Ho Chi Minh City - On 22nd October 2019, IOM Viet Nam and amfori jointly organized a round table under the theme “Enhancing Protection of Migrant Workers in Asia Through Responsible Recruitment and Employment Practices”. 

The round table brought together 21 stakeholders representing international buyers, their suppliers in Asia, as well as international and diplomatic community to discuss vulnerabilities of migrant workers in international supply chains associated with unethical recruitment and employment practices and identify ways to address them.

The 2017 estimates also showed that almost one fourth of the victims of forced labour are international migrant workers. South-East Asia and the Pacific host more than 25 million migrant workers, of these 13,6 per cent are women migrant workers.  Migrant workers remain highly vulnerable due to unethical recruitment and employment practices, the interlinkage between which creates an exploitation continuum that can trap migrant workers into a situation of forced labour.

Through its Corporate Responsibility in Eliminating Slavery and Trafficking Initiative (CREST), IOM has developed a Multi-Stakeholder Theory of Change with input from the private sector, experts, civil society, as well as international organizations. The Theory of Change identified six main root causes that perpetuate migrant worker vulnerabilities that lead to continued exploitation. It also defined the roles of different actors in bringing about the desired change to current recruitment and employment practices of migrant workers.

In the round table, participants discussed challenges in addressing the risks of forced labour in business operations and supply chains around the six main root causes of migrant worker vulnerabilities to exploitation, including lack of knowledge, recruitment fees, governance, lack of transparency and lack of effective remedy. Moving forward, the round table participants shared their experience and recommendations to address the abovementioned root causes.

Read the Round table Report for more details of the discussion.