According to the International Labor Organization, more than 232 million people across the globe live outside their countries of origin, and migrant workers and their families account for 90 percent of all international migration. Such movement of workers has become increasingly important to the prosperity of the global economy, and to the livelihood of individual workers seeking opportunity. Unfortunately, as more individuals move for work, and more employers seek global talent, many migrants find themselves entangled in a “grey” market run by unscrupulous recruiters and employers. As a result, they can face abusive conditions that amount to modern-day slavery.
Verité performs research and develops tools, guidance and approaches to support responsible recruitment and hiring.
Help Wanted Initiative
Our Help Wanted initiative aims to clarify and publicize the ways in which recruitment practices can lead to the trafficking and forced labor of migrant workers; and to provide concrete approaches by which the private sector, civil society, and governmental institutions can address this key point of leverage to reduce the risk of a worker ending up a victim of modern-day slavery. Explore our Fair Hiring Toolkit to learn more.
Ethical Framework for Cross-Border Labor Recruitment
Verité and Manpower Group’s Ethical Framework for Cross-Border Labor Recruitment offers a checklist of specific “Standards of Ethical Practice” for firms involved in cross-border recruitment of workers designed to protect those workers against specific patterns of vulnerability and abuse. It includes mechanisms for verifying business compliance and key information for leveraging the influence of consumer groups, regulators, and other third parties.
Cooperation Against Trafficking
Verité has partnered with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the World Employment Confederation, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to improve ethical recruitment of garment and domestic workers. This program will build ethical recruitment pathways between three South Asian “sending” countries and three Middle Eastern “receiving” countries with the goal of preventing 100,000 girls and women across South Asia from falling victim to the worst forms of labor trafficking.
Eliminating Recruitment Fees Charged to Migrant Workers and Addressing the Retention of Identity Documents
Verité has partnered with the United Nations Global Compact to produce targeted guidance for businesses on supply chain risks associated with unethical recruitment practices. This guidance calls on employers to address the retention of identity documents, a common practice in many countries and sectors around the world, and to eliminate the recruitment fees charged to migrant workers. In both resources, Verité and the Global Compact clarify what is at stake for businesses and set out clear, practical guidance for action during recruitment, migration and the employment of migrant workers.