eco project - labour movement (1)

7/27/2019 Eco Project - Labour Movement (1)

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INTRODUCTION

I nternational Mi gration :

International migration occurs when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for

some minimum length of time. Migration occurs for many reasons. Many people leave their

home countries in order to look for economic opportunities in another country. Others migrate to

be with family members who have migrated or because of political conditions in their countries.

Education is another reason for international migration, as students pursue their studies abroad.

While there are several different potential systems for categorizing international migrants, one

system organizes them into nine groups: temporary labour migrants; irregular, illegal, or

undocumented migrants; highly skilled and business migrants; refugees; asylum seekers; forced

migration; family members; return migrants; and long-term, low-skilled migrants. These

migrants can also be divided into two large groups, permanent and temporary. Permanent

migrants intend to establish their permanent residence in a new country and possibly obtain that

countrys citizenship. Temporary migrants intend only to stay for a limited periods of time;

perhaps until the end of a particular program of study or for the duration of a their work contract

or a certain work season. Both types of migrants have a significant effect on the economies and

societies of the chosen destination country and the country of origin.

Similarly, the countries which receive these migrants are often grouped into four categories:

traditional settlement countries, European countries which encouraged labour migration after

World War II, European countries which receive a significant portion of their immigrant

populations from their former colonies, and countries which formerly were points of emigration

but have recently emerged as immigrant destinations.


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Human M igration :

Human migration (derived from Latin: migratio)is physical movement by humans from one area

to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was

nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their

displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic people have retained this form of

lifestyle in modern times. Migration has continued under the form of both voluntary migration

within one's region, country, or beyond and involuntary migration (which includes the slave

trade, trafficking in human beings and ethnic cleansing). People who migrate into a territory are

called immigrants, while at the departure point they are called emigrants. Small populations

migrating to develop a territory considered void of settlement depending on historical setting,

circumstances and perspective are referred to as settlers or colonists, while populations displaced

by immigration and colonization are called refugees. The rest of this article will cover sense of a

"change of residence", rather than the temporary migrations of travel, tourism, pilgrimages, or

the commute.

According to International Organization for Migration, man "no universally accepted definition

for (migrant) exists. The term migrant was usually understood to cover all cases where the

decision to migrate was taken freely by the individual concerned for reasons of "personal

convenience" and without intervention of an external compelling factor; it therefore applied to

persons, and family members, moving to another country or region to better their material or

social conditions and improve the prospect for themselves or their family. The United Nations

defines migrant as an individual who has resided in a foreign country for more than one year

irrespective of the causes, voluntary or involuntary, and the means, regular or irregular, used tomigrate. Under such a definition, those travelling for shorter periods as tourists and

businesspersons would not be considered migrants. However, common usage includes certain

kinds of shorter-term migrants, such as seasonal farm-workers who travel for short periods to

work planting or harvesting farm products." Also, human migration happened when the Paleo-

Indians entered America.


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Migration statistics

According to the International Organization for Migration's World Migration Report 2010, the

number of international migrants was estimated at 214 million in 2010. If this number continues

to grow at the same pace as during the last 20 years, it could reach 405 million by 2050. While

some modern migration is a byproduct of wars (for example, emigration from Iraq and Bosnia to

the US and UK), political conflicts (for example, some emigration from Zimbabwe to the UK),

and natural disasters (for example, emigration from Montserrat to the UK following the eruption

of the island's volcano), contemporary migration is predominantly economically motivated. In

particular, there are wide disparities in the incomes that can be earned for similar work in

different countries of the world. There are also, at any given time, some jobs in some high-wage

countries for which there is a shortage of appropriately skilled or qualified citizens. Some

countries (e.g., UK and Australia) operate points systems that give some lawful immigration

visas to some non-citizens who are qualified for such shortage jobs. Non-citizens, therefore, have

an economic incentive to obtain the necessary skills and qualifications in their own countries and

then apply for, and migrate to take up, these job vacancies. International migration similarly

motivated by economic disparities and opportunities occurs within the EU, where legal barriers

to migration between member countries have been wholly or partially lifted. Countries with

higher prevailing wage levels, such as France, Germany, Italy and the UK are net recipients of

immigration from lower-wage member countries such as Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland

and Romania.

