Rights without Frontiers: Organising migrant workers in a global economy

Rights without Frontiers: Organising migrant workers in a global economy

The Building and Wood Workers International - BWI is the Global Union Federation grouping free and democratic unions with members in the building, building materials, wood, forestry and allied sectors. The BWI groups together 333 trade unions representing around 12 million members in 130 countries. The Headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. Regional Offices and Project Offices are located in Panama, Malaysia, South Africa, India, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Kenya, Lebanon, Russia, Peru, Brazil and Thailand. BWI s mission is to promote the development of trade unions in our sectors throughout the world and to promote and enforce workers rights in the context of sustainable development. Building and Wood Workers International, Geneva, October 2013 www.bwint.org

Migrant workers make enormous contributions to both their home countries and the countries where they move to for work. They often take on the difficult, dirty and dangerous jobs, known as the 3-Ds, where conditions and wages are very poor. Migrant workers are highly vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination and lack basic protections. Too often they are misunderstood and targeted as scapegoats by national workers; marginalised and discriminated by the general public; and exploited and abused by unscrupulous employers. That s why trade unions need to reach out and organise migrant workers. Ambet Yuson, General Secretary, BWI In our industries, there is a long tradition of exploiting migrant labour from lower-wage economies. Migrant workers are often under-paid and are not covered by social and labour legislation. Such precarious employment undermines the efforts of BWI affiliates to maintain and improve national standards. For that reason, BWI and its affiliates are focusing on organising temporary migrant workers, regardless of their legal status, under the banner of equal pay, benefits and conditions for equal work. Such a strategy will help build a stronger, more inclusive and dynamic trade union movement. The numbers of migrant workers has increased considerably over the last decades and these trends will most likely continue. The great majority of migrants are economic migrants, who have made the difficult decision to leave in search of work and better opportunities because of the lack of jobs at home. Globalisation and neo-liberal economic policies have resulted in sharp differences in economic growth both within and between countries. This uneven economic growth has fuelled the increase in labour migration. What do we mean by the term migrant worker? There are many different types of migrant workers. They can be internal or international, temporary, circular or permanent. They can be posted workers sent abroad for a temporary period by their home employer. They can be workers with valid work permits or workers without the required permits, known as undocumented or irregular migrants. Most are economic migrants. Some migrant workers and their families have fled persecution and war, although they may not have official status as political refugees. There are also environmental migrants, who have left areas because of drought and famine. According to the 2009 UNDP Human Development Report, there were 740 million internal migrants and 200 million international migrants. There are 17.1 million migrant workers across Africa, 44.5 million in North America, 6.7 million in Central and South America, 58.3 million in Asia and Oceania, and 64.1 million in Europe. In all of these regions at least 10 to 15 per cent are irregular migrants. 3

Migrant workers in the construction, wood and forestry industry Migrant workers, particularly men, often find jobs in the construction, wood and forestry sectors. These jobs are often unskilled, temporary work with a sub-contractor. Workers are often contracted on the basis of a shared nationality. The contractors are paid a fixed amount by the main company to complete a certain task and they make their profit by paying as little as possible to the workers they hire. So it is common to find that workers are not paid over-time but just a daily wage with no specification of the length of the working day. Migrant workers are vulnerable to abuse by labour brokers or recruitment agencies, who charge fees for finding them work abroad. Often, migrant workers find that the working and living conditions are not what they were promised. Some migrant workers do not get their wages paid on time, or there are deductions which had not been agreed. Health and safety on site can be very poor and living conditions sub-standard. In some cases, migrant workers are refused permission to return home and even have their passports confiscated. Such extreme conditions can be tantamount to forced labour. BWI CONNECT: The BWI Global Migration Project BWI affiliates in all regions of the world have increasingly focused attention on migrant workers. Resolutions on the subject were adopted at the 2nd BWI World Congress in Lille, France and the BWI 2010-2013 Strategic Plan included a priority goal on organising migrant workers. The BWI World Board and World Council endorsed the Global Campaign for Migrant Workers Rights in December 2010, known as BWI CONNECT. Article 7 of BWI Statutes: Where the members of one of the affiliated organisations are posted to another country, they shall be entitled, on the basis of their membership, to obtain advice and information free of charge from the affiliated organisation(s) in the country of employment. Where a member of one of the affiliated organisation is migrating to another country, the affiliated organisation in this country shall take the necessary steps to ensure that an uninterrupted membership can be guaranteed. 4

