Good Practices and Provisions in Multilateral and Bilateral Labor Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding

Abstract

There is renewed interest in bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding on labor migration as a tool for better governance of migration and protection of migrant workers among countries of origin and countries of destination. This has created a need for technical guidance material to assist countries in developing and negotiating such agreements. The sharing of good practices has become popular in many fields, including that of labor migration. Countries planning entering into bilateral labor agreements would benefit from sharing of good practices and provisions in their development, negotiation and follow up and implementation. The purpose of this guide is to document such practices and provisions through a global review of bilateral labor instruments. Good practices and provisions have been defined as provisions in BLAs and MOUs that are consistent with – and contributing to – the three major objectives of migration policy and bilateral labor agreements: (a) good governance; (b) protection and empowerment of workers; and (c) development benefits from migration. The present guide has elaborated a set of criteria to assess such provisions and practices under each of the above themes. A large database of bilateral agreements and secondary sources covering all regions of the world have been consulted for the compilation of good provisions and practices under each criteria identified. While the guide was prepared at the request of the International Labor Organization, Bangladesh under the technical support framework for the Government of Bangladesh, it may be useful for other countries and stakeholders planning or improving bilateral agreements on labor migration.