Publications on the FAIRWAY project

  1. Country briefs of the regulatory frameworks governing migrant workers in the Arab States

    14 December 2023

    The country briefs map the key legal provisions dealing with migrant workers in eight Arab countries, summarizing the legal rules about who pays for recruitment, whether passport confiscation is prohibited by law, minimum working conditions including wages, working hours and rest periods, how to lodge grievances, and brief details of each country’s sponsorship regime.

  2. Guidance note: Wage protection for migrant workers

    27 April 2023

    Working time and wages are the working conditions that have the most direct and tangible effect on the everyday lives of workers and employers. Wages can determine job choice, the number of hours worked, and whether or not to migrate for employment. Adequate wages that ensure a fair share of the fruits of progress to all and standards for wage protection lie at the heart of the ILO’s mandate on social justice and the promotion of decent work.

  3. Civil Society Organizations and Labour Migration in Nigeria: Learning from the FAIRWAY Global Programme

    01 March 2023

    This brief presents experiences and learning from CSOs participation in labour migration governance in Nigeria, and within the context of implementation of the FAIRWAY Programme in particular. It highlights contribution of CSOs in promoting and protecting workers’ rights through effective policy advocacy, sensitization, service provision, research, and outreach.

  4. Media and Labour migration in Nigeria: Lessons from the FAIRWAY Global Programme

    01 March 2023

    This brief is hinged on learning documented during processes leading to the country adaptation of ILO’s Media Toolkit for Reporting Forced Labour and Fair Recruitment, taking into account other related media engagements, trainings and sensitization activities during implementation of ILO’s FAIRWAY global Programme in Nigeria.

  5. Promoting better media reporting relating to returning Nigerian migrant workers

    22 December 2022

    This information brief was developed by the FAIRWAY Programme of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and covers key findings and recommendations from a media monitoring study, looking at the coverage of Nigerian returning migrants over the period of May 2020 - February 2021.

  6. Skills needs in the Oman labour market: An employer survey

    31 October 2022

    Based on desk research and a survey of 106 firms in Oman, conducted between May and June 2022, the report aims to assess Oman’s skills mix and needs an to help Omani businesses, policymakers, workers organizations, and employers and business membership organizations (EBMOs) to better assess policy options, especially as they pertain to the skills development of nationals and to skills-based international recruitment. If conducted regularly, the survey can be used to help assess the skills and competency gaps of the Omani workforce and identify the sectors and occupations where firms are having difficulty recruiting, with a view to recommending measures with respect to reskilling and upskilling.

  7. Skills needs in Kuwait following the Covid-19 pandemic

    01 August 2022

    Based on desk research and a survey of 240 firms across multiple sectors in Kuwait, carried out from October to December 2021, the report explores how the skills needs of companies in Kuwait changed following the pandemic. Providing a forward-looking assessment of the reskilling and upskilling requirements of the country, the report focuses on how the skills mix of national and foreign workers is likely to change in response to evolving local conditions and global trends.

  8. Making decent work a reality for domestic workers in the Middle East: Progress and prospects ten years after the adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)

    14 December 2021

    To mark the tenth anniversary of this historic Convention and to explore the progress made over the last decade, a global report has been produced by the ILO. Recognizing the importance of the domestic work sector in Middle East, the ILO FAIRWAY developed this regional summary of the situation of domestic workers in the region.

  9. Thematic brief: Promoting internal labour market mobility in the Arab States

    30 November 2021

    This thematic brief was developed to further discussions during the Africa – Arab States Interregional Tripartite Meeting on Labour Migration on 15-16 November 2021. It sets out the rationale and promising practices for promoting internal labour market mobility, loosely defined as the ability to terminate employment, switch to a different employer, renew a work permit and/or leave the destination country without the approval of the employer, including during the contract period.

  10. Protecting wages of migrant workers in the Arab States: Discussion Note for Policymakers

    15 June 2021

    Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant workers faced critical wage-related issues globally, and especially in the Arab States, yet the scale of the problem has vastly increased as the pandemic led to job losses, salary reductions and unplanned repatriations.

  11. Promoting fair and ethical recruitment in a digital world

    17 May 2021

    This joint report by the ILO and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) explores innovative state-facilitated digital technology platforms from four different contexts, with a focus on the Employment Permit System of the Republic of Korea, Musaned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, eMigrate from the Republic of India and the European Network of Employment Services.

  12. Information Brief: Promoting balanced media reporting on migrant workers in the Arab States

    22 March 2021

    This information brief looks at how Arabic-language media in Jordan and Kuwait report on migrant workers, based on media monitoring research in 2019, and suggests recommendations to strengthen the inclusion of migrant workers in the media.

  13. Ethical Reporting on Labour Migration in the Arab States

    18 December 2020

    Three actions to take today.

  14. Discussion Note for Policymakers: Interregional dialogues on migration involving countries in the Middle East and Africa

    13 February 2020

    Migration from African countries to the Middle East is increasing. While Egypt continues to dominate the stock of African migrant workers in the region, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, emerging yet fragmented data suggests an increasing phenomenon of migrant workers in vulnerable situations from various African countries in East and West Africa. Currently, the two major interregional dialogues on labour migration to the Middle East do not include African countries.

  15. Guidance Tool for Construction Companies in the Middle East

    23 January 2020

    This Guidance Tool, developed by the ILO and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), is intended for companies operating in the construction sector in the Middle East and particularly the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Companies can use this practical and flexible tool to enhance their ability to comply with national and international labour standards.

  16. Minimum wages and wage protection in the Arab States: Ensuring a just system for national and migrant workers

    08 January 2019

    This note for policymakers explores how States in the region – particularly those with a high percentage of migrant workers – can initiate a systematic, evidence-based process for setting and adjusting minimum wages, drawing on ILO standards and international good practice, whilst also improving and strengthening systems of wage protection.

  17. Domestic workers and employers in the Arab States: Promising practices and innovative models for a productive working relationship

    06 March 2018

    This White Paper presents promising practices and innovative models to ensure a productive working relationship for both domestic workers and employers in the Arab States.

  18. 10 Things you should know about Migrant Resource Centres in the Arab States

    27 February 2018

    Based on the publication ‘A Mapping of Migrant Resource Centres in the Arab States’ this brief outlines global good practices in the establishment of migrant resource centres.

  19. A mapping of migrant resource centers in the Arab States

    27 February 2018

    This brief mapping exercise identifies and analyses six migrant resource centres in the Arab States, providing important lessons for future initiatives to establish and run such centres.

  20. Infographic: Protecting Migrant Construction Workers in the Middle East

    21 February 2018

    In this exploratory paper we focus on good policies to protect migrant workers in the region, giving examples of what has ensured their protection elsewhere as well as the benefits this can bring to the sector.