Ideas to Action:
Independent research for global prosperity
Infamously, the system has led to the exploitation and abuse of migrants. While reforms are coming—be it incrementally—the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the kafala system’s weakness and caused many to question whether it will mark the end of the system altogether.
The Australian Government has confirmed that labor mobility is key to economic recovery throughout the region and that they will explore options to allow more Pacific Islanders to travel to Australia. As Australia’s flagship investment in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the Pacific, the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) is therefore having to adapt and pivot its activities to respond to this new reality.
Inclusive policy changes spurred by COVID-19 have so far been limited and temporary, but as governments chart a path to recovery, immigrants and citizens alike would benefit from their extension well beyond the pandemic. This blog highlights two areas—access to the labor market and healthcare—where pandemic-related inclusive responses for immigrants should continue, expand, and pave the way for long-run positive change.
Today we launch the working group’s final report, “Labor Mobility Partnerships: Expanding Opportunity with a Globally Mobile Workforce,” answering these questions.
Saudi Arabia, for decades, has been a symbol of the dangers facing migrants, while simultaneously being responsible for vast poverty reduction in migrant families.
Current migration systems encourage migrants to take on debt and service providers to behave poorly, undermining the development impact of labor mobility. We propose a Migrant Welfare Fund that partners with impact investors to pay service providers for outcomes in connecting migrants to jobs, creating a rights-respecting and self-financing system.
This blog post is part of a series called Let’s Talk Development, originally published by the World Bank here. The series includes contributions from external bloggers and reflects their views.
To combat a “super-aging” society, Japan plans to admit 500,000 foreign workers by 2025. But the country faces significant implementation gaps, which could be solved through contracting work out.
Last month, Pacific policymakers, academics, and nongovernmental organizations met in Suva, Fiji, for the inaugural Pacific Skills Summit.
On World Refugee Day this year, we are excited to note recent successes—in particular, the expansion of formal labor market access (FLMA) for refugees.
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