Some contemporary economic migration occurs even where the migrant becomes illegally

resident in their destination country and therefore at major disadvantage in the employment

market. Illegal immigrants are, for example, known to cross in significant numbers, typically at

night, from Mexico into the US, from Mozambique into South Africa, from Bulgaria and Turkey

into Greece, from north Africa into Spain and Italy and from Bangladesh into India.

The pressures of human migrations, whether as outright conquest or by slow cultural infiltration

and resettlement, have affected the grand epochs in history and in land (for example, the decline

of the Roman Empire); under the form of colonization, migration has transformed the world


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(such as the prehistoric and historic settlements of Australia and the Americas). Population

genetics studied in traditionally settled modern populations have opened a window into the

historical patterns of migrations, a technique pioneered by Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza.

Forced migration has been a means of social control under authoritarian regimes, yet free-

initiative migration is a powerful factor in social adjustment and the growth of urban

populations.

In December 2003, The Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) was launched

with the support of Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan and several countries,

with an independent 19-member commission, a threefold mandate and a finite lifespan ending

December 2005. Its report, based on regional consultation meetings with stakeholders and

scientific reports from leading international migration experts, was published and presented to

Kofi Annan on 5 October 2005.[3]

International migration challenges at the global level are addressed through the Global Migration

Group, established in 2006.


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Different types of migration include:

Seasonal human migration mainly related to agriculture and tourism to urban places

Rural to urban, more common in developing countries as industrialization takes effect

(urbanization)

Urban to rural, more common in developed countries due to a higher cost of urban living

(suburbanization)

International migration

Modern migrations

While the pace of migration had accelerated since the 18th century already (including the

involuntary slave trade), it would increase further in the 19th century. Manning distinguishes

three major types of migration: labor migration, refugee migrations, and urbanization. Millions

of agricultural workers left the countryside and moved to the cities causing unprecedented levels

of urbanization. This phenomenon began in Britain in the late 18th century and spread around the

world and continues to this day in many areas.

Industrialization encouraged migration wherever it appeared. The increasingly global economy

globalized the labor market. The Atlantic slave trade diminished sharply after 1820, which gave

rise to self-bound contract labor migration from Europe and Asia to plantations.

Overpopulation[citation needed], open agricultural frontiers, and rising industrial centers

attracted voluntary migrants. Moreover, migration was significantly made easier by improved

transportation techniques.

Romantic nationalism also rose in the 19th century, and, with it, ethnocentrism. The great

European industrial empires also rose. Both factors contributed to migration, as some countries

favored their own ethnicities over outsiders and other countries appeared to be considerably


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more welcoming. For example, the Russian Empire identified with Eastern Orthodoxy, and

confined Jews, who were not Eastern Orthodox, to the Pale of Settlement and imposed

restrictions. Violence was also a problem. The United States was promoted as a better location, a

"golden land" where Jews could live more openly.

Another effect of imperialism, colonialism, led to the migration of some colonizing parties from

"home countries" to "the colonies", and eventually the migration of people from "colonies" to

"home countries".

Transnational labor migration reached a peak of three million migrants per year in the early

twentieth century. Italy, Norway, Ireland and the Guangdong region of China were regions with

especially high emigration rates during these years. These large migration flows influenced the

process of nation state formation in many ways. Immigration restrictions have been developed,

as well as diaspora cultures and myths that reflect the importance of migration to the foundation

of certain nations, like the American melting pot. The transnational labor migration fell to a

lower level from 1930s to the 1960s and then rebounded.

The United States experienced considerable internal migration related to industrialization,

including its African American population. From 19101970, approximately 7 million African

Americans migrated from the rural Southern United States, where blacks faced both poor

economic opportunities and considerable political and social prejudice, to the industrial cities of

the Northeast, Midwest and West, where relatively well-paid jobs were available. This

phenomenon came to be known in the United States as its own Great Migration. With the demise

of legalized segregation in the 1960s and greatly improved economic opportunities in the South

in the subsequent decades, millions of blacks have returned to the South from other parts of the

country since 1980 in what has been called the New Great Migration.