BWI CONNECT has 3 main goals: Increasing union membership of migrant workers in BWI affiliates through targeted recruitment campaigns; Improving working and living conditions for migrant workers, through collective bargaining, social dialogue and other means; Influencing global policy on labour migration through engagement with the UN and other multilateral organisations. BWI CONNECT Main Strategies The pillars of the BWI CONNECT strategy are organising and recruitment campaigns, global advocacy and the provision of essential services and communications. Adoption of union policies on migrant workers: Before starting organising campaigns, BWI affiliates need to resolve any internal differences within the membership related to anti-migrant worker sentiments. Union leaders need to address members concerns and to remove any misconceptions that migrant workers should be blamed for taking their jobs and bringing down national standards by accepting lower pay. Affiliates are encouraged to adopt pro-migrant worker policies and to amend the union s constitutions where necessary to allow migrant workers to become members and to integrate them into their structures. Regional Mappings: BWI carried out a series of regional mappings to identify general trends on labour migration, government policies on migration, regional governance structures and BWI organising and cooperation initiatives. These regional mappings were made for Central Asia, Caribbean, Central and South America and were designed to assist unions develop targeted organising campaigns. Partnerships to recruit and provide services: BWI adopted a two pronged strategy to organise migrant workers by developing partnerships between unions in countries of origin and destination. Unions in the countries of origin have developed pre-departure briefings and training courses focusing on employment laws, occupational health and safety standards, and other issues. Unions in the countries of destination have developed outreach programmes to recruit migrant workers and to provide a range of services, such as legal support for cases concerning non-payment of wages and other breach of contract issues, as well as assisting migrant workers to access public services, such as health and social services. Know before you go - Migrant workers guides: BWI has published a series of information booklets for migrant workers to inform them of how to obtain a work permit, basic employments laws, and to provide the contact details of trade unions and other useful organisations in countries of destination. 5

The guides are published in various languages and are distributed by BWI affiliates in both countries of origin and destination. Guides exist or are planned for Asia, South East Europe, East Africa, Central Asia, the Caribbean, Qatar, MercoSur, Central America, Nordic Countries, Thailand, Lebanon, Jordan, and Italy. 1 Global advocacy: BWI supports the work of affiliates at national level through regional and global policy advocacy, both with the UN and other global forums as well was through improving clauses in the different International Framework Agreements (IFAs). BWI developed a model clause to be included in IFAs: Protection of migrant workers Migrating and posted employees must enjoy at least the same working conditions and equal pay for equal work as that of the national work force. Workers should not be required to pay deposits, visa and other immigration fees, transportation costs, and recruiting or hiring fees. In the case of agencies dispatching workers to other countries, the agencies should be required to repatriate workers in the event that their employment ends or the user company disappears. Workers must not be required to surrender their passports or other travel or identity documents. Temporary migrant workers should have full rights to legal redress in the country where they work and they should have the right to organize and join trade unions. Migrant workers should receive details of their living and working conditions in a language they understand before leaving their country of origin. Communications: The BWI communications strategy is designed to create high visibility so that migrant workers recognise and identify with BWI as an ally and valuable source of support and links to unions and essential services in both countries of origin and destination. The BWI CONNECT blog provides regular updates on information on current policies, BWI projects and services for migrant workers. The European Construction Mobility Information Net (ECMIN) web-site, set up by the EFBWW, provides valuable information for workers prior to departure on basic employment conditions and contact details of unions in receiving countries. 2 It is expected that similar initiatives in other regions will be set up soon. BWI CONNECT in action SMS Help-Line in Malaysia: There are currently 2 million migrant workers in Malaysia, and the construction workforce comprises up to 70% migrant labour, mainly from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and India. In Malaysia, only nationals can hold positions in the union so migrant workers cannot legally form their own unions. However, the Malaysian Trade Union Congress and the national centres from the home countries have established support groups to assist migrant workers. A help-line was set up as a pilot scheme whereby migrant workers could send SMS messages to a central help-desk where union staff was available to provide advice. The SMS helpline also allows trade unions to gather information about the kinds of problems workers face and the responses of the employers, Malaysian government, and relevant embassies. 1 These guides are available on-line via the BWI Connect Migration blog at http://connect.bwint.org 2 http://ecmin.efbww.org 6

