PSI to highlight the plight of world's migrant workers at GFMD

Public Services International, a global federation of public sector trade unions, will highlight the plight of the world’s migrant workers 2-5 November 2009 at the Civil Society Days of the Third Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD). PSI will call for wider access to quality public services, decent work, and economic policies that are fair to both workers and development efforts in their countries.

“We can’t afford to ignore this challenge,” says PSI General Secretary Peter Waldorff, alluding to the forum theme, Integrating Migration Policies into Development Strategies for the Benefit of All. “Industrialised countries are draining the best skills from the rest of the world. This is a particularly critical situation for the seven million social and health care workers we represent. Industrialised countries with aging populations bring in these workers to fill labour shortages without benefits or rights and then want to send them back.”

There are about 200 million people living outside their country of birth, according to figures from the United Nations, generating more than $300 billion in remittances that flow back to their home countries. PSI participants are concerned about the social and economic impact on families, communities and gender equity in the workplace and are advocating for fair migration laws and sustainable development policies.

The GFMD is divided into two parts: the Civil Society Days, 2-3 November, will feature several PSI experts participating in key discussions on migration and development. On 4-5 November, government representatives will meet in an Interstate Dialogue to discuss and debate proposals.

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