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Labour M igration in context of Economic Impact :

Labour mobility is one of the key features of economic development and its characteristics are

closely tied with the nature of this development. Historically, development is associated with

unevenness and structural change, giving an impetus to the movement of workers from one

region to another, and from one sector to another. Even within the macro-structural features

which determine the supply of, and demand for, certain types of migrant labour, the pattern of

migration depends on a host of factors determined by labour market characteristics, together with

individual, household and community level features, and the existence of social networks, among

other things. These factors cumulatively determine the causes of migration. On the other hand,

labour migration plays a key role in influencing the pattern of development, through its impact

on a host of economic and non-economic variables, both in the origin and destination areas.

Labour migration does not recognize bordersbut borders, whether urban, state, or international

influence migration through a host of policies and regulatory measures. A key distinction

between internal and international migration is the existence of national regulatory frameworks

such as immigration controls (which leads to a distinction between regular and irregular

migration). But regulatory frameworks and restrictive policies also operate within nation states.

Early development literature conceptualized labour migration as occurring from the rural to

urban, agricultural to industrial, and informal to formal sectors. However, the workforce pattern

has changed across the world in favour of the services sector, and the informal sector is more

prominent today, both in developing and developed countries than it was twenty or thirty years

ago. In developing countries, the informal sector is no longer conceived as a temporary

destination for migrants but in most cases, as a final destination. The (changing) structural

features of world capitalism have an important bearing on both internal and international

migration.


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The theme on labour migration will explore all types of labour migrationinternal, inter-state,

cross-border and international. It will encourage crossdisciplinary studies and papers based on

both fieldwork and secondary data.

We would welcome papers which explore not only economic issues but also historical, political,

sociological and psychological factors affecting labour migration and the consequences of

migration at more disaggregate levels, viz., for various socio-economic strata and segments of

the population and for women, men, the elderly and children separately, wherever possible. The

contributors should confine themselves to the issue of worker migration, as conventionally

defined in SNA accounts, and to leave out those types of forced labour migration, which are

not conventionally included in work but are covered in international conventions on forced

labour and trafficking. The paper contributors should not be concerned with other forms of non-

labour migration (such as refugee or student migration) or with population mobility, which is

important for an understanding urban growth.


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Labour M igration, its advantages and concerns :

There is a common trend of labor migration for better employment opportunities to other

countries which is in force since long time back. There are basically two types of labor migration

which can be found in the host countries: temporary labor migrations and permanent labor

migration. Temporary labor migration means when a worker moves out from his home country

to some other place in search of work but on a temporary basis that is for a limited period of time

whereas, permanent labor migration means the relocation of a worker in a place outside his home

country with no assurance of returning back.

There are both challenges and opportunities attached with labor migration in todays world.

These challenges and opportunities have been realized by the host countries, different states and

the stakeholders. They have also become conscious of the fact that though there are possibilities

of negative impact of labor migration however the manifold economic, cultural and social

benefits of the same cannot be ruled out. For the person who ventures out of his home or for that

matter his country, in search of employment he is in a way helping his family to sustain their

livelihood which he may not be able to achieve domestically. The same way thousands of

populace who lack opportunities back home is only finding major livelihood strategy through

migration. As regards the state, migration is a potential tool for expansion and growth and has

the potential of trimming down poverty.

International migration from Asia grew noticeably in the year 1970s and 1980s. People mainly

migrated to North America, Australia and also to the oil rich countries of the Middle East. The

newly emerging industrialized countries in Asia saw an upward trend in labor migration from the

year 1990s. Emigration and Immigration were both relevant in 1990s in the Asian countries. In

this regard, countries which were experiencing immigration mostly were: Brunei, Hong Kong,

Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Malaysia and Thailand were the countries which

experienced both Immigration and Emigration. Finally the countries with most emigration were:


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Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri

Lanka and Vietnam.

Migrant workers often face various problems. Violations of rights, harassments, neglect are some

of the many issues faced by the migrant workers. Corruptions and exploitations often make it

hard for the migrant workers to settle in their place of work. Considering the fact that the migrant

workers invest their own resources to acquire new skills and therefore help in financial

development of the region, they must be taken care of and their issues must be resolved for the

benefit of the workers and the country as a whole.