Many employers still add illegal clauses to the contracts prohibiting workers to have any contact with the unions. The SMS Help-Line has meant that that workers, who would otherwise might be afraid to contact u, can do so through a text message. For many, the SMS Help-Line was their first contact ever with a trade union. This initial contact can then lead them to join the union. Bed Kumar Kathiwada, GEFONT Nepali Support Group in Malaysia, and SMS Help-Line Organiser Reports from workers who have contacted the Help-Line provide a good picture of the situation of migrant workers in Malaysia. Many contacted the service because they were owed wages, or they were forced to work for another company with poorer working conditions than stated in their contracts. Others concerned employers who refused to compensate workers for injuries at work. Many workers reported they had been subjected to violence and threats but only one worker stated that was the primary reason for contacting the Help-Line, which might indicate that workers view such behaviour as something almost normal. Most of the cases were successfully resolved in coordination with the UNI APRO, PSI APRO, and the Malaysian Trade Union Congress. The challenge now is to build a more united movement across the different migrant communities. The Help-Line forms part of a broader cooperation agreement between the regional offices of three global unions, Public Services International (PSI), Union Network International (UNI)) and BWI, and their respective affiliates in Malaysia, along with national centres in Malaysia, Nepal and Indonesia. Over 500 messages were received in one year and the plan is to replicate the service in other regions. Organising Nepalese migrant workers in Nepal and abroad: Every year, at least 400,000 workers leave Nepal to go to work in the Gulf States, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Korea. Nepali workers are often cheated by informal recruiting agents and must accept conditions which are far below what they were initially promised. Generally, workers are recruited by local agents, so they are never in contact with the main recruitment agency let alone the final employer. Because of this system, many migrant workers arrive in their destination countries, without any knowledge of their rights, and are extremely vulnerable to exploitation. Samar Thapa, GEFONT Migrant Workers Desk, Nepal The GEFONT Migrant Workers Desk provides assistance to both workers who are leaving and those who have returned. They also lobby with the Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFAE) and the government to strengthen the regulation of the recruitment agencies. Through the BWI Nepali Affiliates Committee, the two construction unions, CUPPEC and CAWUN, together provide regular training courses for workers planning to go abroad. The unions also distribute BWI Migrant Workers Guides with important information about legislation and union contacts in the destination countries. 7

In Malaysia, through a MOU between BWI affiliates TEUPM and CCUPEC an organizer was deployed from Nepal to organize Nepalese migrant workers. This initiative is now being implemented with the GEFONT support group in Malaysia. To date the TEUPM has organized more than 1,500 migrant workers. In Hong Kong, BWI supported its affiliate, the Construction Site General Workers Union to form the Nepalese Construction Workers Union. Currently its membership is at 500. Organising internal migrant workers in Southern India: In India, there are many inter-state migrant workers, who leave the rural areas of the poorer Northern States to work in the large cities. Tamil Nadu and Kerala have a booming construction industry and agents recruit workers from Northern India. We earn more in Chennai than in Bihar but the work is hard. We have to work twelve hours a day with no compensation for overtime and because there is a lot of pressure to get the work completed, we also work on Sundays. Most of the workers come from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other Northern State. It is only the supervisors who are Tamils. Bihar migrant at the Chennai metro project, Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu Construction and Unorganised Workers Federation (TCWF) has opened a dialogue with unions in the States where the internal migrants come from, in order to work together to organise them and protect their rights. As a first step, the TCWF is assisting the migrant workers to register at the local welfare board so they can be covered by their different benefits. Organising migrant workers in the Caribbean: Since 2009, unions in the Caribbean countries of Barbados, Bermuda, Curaçao, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have been carrying out activities designed to organise migrant workers. Due to the historically high rate of migration in the Caribbean, organising migrant workers is not a new issue. However, there have been recent increases of migrant workers from outside the region, such as Brazil, China, Colombia, Philippines, Portugal, and Venezuela. Unions have used a variety of strategies, including provision of legal advice services, using the media and carrying out education programmes with trade union members about the significant contribution of migrant workers to the economy. In these ways, unions have increased their overall membership by over 10%. 8

