Over the last 2-3 years, there has been both an expansion in
the number of work permits granted for foreign workers in the UK,
and the introduction of new work permit schemes for highly-skilled
workers and specific sectors (currently the hospitality and food
processing sector). These
schemes have been designed to meet the needs of the UK labour market,
and might therefore be expected to have positive outcomes for the
UK. However, the way
that these schemes are designed will also impact on the balance
of costs and benefits both for the migrants themselves, and for
their countries of origin.
Historically, there has been much scepticism about temporary
worker schemes from the point of view of migrants and countries
of origin. Concerns
have been raised that they effectively create a ‘reserve army of
labour’ in which the social costs of education and welfare are displaced
to developing countries. Meanwhile,
measures to ensure the return of workers at the end of temporary
contracts are seen by some as contrary to principles of human rights.
However, the balance of costs and benefits is not clear cut,
with significant flows of remittances and the potential for positive
impacts on human capital formation and trade holding out hope that
the net balance for developing countries could be favourable.
Panelists:
- Richard Black,
Director, Professor, Migration DRC, University of Sussex
- Catherine
Barber, Research Officer, Oxfam
- Don Flynn,
Policy Officer, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
- Ben Rogaly,
Migration DRC, University of Sussex
The purpose of this workshop is to address the following questions:
·
What
have been the impacts (or, what are the likely impacts) of UK temporary
worker schemes for developing countries?
·
Focusing
on low-skill recruitment in particular (for agriculture, food processing,
hotel and catering and the care sector), what adjustments to existing
schemes could be recommended that would enhance outcomes for developing
countries, and specifically for the poor?
·
Could
temporary worker schemes be extended to new countries or sectors
in a way that could be designed at the outset to benefit sending
countries (and especially the poor) as well as the UK?
The workshop will build on an earlier meeting being organised
in June 2004 within the remit of the DFID-funded Development Research
Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty (Migration DRC),
which seeks to draw together ideas and perspectives from across
the UK government and the NGO sector.
|
Documents
to download:
Making
Migration 'Development Friendly': Temporary Worker Schemes in the
UK, Catherine Barber, Richard Black, Paula TenagliaMaking
Migration 'Development |