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Labour Market :

The costs and benefits of labour migration has become a highly topical issue among economists

and policy-makers over recent years. Foreign workers now account for over 5 per cent of the UK

labour force. This note considers some of the economic and social costs and benefits from the

rising scale of labour migration.

An increase in the rate of net migration can have significant effects on the labour markets of

individual countries and wider macroeconomic effects on variables such as economic growth,

unemployement and inflation.

Economic factors in f luencing migration decisions :

Context:

- Global Population: 6.5 billion

- Global labourforce 3.2 billion of whom 85% live in less developed countries

- Global Migrants: estimated at 190 million, of whom 90 million are in the labour force 95

million and sixty per cent are in developed countries

- Global labour force: 40% agriculture, 20% industry, 40% services

- Developed country labour force: 3% agriculture, 25% industry, 72 % services

- Migrants in developed countries (60 million out of a total of 500 million): 10% agriculture,

40% industry, 50% services


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There are many r easons why people choose to migrate:

F inancial incentives:

Individuals may estimate the private costs and private benefits of moving from one country to

another. The incentive to migrate is strongest when the expected increase in earnings exceeds the

cost of relocation. In some countries there are significant differences in average wage levels that

more than compensate for variations in the cost of living. In a world of rising economic

inequalities, the motivation to move to search for better paid word can be extremely powerful.

Estimates of purchasing power parity can be useful in establishing the real income gains from

working in one country rather than another.

Financial incentives are also affected by the tax and welfare systems of different countries. Just

as capital can move from one country to another seeking the highest post-tax expected rate of

return, so workers may be induced to move because of variations in the generosity of the welfare

system and differences in the rates of direct income tax.


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Non-f inancial reasons:

Other reasons for migrating, such as the opportunity to study in a foreign country, learn a new

language, joining family members, or more generally improving living standards and seeking a

better quality of life. Revolutions in communication and transport have also encouraged higher

levels of cross country migration.

The economic costs and benefi ts of mi gration

The economic effects of immigration depend not on population growth or density but on the

characteristics of the immigrants themselves. While every mouth brings a pair of hands, these

hands sometimes make more than they eat and sometimes less.

On balance, immigration usually produces economic benefits for the receiving country.

Immigrants are more economically active than the native population; are paid less than natives

with similar skills; are more energetic than natives; and more willing to take undesirable jobs,

such as those with unsocial hours.

Does labour market migration create more of an economic burden f or the host countr y?

Or can it provide a valuable contribution to raising productivity, entrepreneurship and economicgrowth in the long term? There can be no definitive answer of course. What is certain is that

migration will remain an important issue for the UK and for the European Union over the

coming years. In our discussion below of the costs and benefits of migration we focus on legal

immigration rather than the concerns that arise from the illegal movement and trafficking of

workers from country to country.


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What are some of the macroeconomic benefi ts from an in f lux of workers into the economy?

An expansion of the labour supplymigration can extend the pool of available labour for

firms: for example, skilled migrants may alleviate shortages in sectors such as the NHS,

agriculture, construction, computing industries and state education - allowing the government to

meet targets for improving public services.

Migrants tend to be young adultsso a rising trend of migration can help to increase the

population of working age and also the flexibility of the labour market. Many migrants into the

UK are highly skilled people, drawn particularly to the quaternary service sector, especially in

finance, in London and South-east England.

Reduced pressure on wage inflation -an increase in labour supply from migration is likely torestrain wage growth in the short term, given the amount of labour that firms demand. This is

shown in the diagram below. A slower rate of increase in wages has the effect of easing cost-

push inflationary pressure which might then give the Bank of England more leeway to keep

interest rates low. Immigrants are usually prepared to work for lower wages than domestic

workers. This can mean lower costs of production for suppliers which can then feed through into

lower retail prices for consumers.

A fall in the NAIRU -If migration effects are strong, then it is plausible to argue that the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment might fall. Because when labour demand is very

strong, whereas normally this could put upward pressure on wages, if labour supply can adjust

flexibly to rising demand, then there is less risk of acceleration in wage and price inflation.

