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The government of Zimbabwe in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will host a capacity development initiative on “Promoting Ethical Recruitment and Rights-Based Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements in the Southern African Region”.
The regional workshop is meant to build the capacity of multifarious stakeholders from SADC countries on ethical recruitment standards and to share and document good practices in Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements (BLMA) negotiations. The workshop aims to increase the knowledge base and equip relevant stakeholders with the tools to apply international labour norms and standards in their daily routines while dealing with migrant workers.
The workshop will take place from Monday 12 to Thursday 15 September 2022 at Kingdom Hotel in the majestic resort city of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
Representatives from the Ministries of Labour, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Higher and Tertiary Education, Private Employment Agencies (PEAs), and other relevant personnel and agencies working on migration-related initiatives from Zimbabwe and Southern Africa will attend the workshop.
The IOM, through its two migration management programmes, namely: the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM)-funded Africa Regional Migration Program (ARMP) and the EU-funded Southern Africa Migration Management (SAMM) project- intends to support countries in the SADC region to improve their labour migration governance through capacity-building training.
The four-day regional workshop aims to build the capacity of various stakeholders from SADC countries on ethical recruitment standards, to share and document good practices on BLMA negotiations and to increase the knowledge base and equip relevant stakeholders with the tools to apply international labour norms and standards in their daily routines while dealing with migrant workers.
This capacity development initiative aligns with Objective 6 of the Global Compact on Migration and Output 2.2. of the SADC Labour Migration Action Plan (2020 – 2025) which enjoins the SADC Employment and Labour Sector (ELS) to prioritize fair and ethical recruitment in the region. It further aligns with the Recommendations of the 2019 Migration Dialogue in Southern Africa (MIDSA) held in Windhoek, Namibia that urged the Member States to strengthen the mechanisms of combatting forced labour and adopt fair and ethical recruitment practices throughout the labour recruitment processes in conformance with a whole of government and whole of society approach.
The specific objectives of the workshop are to:
- Enhance knowledge of international recruitment practices, in particular the IOM-IRIS system, and promote the practical use of IOMs principles on ethical recruitment.
- Promote understanding of international labour norms and standards relative to fair and ethical recruitment.
- Share and exchange best practices on negotiation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of BLMAs.
- Strengthen the capacity and knowledge of policymakers and PEAs on ethical recruitment and negotiation of gender-responsive and rights-based BLMAs.