Argentina: UOCRA helps unions to obtain work permits under Patria Grande Act: Migrant workers from other Latin American countries, particularly Paraguay, make up about 60% of the construction workforce in Argentina. A new law was adopted in 2005, known as the Patria Grande Act, which provides avenues for undocumented migrant workers to register for work permits. Once registered, workers can join the Argentinean social security system, and benefit from a pension and other insurance benefits. The construction workers union, UOCRA, has published a leaflet explaining the procedures to register, and where to go for further advice. Union members have taken on the task of distributing the leaflets at their work sites. Switzerland: Fighting for back wages: UNIA in Switzerland recognised the importance of employing organisers who can speak the languages of the migrant communities. After hiring a Polishspeaking organiser in 2012, UNIA was contacted by a group of 10 Polish construction workers at a hotel construction site, who were paid irregularly, worked 58 hour weeks and were charged excessive accommodation costs. With UNIA s intervention, they were given their wage arrears and were informed of their working rights. They then joined the union. Italy and Tunisia: Agreeing to save migrant lives: BWI Italian affiliates (FILLEA-CGIL, FENEAL- UIL, and FILCA-CISL) met with Tunisian affiliate, (FBGG-UGTT) in December 2012 and agreed to cooperate together to support and organise Tunisian migrant workers in Italy. The Tunisians agreed to undertake a study to identify points of departure for Tunisians leaving for Italy through both regular and irregular channels. They are also disseminating information about working conditions and labour rights in Italy, and also the dangers and high costs of migration, particularly through irregular channels. South East Europe cooperation agreement: Affiliates in South East Europe agreed to work together to conduct a sub-regional mapping, produce campaign materials and develop joint programmes. A guide was produced on information that migrant workers need to know before arriving in the country of destination, such as work permits and medical and social insurance schemes, including contact addresses of the BWI affiliates and other useful addresses. In Serbia, organisers were trained on how to reach out to migrant workers and in Croatia, the union organised over 200 migrant workers on the road construction projects. Russia campaign to recruit migrant workers: The Construction Workers Union of Russia distributed materials to migrant workers about their rights, requirements for a legal employment contract and information about occupational health and safety standards. The union found that one of the main issues facing migrant workers was non-payment of wages. As many of the workers did not have legal employment contracts, it was difficult for them to claim their wages. So through its legal department, the union began contacting employers who were not paying wages on time, and threatened to take them to court. Most companies did not want problems with the law and agreed to pay the back wages owed. However, in some cases, when the employer did not take any action, the union filed a complaint at the Prosecutor s Office. The union estimates it has recuperated millions of Roubles in back wages. The union has also helped migrant workers claim compensation for injuries as a result of work accidents. The union now has over 4,000 migrant workers as members and has established a national committee to represent their interests. 9

Central Asia cooperation agreement: The Tajikistan Construction Workers Union and Kazakhstan Construction Union signed a partnership agreement to address the situation of Tajik migrant workers in Kazakhstan. A centre for migrant workers was established in the Khotlon region of Tajikistan, the region where the majority of migrant workers came from. The unions produced materials about basic employment laws, occupational health and safety standards and other issues. They also conducted pre-departure trainings so that they were able to organise the workers prior to their departure. The success of this partnership was instrumental in leading to a broader cooperation agreement for Central Asia which was signed in November 2011. Uganda: 12 Indian migrant workers rescued A labour broker from Orissa, Mr. Durga Shankar Mohapatra, recruited 16 workers to accept an offer of employment in South Africa. However, instead they were taken to Uganda to work for a different company, called Vishwas Metals Limited in Jinja, Uganda. Although the workers had been promised a monthly salary of INR 15,000 (US $ 315), they were denied salaries, basic amenities like proper drinking water, food and mandatory breaks between work shifts. The employer confiscated their passports and mobile phones and physically assaulted them when they complained. Four workers managed to return to India in October 2011 and contacted the Orissa construction union, Orissa Nirman Mazdoor Sangathan (ONMS). With the help of the BWI regional offices and the Uganda construction union (UBCCECAWU), BWI s affiliate in Uganda, the workers were successfully repatriated at the beginning of December. Oloka Mesilamu, General Secretary of UBCCECAWU met the workers, the employers, lawyers and the Ugandan Labour Commissioner. BWI affiliates in India were also active. R.C. Khuntia, Vice-President for BWI Asia Pacific Region and a Member of the Indian Parliament contacted the Minister of Overseas Affairs. As a result, the Indian High Commission in Uganda also intervened to ensure the safe travel of the workers. In Orissa, the ONMS union and workers launched a legal case against the contractor for wage arrears and compensation for their ordeal. We shall always remain grateful to the BWI and its affiliate in Uganda for heeding our voices for help. With support from the union and the BWI, we are pursuing our case with the police and the courts to bring the labour broker to justice. My advice to others is that wherever possible, seek union s guidance and support at the local level and in the country of destination. Krishna Sasmal, Puri, Orissa, migrant worker after repatriation 10