However, we should be cautious about this ideafor there are always natural and institutional

barriers to the geographical mobility of labour. And the levels of migration we are seeing in the

UK are not particularly large at the current time.

Aggregate demand effects- economic migrants are likely to earn more than they spend

contributing to the growth of the local or regional economy.


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Entrepreneurship supporters of a more relaxed approach to migration claim that many of the

migrants are younger and have the potential to be entrepreneurial in their approachanother

potential supply-side gain for the economy.

Higher trend growth - taken as a whole, a positive rate of migration can add both to short-term

economic growth (via a rise in aggregate demand) and also a slightly faster trend rate of growth

(which brings economic benefits in the long run). The UK Treasury has estimated that the

economy might grow each year by an additional quarter of a percentage pointworth 2.5

billionuntil 2006. That handy annual addition to GDP should also boost government tax

revenues by about 1 billion every year. This assumes a net migration of between 160,000

180,000 per year


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The costs of migration

We cannot rely on mass immigration to solve the problems arising from ageing of the population

and alleged labour shortages. Mass immigration is not an effective solution to these problems. To

the extent that they are real, such problems can only be effectively tackled by mobilizing the

under-utilized talents and energies of the existing population. This does not mean that there is no

economic benefit at all from immigration. It will always be in our collective interest to admit

skilled and talented people. But this is happening already

Opponents of labour migration including pressure groups such as Migration Watch highlight the

potential costs of a growing inflow of new workers.

Depressing the real wages of domestic workerse.g. an inflow of new workers will lead

to an increased supply of low skilled workers and therefore drive down the equilibrium wage for

domestic low-skilled employees.

Doubts about productivity effect: Many immigrants, especially those from poorer

countries, have a low educational level and are more likely to be unemployed or economically

inactive than the domestic population.

Increased pressure on the welfare state (benefits, education, housing and health) the

taxpayer may eventually have to pay for the increased level of government spending needed to

extend the economys infrastructure

Unemployment concerns: There is a risk of higher unemployment if the skills profile of

migrants does not match the demands of the growing industries in the economy


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Increased pressure on scarce resources: The inflow of immigrants into an area may

increase the demand for housing and push up the cost of living. To compensate their workforce

many employers are likely to raise money wages

The longer term benefits and costs of increased labour migration are very hard to quantify and

estimate. Much depends on:

The types of people who choose to migrate from one country to another

The ease with which they assimilate into a new country and whether they find full-time

employment.

The extent to which a rise in labour migration stimulates an increase in capital

expenditure by firms and by government.

Whether workers who come to the UK decide to stay in the longer term (this may involve

members of their extended family joining them) or whether they regard migration as essentially a

temporary exercise (e.g. to gain qualifications, learn some English) before moving back to their

country of origin.


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Who Benefi ts F rom Migration?

People move back and forth across the globe. There are labour migrants, refugees, family

reunification, students, volunteers, adventurers, tourists and people who are simply searching for

a better quality of life. It is all a part of globalisation and it contains progress and development. It

is a way to encounter new possibilities in life. The future is no longer only the culture of origin;

instead a person has the ability to live in a different culture. People who do not get the chance to

move are the ones without a choice. The migrant has a choice. If a person is unhappy with the

situation she/he is living in, this is an opportunity of a life time. Globalisation in its glory as it

contains new opportunities and new possibilities for those who are included. Does this mean that

migration always is beneficial for the migrant?

It spins my mind every time I try to figure out the distinction between voluntary and forced

migrants. I understand that voluntary migrants have migrated due to achieving a better life. Is not

a forced migrant searching for a better life as well? As I see it the migrant has a choice but the

alternatives the migrant is facing are diverse. The definition of a better life can differ depending

on the migrant. A Swedish migrant might go to Ghana for working as a volunteer as the migrant

feels that the journey will improve this person's life and contribute to improve other peoples'

lives. Sweden is a safe place to live in and thereby the migrant was not forced to leave. However,

a sense of guilt towards inequalities might make the migrant feel forced to leave. This migrant is

still referred to as a voluntary migrant. A forced migrant, on the other hand, is someone who has

to move due to war or starvation in the country of origin. It is in this case a matter of survival or

death. Is not the forced migrant also searching for a better quality of life? If this is the case are

not the forced migrants and the voluntary migrants both benefiting from migrating? It is then

only the migrants who have achieved refugee status who are truly forced as they are facing death

if returning. Migrating is then only a matter of survival and not a matter of benefiting. The

refugee might have appreciated life in the country of origin more than the life in the country of

destination. Furthermore, problems might arise when the country of origin will not accept the

refugees to repatriate.


