U.N. says labor mobility key to tackling global crisis
MANILA (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged developed countries on Wednesday not to clamp down on foreign workers, arguing that labor mobility could be a tool in the battle to lift the global economy out of its troubles.
By ensuring that people with the right skills are quickly deployed in the right places, the world could help mitigate the effects of the worst financial crisis in years, Ban told delegates at an international conference on migration flows.
"Human mobility makes our economies more efficient, even when they are not growing, by ensuring that the right skills can reach the right places at the right time," he said.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates there are currently more than 200 million migrant workers worldwide, growing at the rate of 2.4 percent each year. Last year they sent back home about $240 billion in remittances.
But poorer countries have already started to feel the impact of the financial crisis as demand for foreign workers slows down especially in the construction and tourism sectors.
"Global growth is slowing, unemployment is rising, personal hardship is spreading and anxiety is increasing," Ban said.
"It would be naive to think the current crisis will have no effect on the movement of people across borders, and on how our publics perceived migration and the migrants in their midst."
Delegates from 163 countries are attending the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development aimed at promoting the rights of migrant workers.
Members of left-wing Philippine labor groups held a protest rally at a nearby public park, denouncing the exploitation of migrant workers worldwide.
Ban said the mood against foreign workers was already souring in many countries.
"There is also mounting evidence of a significant slowdown in remittance flows. And in several countries, the political discourse on immigration has become discouragingly negative, heightening the risk of discriminations," Ban added.
Peter Sutherland, U.N. special representative on migration said Polish laborers had started returning home from Western European countries after the current crisis.
Manila was concerned about reports that Hong Kong planned to freeze wages of hundreds of thousands of domestic workers due to the economic slowdown, Esteban Conejos, the Philippines' undersecretary for migrant workers, said.
Hong Kong plays host to thousands of Filipina domestic helpers. Spain has also informed Manila about the suspension of an agreement to accept health workers due to the crisis, a Filipino diplomat said.
(Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Sanjeev Miglani)