Without us, there will be no World Cup in 2022 Campaign in Qatar Just 6% of the working population of Qatar is Qatari the country s economy and its ability to deliver the World Cup is totally dependent on the severe exploitation of migrant labour, which we believe to be barely above forced labour conditions. Ambet Yuson, General Secretary, BWI In Qatar, migrant workers, mainly from India, Nepal and Pakistan, make up 99% of the construction workforce and despite assurances to the contrary from Qatari authorities, there is no legal framework which enables the existence of independent trade unions. Migrant workers are prohibited from joining trade unions and cannot change employers under the kefala or worker sponsorship system. Over 1.2 million migrant workers will be recruited to build the stadiums and other infrastructure in preparation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. There is an extremely high incidence of occupational injuries on the sites with more than 1000 workers injured during 2012. The workers are not involved in preventive measures and do not have adequate training or equipment, nor channels to voice concerns. The Qatari Labour Inspectorate is insufficient to inspect sites regularly and cannot communicate with the great majority of migrant workers, because they do not speak Arabic or English. As part of the sports campaign for the 2022 World Cup, the ITUC and BWI wrote to FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Qatar s FIFA delegate, construction magnate Mohamed bin Hammam, calling for the organisation to explain how it can protect the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who will be subject to unsafe and unregulated working conditions on the construction sites, with no independent unions or effective safety inspection. BWI organised fact-finding missions to Qatar, together with union organisers from India and Nepal, two of the main source countries for migrant workers in Qatar. The union leaders conducted direct outreach meetings with migrant workers at work-sites, residential areas and during community events. They organised migrant workers assemblies in order to gather people together and discuss working conditions. Major concerns raised by workers were inconsistencies between actual work conditions compared to the employment contract, wage arrears, poor living conditions and not being allowed to return home in cases of family emergencies. In addition, Nepali workers are paid less than their Indian counterparts. During the Doha Climate Change conference, COP 18, in November 2012, BWI held a series of actions, coordinated with the ITUC. Union leaders were also able to highlight the situation of migrant workers in Qatar during the public march. BWI networked with other human rights organisations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, as well as migrant rights organisations. 11

BWI is also working with the ITUC on the campaign No World Cup Without Workers Rights by sending letters of protest. The goal is to reach an equivalent amount of letters as the number of seats at the Al-Rayyan Stadium in Doha. Working in partnership with the Global Union Federations: BWI has played an increasing role in policy development and advocacy on migration at the global and regional level. As Chair of the Council of Global Unions Working Group on Migration, it has coordinated with other global unions to formulate unified positions and strategies in relation to the international governance of migration. A Global Unions Strategy Meeting on Migration brought together close to 60 trade union representatives from national centres and affiliates of BWI, PSI, EI and UNI. BWI was represented by affiliates and staff from Africa, Asia and Europe. The meeting adopted a plan of action to take back to their respective organisations. International governance of migration: At the moment, there is no clear institutional framework on migration at the global level. Current international cooperation on migration takes place through informal networks, with no monitoring system. The global trend is for States to give priority to security and economic interests in relation to migration at the expense of human rights and labour rights obligations. Trade and services agreements often include migration schemes, which treat migrant workers as goods or commodities, rather than human beings with inalienable rights. The Role of the UN and the ILO: The ILO constitutional mandate includes the protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries other than their own. BWI and other global unions have agreed to promote the mandate, role and rights-based approach of the ILO as the only UN organisation with competence on labour migration. They argue that migration policies, programmes and agreements should be developed within the framework of the ILO Decent Work agenda and that at national level, the Decent Work Country Programmes should include a focus on migrant workers. The Without Us Geneva tram during the 101st ILO Conference During the 101st ILO Conference in June 2012, which is held in Geneva, the BWI, together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Education International and PSI sponsored an advertisement painted on the outside of Geneva s public trams. The advertisement featured four posters highlighting the important contribution of migrant workers to national economies, in education, health care, the construction sector and as domestic workers. The objective was to increase public awareness about the significant role of migrant workers and to combat xenophobia. 12