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Economic factors inf luencing migration decisions

Context:

- Global Population: 6.5 billion

- Global labour force 3.2 billion of whom 85% live in less developed countries

- Global Migrants: estimated at 190 million, of whom 90 million are in the labour force 95

million and sixty per cent are in developed countries

- Global labour force: 40% agriculture, 20% industry, 40% services

- Developed country labour force: 3% agriculture, 25% industry, 72 % services

- Migrants in developed countries (60 million out of a total of 500 million): 10% agriculture,

40% industry, 50% services


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Case study -M igration expands the UK workforce

The number of people in the UK of working age (16 to 59 for women, 16 to 64 for men) has

risen by 274,000 over the last year and by over 450,000 since unemployment reached a low in

September 2004. The total number of people aged 16 or above has risen by 637,000 over the

same period. Part of this increase no doubt reflects the effects of immigration flows into the UK

following the expansion of the European Union. It is estimated that net migration totalled

300,000 or so in 2004, before rising to around 470,000 in 2005. Of course, these totals are

unlikely to have shown up in full in the official data on the working age population, not least

because some of the migrants will presumably have been children. Nonetheless, they suggest that

much of the recent pick-up in the growth of the work-force has been down to the effect of

increased immigration.

The country of origin has the control of letting people out and letting former citizens repatriate.

The countries of origin can benefit from keeping people from moving as they may consider the

citizens as a necessary asset to the country. For instance, soldiers in war have been forced to stay.

On the other hand can out-migration be beneficial for the country of origin as the population

might be too high. By losing some of the population there are fewer citizens to feed and protect.

If the migrants want to repatriate, the country of origin has the power to reject their former

citizens and might do so because the state does no longer see the migrant as an asset to the

nation-state. In all, the country of origin dominates who can leave and who can get back in and

the reason to dominate rests on what is best for the nation-state and not for the migrant.

What in turn happens to the countries that the migrants go to? Are these nation-states victims of

globalisation? As xenophobia and racism is well-known world-wide the quick answer could be

that these receiving nation-states are victims and that the immigrants have worsened the living

situation in the receiving nation-states. But one should not jump into conclusions. The receiving

nation-states are controlling immigration for a reason. There is a point to why some nation-states

accept immigrants and some do not. The same nation-states have changed the rates of


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immigrants depending on which period in time it has been. Immigrants are an asset to the

receiving nation-states. But if the immigrants are portrayed as being a burden, the receiving

nation-states will get credit for accepting them which is safe to claim as being the case today.

Immigrants are an asset simply because they are let in when they are needed. The two main

reasons have been uneven demographic development and the need of labour. The receiving

nation-states have been in a crisis and immigrants have helped to stabilise the situation.

Immigrants can even be an economical benefit to the receiving nation-states as many immigrants

enter the nation-states as grown-ups meaning that they are most presumably already educated or

skilled workers. Therefore the receiving nation-states do not have to pay for their education or

training. On top of that, the immigrant can contribute with new knowledge from the country of

origin. The immigrant's worst enemy, negative prejudices, is starting to blur up. I am referring to

the prejudiced paradox that immigrants either are lazy and do not work or take all the native jobs.

Portray immigrants as a burden to the receiving nation-states because only then will the receiving

nation-states be glorified for accepting immigrants.

As the different states are controlling the migrants it is not farfetched to claim that the states are

the most beneficial actors influenced by migration. If the migrants were those who were meant to

be benefited then migration would have no reason to be controlled by the state.

