Events

Ingram symposium and workshop on migrant worker recruitment in Asia Pacific

October 2014, UNSW Law

On 22 October, UNSW Law hosted the first international research workshop on migrant worker recruitment in the Asia Pacific region in almost a decade. The Ingram Workshop brought together many of the region’s leading labour migration experts to tackle the pressing challenges to migrant worker protection in recruitment. Participants crossed geographies and disciplines, and were drawn from academia, the recruitment industry, intergovernmental organisations, civil society and think tanks Participants shared research findings and engaged in robust debate on strategies for improved governance and accountability within the recruitment industry. They also explored ethical recruitment business models that address current regulatory weaknesses. Participants identified numerous opportunities for innovation and collaboration across borders in the future. They also explored the potential for targeted engagement in national, sub-regional, regional and global forums that shape labour migration policies in the Asia Pacific region. The Workshop has given rise to a new research network on migrant recruitment in the Asia Pacific region, and a report on the Workshop will soon be publicly available. The Ingram Workshop was preceded on 21 October by a public Symposium that was one of few forums in Australia to focus on challenges to governance and migrant worker protection in the Asia Pacific region. It was the first to focus specifically on the challenges posed by privatized migrant worker recruitment. The Ingram Symposium provided a unique opportunity for a range of Australian stakeholders to engage with pioneers of efforts to address these challenges throughout the region.