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Labour MigrationWith globalized markets, and the demand for goods and capital, international labour migration has become a major concern for most of the world’s economies. However, a few main factors that have intensified labour migration include:
Given these contributions, there is an increase in irregular migrants, which makes it difficult for countries of origin and destination to work together to protect their rights and to share the benefits of labour migration equitably. Because the legal channels of migration for employment continue to be limited,
 particularly for women and low-skilled migrant workers, irregular migrants run the risk of becoming victims of human trafficking for the purpose of labour and sexual exploitation. Globally, income differentials between countries have increased over the last 25-30 years. In 1975, GDP per capita in high-income countries was on average eight times higher than in middle-income countries and 41 times higher than in low-income countries. From the perspective of gender, the increasing number of women migrant workers can be attributed to these economic and demographic differences. This is coupled with an increased women’s participation in the labour force and the decline in the provision of social services in high-income countries. Given all of these developments, the EU and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are experiencing pronounced changes and undergoing serious transformations.
At the sub-regional level, such migratory flows affect the Western Newly Independent States (WNIS) by creating new management challenges on already strained systems. Because of this, the need to protect the rights of migrant workers is amplified. Since the EU’s enlargement, the WNIS (Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova) share their borders with the EU and other CIS states, in particular Russia. When dealing with migration flows, the WNIS are perceived as countries of origin, transit, and destination, but in terms of labor migration, they are still considered countries of origin. Nevertheless, the predictions of migration patterns for the WNIS region foresee that over the next decade, the region will shift from one of emigration and transit migration to one of immigration. Like Western Europe, this shift is mostly due to evolving demographics and their negative impact on working age populations. Moreover, because of the EU’s enlargement, it gives the ‘benefit of good neighbors’ factor. Because this gives an advantage to the newest EU Member States both in political and economic terms, it can also assist the new neighbouring WNIS region as Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova seek to better align their national reforms with EU standards.
Skilled Labour Migration to the province of Quebec (Canada)Through an agreement with Canada and the province of Québec, the Québec government is responsible for the immigration selection of those who want to settle and work on its territory. The candidates are selected by the immigration office in Québec, and Canada then grants them a permanent residence visa if they meet Canadian health and security standards. Pilot Project Selection of Qualified Workers to the Czech RepublicThe Czech pilot project is a venture open to qualified experts who would like to explore the opportunities of working and settling permanently in the Czech Republic. The pilot stage of the project started in July of 2003, and is planned to run until 2008. It’s implemented by the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in cooperation with the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Czech Ministry of Interior.
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