The lack of decent employment opportunities has led many to seek employment abroad. Some of

the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are among those most affected by both internal and

external migration . The ILO estimates, for example, that 40 per cent of the Albanian workforce

is working abroad, and that a quarter of the economically active population of the Republic ofMoldova is working outside the country. As foreign workers are often employed in precarious

work situations and are among the first to be laid off, this has aggravated the unemployment

situation in the region following the crisis.


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The ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Central and Eastern

Europe provides assistance in forging national policies and resources to better manage labour

migration so that it contributes positively to the growth and development of both home and host

societies, as well as to the well-being of migrants themselves in the Central and Eastern

European region. The ILO emphasizes the need to protect migrants labour rights in host

countries. The team also helps to build the capacity of labour market institutions, including the

social partners, on the design, monitor and evaluation of active labour market policies targeting

migrant workers.


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Types of migration

Migrationis the crossing of the boundary of a political or administrative unit for a certain

minimum period of time. It includes the movement of refugees, displaced persons, uprooted

people as well as economic migrants.

Types:

I nternal migration

I nternational migration

Facts

Today 192 million people live outside their place of birth - it is about 3% of the world's

population;

1 of every 35 persons in the world is a migrant;

Current annual growth rate of international migrants is about 2,9%;

Japan and all countries of Europe are expected to face declining population growth over

the next 50 years.

Population of Italy in 2050 will decline from 57 to 41 million of people

Population of Japan in 2080 will decline from 127 to 105 million


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Forms of M igration

Forced migration includes refugees, asylum seekers and people forced to move due to

external factors

Family members - people sharing family ties joining people who have already entered an

immigration country

Return migrants - people who return to their countries of origin after a period in another

country

Types of M igration :

Legal migrants

Illegal migrants

Irregular migrants

Refugees

Labour migration


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Types of LabourM igration :

Temporary labour migrants (also known as guest workers or overseas contract workers):People who migrate for a limited period of time in order to take up employment and send money

home.

Highly skilled and business migrants: People with qualifications as managers, executives,

professionals, technicians or similar, who move within the internal labour markets of trans-

national corporations and international organizations, or who seek employment through

international labour markets for scarce skills. Many countries welcome such migrants and have

special 'skilled and business migration' programs to encourage them to come.

The impact of labour migration varies from country to country. Economic migration can

have different effects resulting from the volume, composition, and characteristics of the

migratory flows as well as the context in which the flows take place.

For countries of origin, in addition to the possibility of providing some relief from

unemployment and absorbing an increase in the labour force, it can provide a form of

developmental support, especially through remittances, transfer of know-how, and creation of

business and trade networks

For receiving countries facing labour shortages, immigration can alleviate labour scarcity,

facilitate occupational mobility, and add to the human capital stock of the receiving countries


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The country of origin has the control of letting people out and letting former citizens repatriate.

The countries of origin can benefit from keeping people from moving as they may consider the

citizens as a necessary asset to the country. For instance, soldiers in war have been forced to stay.

On the other hand can out-migration be beneficial for the country of origin as the population

might be too high. By losing some of the population there are fewer citizens to feed and protect.

If the migrants want to repatriate, the country of origin has the power to reject their former

citizens and might do so because the state does no longer see the migrant as an asset to the

nation-state. In all, the country of origin dominates who can leave and who can get back in and

the reason to dominate rests on what is best for the nation-state and not for the migrant.

What in turn happens to the countries that the migrants go to? Are these nation-states victims of

globalisation? As xenophobia and racism is well-known world-wide the quick answer could be

that these receiving nation-states are victims and that the immigrants have worsened the living

situation in the receiving nation-states. But one should not jump into conclusions. The receiving

nation-states are controlling immigration for a reason. There is a point to why some nation-states

accept immigrants and some do not. The same nation-states have changed the rates of

immigrants depending on which period in time it has been. Immigrants are an asset to the

receiving nation-states. But if the immigrants are portrayed as being a burden, the receiving

nation-states will get credit for accepting them which is safe to claim as being the case today.

Immigrants are an asset simply because they are let in when they are needed. The two main

reasons have been uneven demographic development and the need of labour. The receiving

nation-states have been in a crisis and immigrants have helped to stabilise the situation.

