Low-skilled workers and bilateral, regional, and unilateral initiatives

Abstract

Th e lack of progress on trade in services through the movement of natural persons, particularly of low-skilled persons, under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has been a matter of concern for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). However, there are a growing number of initiatives at the unilateral, bilateral and, to a limited extent, at the regional levels to manage cross-country temporary labour fl ows. Many of these initiatives, particularly those at the national and bilateral levels, accommodate the movement of low- and semi-skilled workers. Many countries are making use of national schemes, such as special classes of work permits and visas to facilitate the entry of agricultural, seasonal and temporary workers. At the bilateral level, countries have entered into bilateral labour agreements covering specifi c types of workers and geared to meet demand in specifi c sectors. Countries are also including labour mobility provisions targeted at specifi c sectors and occupations under the broader rubric of bilateral economic cooperation or partnership agreements. And at the regional level, in the context of some regional agreements, mechanisms have been introduced or negotiated to facilitate intraregional labour mobility, though usually for limited high-skilled categories and occupations. Th is paper attempts to understand how bilateral and unilateral schemes manage the temporary movement of lowskilled workers by examining their various features. Th e aim is to draw useful lessons for the GATS negotiations on Mode 4 and for future agreements that address Mode 4. Th e study examines the operational, institutional, fi nancial, welfare and human development features of several arrangements to derive their positive and negative aspects. Based on the best practices that characterize these agreements, the paper suggests how some of these features could be incorporated in the context of the GATS Mode 4 commitments and off ers. Underlying this learning-based approach is the larger objective of maximizing development benefi ts and of contributing towards a more strengthened and holistic development-friendly policy position on migration and the short-term movement of persons. Sections 2, 3 and 4 provide an overview of bilateral, unilateral and other broader agreements and initiatives respectively, which cover the temporary movement of low-skilled workers. Section 2 examines the bilateral labour agreements between Spain and Ecuador and the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (CSAWP) between Canada and Mexico and Canada and the Caribbean countries. Section 3 covers unilateral initiatives by key host countries to target specifi c types of low-skilled workers. Th e cases covered are those of the United States under its agricultural and industrial worker schemes (H-2A and H-2B, respectively), the United Kingdom under its sector-based scheme and its seasonal agricultural workers scheme, the Republic of Korea under one of its temporary guest worker arrangement, the Employment Permit System, and the Gulf countries under their temporary labour contract system. Th is section also discusses issues of abuse and exploitation of low-skilled workers, including female migrant workers. Section 4 discusses an agreement that facilitates semi-skilled migration in the context of a broader economic agreement. Th e case that is highlighted is that of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Arrangement (JPEPA) which covers the movement of caregivers and nurses from the Philippines to Japan. Section 5 examines the role played by key source countries in managing low-skilled labour fl ows. Th e cases of the Philippines and Sri Lanka are highlighted to illustrate the administrative, fi nancial, worker protection, welfare and capacity-building mechanisms used by such governments to maximize the benefi t from low-skilled temporary movement and in making bilateral labour agreements work. Th e discussion shows that source countries need to invest in creating institutional capacity and frameworks that allow them to address a wide range of economic, social, legal and human development related issues associated with worker mobility, whether or not they have entered into managed bilateral arrangements. Section 6 outlines the commonalities and diff erences across these diff erent cases and the positive and negative aspects within and across the various cases. What emerges from this overview is that managed temporary worker arrangements are generally well laid out and specifi c in terms of defi ning scope, laying out the operational features, obligations on various parties, institutional frameworks and incentive and disincentive mechanisms. Th ey involve a mix of specifi city and binding obligations with regard to work terms, conditions and enforcement mechanisms, while permitting some degree of fl exibility and customization to suit changing circumstances. Bilateral arrangements are also more holistic in their approach to worker mobility as they look beyond entry and stay issues to address a variety of developmental, social and institutional issues that have a bearing on the outcome and long-term viability of such arrangements. Section 7 outlines some of the features and best practices from the discussed cases which can be taken forward into the GATS Mode 4 negotiations and other agreements, and the modalities for doing so under the GATS framework. Th ese include making GATS Mode 4 commitments more explicit and unambiguous in defi nition and scope, and going beyond horizontal to sector-specifi c commitments in Mode 4. Further, the various conditions seen in bilateral and unilateral schemes covering low-skilled workers, such as quotas, economic needs test, wage parity requirements and even obligations on source countries in terms of occupational certifi cation, screening and placement, could be inscribed as limitations in the sectoral Mode 4 commitments. Th e paper also suggests that mechanisms are required to provide juridical affi liation for low-skilled workers which in turn would necessitate the establishment of institutional frameworks or the authorization of designated agencies to provide such affi liation to low-skilled, temporary workers who are deployed overseas. Th us, one of the main recommendations that emerges is the need to bring in institutional checks and controls in the migration process and to introduce more coordination and joint responsibility between sending and receiving countries under the GATS Mode 4 frameworks. Section 8 concludes the paper by summarizing the key positive elements that emerge from the bilateral and unilateral arrangements discussed in the paper. It also highlights some areas which could be examined further to make any frameworks on temporary low-skilled worker mobility more development-friendly. Th e paper, however, emphasizes the importance of multilateral negotiations on labour mobility for low-skilled and semi-skilled workers. It notes that while bilateral and regional approaches can serve as benchmarks for the GATS, these approaches cannot be at the cost of multilateralism. All need to be pursued at the same time. Liberal market access commitments for semi- and low-skilled workers under the WTO would help LDCs address many of the Millennium Development Goals while also benefi ting countries and potentially breaking the current stalemate in the Doha Round negotiations in services. Th is paper also stresses the need for sending countries to invest in capacity- and institution-building to manage the migration process and to incorporate human development dimensions into migration policy regardless of whether they adopt a bilateral, regional or multilateral approach.