In order to strengthen the existing human rights framework, the global unions have agreed to intensify national campaigns for the ratification of ILO Conventions 97 and 143 on migrant workers and the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. The global unions also agreed to increase the strategic use of the UN and ILO supervisory mechanisms in order to protect migrant workers rights and to use the relevant Conventions in national litigation strategies. BWI and ITUC submitted two complaints to the ILO against the government of Qatar for violation of ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association and ILO Convention 29 on forced labour in September 2012, concerning treatment of migrant workers on construction sites. Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD): In the past, BWI and other global unions have participated actively in the annual meetings of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), which first took place in 2007. The GFMD is an informal, voluntary process whereby governments meet to review issues concerning international migration, with the participation of civil society representatives. In 2012, the global unions decided to reduce their level of engagement with the GFMD due to well-documented democratic and accountability deficits and its lack of a genuine rights-based approach to labour migration. UN High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD): Instead, the global unions are preparing for the High-level Dialogue (HLD) in October 2013, as an opportunity to reaffirm the responsibility of the UN to promote a rights-based approach to migration at all levels. The purpose of the HLD is to identify concrete measures to strengthen coherence and cooperation at all levels, with a view to enhancing the benefits of international migration for migrants and countries alike and its important links to development, while reducing its negative implications. The global unions argue that the HLD must reaffirm the primacy of the UN agencies, improve collaboration between them and clearly uphold the leadership of the ILO on issues related to labour migration. Labour migration agreements must be separated from trade deals. The promotion of decent work, for both migrant and national workers alike, is a pathway to sustainable development. Migrant workers rights to form and join a union are central to ensuring other rights are protected, including the right to equal wages, working conditions and employment related social benefits, as well as access to justice and effective grievance mechanisms. The global unions have also called for the creation and implementation of effective standards and mechanisms to regulate private recruitment agencies, because they can be abusive and exploit migrant workers vulnerability. Looking towards the future, the global unions have called for the integration of migration issues into the post-2015 development agenda in such a way as to both acknowledge the financial and social contributions of migrants to development while protecting their rights. This can only be achieved if well-functioning social dialogue mechanisms, including with the participation of migrant workers organisations, are in place at national, regional and international levels. Only then, will it be possible for migrant workers in BWI sectors to have their rights adequately safeguarded. In that way, labour migration in the future can become a genuine choice, in the knowledge that migrants will be treated on an equal basis with nationals and can enjoy decent work. 13

The Way Forward Since BWI Connect was adopted by the World Board in 2010, it has been launched in Southeast Europe, Central Asia, East Africa, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Jordan, Qatar, India, and Nepal. It has also integrated the work of BWI s existing work on migration in Southeast Europe and Mercosur. In addition, through BWI Connect, the work of BWI s affiliates programmes on organising migrant workers in Switzerland, Sweden, and the Netherlands have been highlighted. The strategy in launching or implementing BWI Connect in these regions and countries has been consistent in following the three pillars of BWI Connect-Organising, Policy advocacy, and Communication and providing essentials services. This strategy has proved to work with modifications dependent upon the level of the capacity of the union s involved. It should also be noted that another factor that has played in the implementation of BWI Connect has been the political events as the case in North Africa and Bahrain. BWI Connect has also made tremendous in roads in its advocacy at the international level in addressing global governance of labour migration to ensure a rights-based approach to labour migration. It has played prominently in the discourse at the Global Forum on Migration and Development, the preparatory discussions for the High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development, and more importantly at the ILO. At the regional level, it continues to work with the Regional offices to ensure a similar level of advocacy within regional and sub-regional structures. In relations to multinational corporations, the recent revised International Framework Agreement (IFA) with Lafarge is indicative that clauses promoting the rights of migrant workers can be incorporated and agreed upon. From this basis, there should be more discussions with companies in the negotiations and renegotiations of including migrant workers rights in the IFAs. BWI Connect s various communication tools such as the BWI Connect migration blog and the Without Us multi-media campaign has been fruitful in highlighting the work of BWI and its affiliates in outreaching to migrant workers. The latter is more significant in that it outreaches to the general public about the contributions of migrant workers. As BWI Connect moves forward through the next phase, the critical element is the actual organising of migrant workers. Where BWI Connect has been launched, organising campaigns needs to be further developed. Where BWI Connect is active in working with affiliates in organising, the integration of migrant workers into trade unions needs to be further developed. 14

Rights without Frontiers: Organising migrant workers in a global economy Building and Wood Worker s International 54 route des Acacias CH-1227 Carouge GE Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 827 37 77 Fax: +41 22 827 37 70 Email: info@bwint.org www.bwint.org