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ILO-DFID Partnership Programme on Fair Recruitment and Decent Work for Women Migrant Workers in South Asia and the Middle East -Phase II - Midterm evaluation

eval_number:

2868

eval_url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/2868

lessons_learned:

themes:

theme:

Migration

category:

Conditions of work & equality

---

comments:

Recruitment agency organisations and government Ministries of Labour.

challenges:

N/A

success:

N/A

context:

Countries of origin and destination

description:

Obstructive political influence of recruitment agents. In a current context like Lebanon the existing kafala system serves neither the interests of employers and employees. So why does the system persist? As has been learned through the experience of Work in Freedom, the system persists because of the role of recruitment agents and the considerable political influence they leverage. It was the recruitment agencies that blocked the reforms to the Standard Unified Contract in Lebanon in 2020 with their appeal to the State Shura Council. There are often ownership ties with political elites of the largest agencies. In the current economic circumstances, when the demand for part time domestic and care work is growing, rather than having a full time live in employee, it is the recruitment agents that are refusing to recognize how trends are shifting. In a discussion held with SORAL in Lebanon, there was no appetite for reviewing their current business model, although this is what is necessary. This similarly applies in countries of origin too. Recruitment agencies play a role in blocking reform in contexts like Bangladesh too. This creates a thorny knot in the reform process. It is also where thinking outside the box comes into the picture.

administrative_issues:

N/A

url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/lessons/229484

---

location:

country:

Asia and the Pacific - regional

region:

Asia and the Pacific

---

eval_title:

ILO-DFID Partnership Programme on Fair Recruitment and Decent Work for Women Migrant Workers in South Asia and the Middle East -Phase II - Midterm evaluation