Immigrants can even be an economical benefit to the receiving nation-states as many immigrants

enter the nation-states as grown-ups meaning that they are most presumably already educated or

skilled workers. Therefore the receiving nation-states do not have to pay for their education or

training. On top of that, the immigrant can contribute with new knowledge from the country of

origin. The immigrant's worst enemy, negative prejudices, is starting to blur up. I am referring tothe prejudiced paradox that immigrants either are lazy and do not work or take all the native jobs.

Portray immigrants as a burden to the receiving nation-states because only then will the receiving

nation-states be glorified for accepting immigrants.


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As the different states are controlling the migrants it is not farfetched to claim that the states are

the most beneficial actors influenced by migration. If the migrants were those who were meant to

be benefited then migration would have no reason to be controlled by the state.

Legal Migrants- migrants that legally enter into the country, have a valid immigrant visa

and proper documentation

Illegal migranta person who, owing to illegal entry or the expiry of his or her visa,

lacks legal status in a transit or host country. The term applies to migrants who infringe a

countrys admission rules and any other person not authorized to remain in the host country

Irregular Migration

The people who enter or remain in a country of which they are not a citizen in breach of

national laws.

The IMO estimates that irregular immigrants account for one-third to one-half of new entrants

into developed countries, marking an increase of 20 per cent over the past ten years


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Some Negative Consequences

Irregular migration can undermine public confidence in the integrity and effectiveness of a

states migration and asylum policies

Irregular migration can also endanger the lives of the migrants concerned. A large but

unknown number of people die each year trying to cross land and sea borders without being

detected by the authorities. Human traffickers ruthlessly exploit migrants.

More generally, people who enter or remain in a country without authorization can be at risk

of exploitation by employers and landlords.

Migrants with irregular status are often unwilling to seek redress from authorities because they

fear arrest and deportation. As a result, they do not always make use of public services to which

they are entitled, for example emergency health care.

Refugees

According to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee

is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,

nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country

of their nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him/herself of

the protection of that country.


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Facts

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants gives the world total as 12,019,700

refugees.

Moreover, there are over 34,000,000 displaced by war, including internally displaced

persons.

As of December 31, 2005, the largest source countries of refugees are Palestine,

Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, and Sudan.

An international migrant worker is defined by the 1990 United Nations (UN)

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members

of their Families as a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in

remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.

Do the Poor Reall y Benefit f rom Labor M igration?

Strong opinions abound on the issue of migration both in sending and receiving countries. Butbeyond the political discourse, labor migration is now central to the debate on international

development and poverty reduction. Does the migration of workers have a positive development

impact? What the evidence shows is that differences in productivity and wages across the world

are so large that worker migration offers huge rewards to those who move into higher-paying

locations. The development problem, however, is that migrant working programs in high-income

countries tend to benefit skilled workers, while the poor and unskilled are left with virtually no

point of entry into international labor markets.

How can this change? How can migrant programs increase access to labor markets by the poor

and, therefore, have a larger impact on poverty reduction? This is precisely the question that


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World Bank Senior Economist ManjulaLuthria explores inthe most recent edition of Economic

Premise, Labor Mobility for the Poor: Is it Really Possible?

She argues that the prospect of a temporary movement of persons (TMP) scheme, where the poor

have limited and circumscribed access to developed world labor markets, could be part of the

solution. But for that, a solid design, management and capacity building are needed.

It is indeed possible to design TMP schemes that are win-win for sending and receiving

countries, Luthria says. A well-designed scheme can offer a real chance for the poor to

participate in the benefits of greater globalization of international labor markets.

I really recommend you take a look at this Economic Premise on whats happening

internationally on temporary movement of persons schemes, and how they can be improved to

accelerate poverty reduction.

Key Points :

International instruments such as the UN and International Labour Organization (ILO)

Conventions use different definitions.

The concept and definition of labour migration often reflects current national policy

perspectives and varies between countries and over time

The United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers

and Members of their Families simply refers to remunerated activity in a foreign country without

specifying the source of remuneration


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Labour M igration wil l continue :

Differences in employment opportunities and living standards between countries

Increased education and broader access to information on living conditions and

employment opportunities abroad

Established inter-country networks based on family, culture, and history

eco project - labour movement (1)

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