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International migration has contributed to growth and prosperity in both host and source countries. Migrants provide a valuable source of semi-skilled and unskilled labour to many industrialising countries and provide a source of highly skilled labour to advanced countries, thereby assisting the latter in maintaining economic competitiveness, according to the ILO . |
The rate of growth of the world's migrant population more than doubled between the 1960s and the 1990s, reaching 2.6 percent in 1985-1990, and it is forecast that this trend will most likely accelerate in the 21st Century.
The term “migrant workers” covers a wide range of people with different reasons for migration and varying skills levels. Not all such workers are "at risk" regarding their safety and health at work, but there are three occupational safety and health (OSH) issues relating to migrant workers that give concern. These are:
- The high employment rates of migrant workers in high risk sectors;
- Language and cultural barriers to communication and training in OSH; and
- Migrant workers often work a lot of overtime and/or are in poor health and thus are more prone to occupational injuries and diseases.
More research is needed on the occupational risks to migrant workers as while there is literature on migration, on health, and on working conditions, there is little that brings together all these issues. The topic is complicated by the varying definitions of “migrant”, the use of other terminology, an absence of robust statistics, and that a lot of material on the topic comes from the US and cannot necessarily be transposed into an EU context.
Equally, more good practice is required to ensure that employers, worker safety representatives and other stakeholders are able to find practical solutions to prevent harm to migrant workers.
UK, HSE, How HSE complies with its equality duties ()HSE's Commitment to the Equality Duty The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is committed to eliminating discrimination and promoting equality in our policies and in our dealings with our staff. We are committed to all aspects of equality with overarching objectives covering all equality strands. |
International Migrants Day -18th December ()Migrant workers are a particularly vulnerable group and are often more exposed to occupational risks than others. This section presents a collection of interesting links informing about the risks of migrants and minorities in the workplace. |
FR-Third report on national action plan on cancer published ()France has an integrated national action plan on cancer that addresses public, environmental and occupational health issues jointly. Is is planned to be applied in synergy with the national action plan on health and work (plan national santé travail). Regular reports provides summary information about activities and results. Mention is also made of complementary reports providing more detailed information on the activities, legislative acts and guidance documents. |
UK - HSE - Migrant workers - quick facts ()Did you know? Migrant workers |
Workforce diversity and risk assessment: Ensuring everyone is covered ()
The main aim of this report is to describe why and how risk assessment can and should
cover the whole workforce, and to increase awareness among those responsible for
and aff ected by health and safety at work – employers, employees, safety reps and
OSH practitioners – about the importance of assessing the risks of ALL workers. The
report is aimed mainly at those who are responsible for carrying out risk assessments
and/or are involved in the process.
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- UK, HSE, How HSE complies with its equality duties 16.02.2012
- International Migrants Day -18th December 16.12.2011
- FR-Third report on national action plan on cancer published 18.08.2011
- UK - HSE - Migrant workers - quick facts 01.12.2010
- Workforce diversity and risk assessment: Ensuring everyone is covered 20.10.2009
