Countries Sign Bilateral Working Agreements, Coase-Sandor Institute for Law and Economics Working Paper No. 807, University of Chicago School of Law, p. 51. Available: ILO chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2497&context=law_and_economics (2019). Bilateral agreements and regional cooperation. Available: www.ilo.org/asia/areas/labour-migration/WCMS_226300/lang–en/index.htm As part of this process, we identified 582 bilateral collective agreements.

However, this list is almost certainly not exhaustive. Many BLA are not stored in major international contract databases and often do not receive much, if any, advertising. Therefore, we know that our data set is incomplete. We are not aware of any other public document of these agreements, and we believe that this is the largest list of agreements ever compiled. We would be happy to be informed of other bilateral working agreements or errors in our data. To identify BLA, we took five steps. First, we searched for BLA in the UN treaty series using keywords, and then we looked at the results to identify relevant agreements. The specific keywords we searched for were: “work”, “work”, “working holiday”, “job”, “employee”, “border”, “cross-border”, “trainee”, “profession” and “mobility”. Second, we used the same process to search the Global Treaty Index. Third, we searched the International Labour Organization website. Fourth, we searched the Internet for the BLA we saw mentioned during our research in academic articles and the press that could not be found in the above databases.

Finally, we searched the State Department databases of countries that previous surveys revealed had signed a large number of AGREEMENTS. ILO/IOM/OSCE (2007). Handbook on Defining Effective Labour Migration Policies in Countries of Origin and Destination, International Labour Organization, International Organization for Migration, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 248 pp. Available: www.osce.org/secretariat/19242 Wickramasekara, P. (2015). Bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding on migration of low-skilled workers: review, International Labour Office – Geneva, ILO. 64 pp.

Accessible: www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—migrant/documents/publication/wcms_385582.pdf Bilateral labour agreements, such as bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding on labour migration, have recently gained prominence as instruments to facilitate the free cross-border movement of workers. While bilateral agreements can play an important role in ensuring the protection of migrant workers` rights, in practice they have a number of gaps in terms of design, content, monitoring, implementation and impact. In response to these challenges and opportunities, ITCILO has designed this upcoming course to negotiate bilateral working agreements to increase the potential of MPAs to improve the management of labour migration, promote and protect the rights of migrant workers and improve the links between migration and development. This course aims to strengthen the negotiation skills and techniques of officials involved in the adoption and monitoring of bilateral and/or multilateral agreements. NAPAs can be a tool to better manage labour migration in a triple-win scenario: they benefit both countries of assignment and destination and migrant workers themselves. In addition, it can be a way for the country of origin to ensure that migrant workers receive adequate work and conditions of employment, in addition to ensuring that they are covered by social protection (ILO/IOM/OSCE, 2007). Adam Chilton and Eric Posner. 2018. Why countries sign bilateral labour agreements. Zeitschrift für Rechtswissenschaften 47 (S1): 45-88. At the end of this course, participants will be able to: Participants who have passed all the assessments and the final work will receive a certificate of completion.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has found that certain categories of migrants are even more limited in access to social protection (Fornalé, 2017). . . .