Fair

Recruitment
Initiative

� ILO Fair Recruitment Initiative

Strategy 2021-2025
Taking stock, moving forward

1
2
Contents

The ILO’s Fair Recruitment Initiative 4

Vision and mission 5
Vision statement 5
Mission statement 5
Pillars and targets 6
Pillar 1: Enhancing, exchanging and disseminating global knowledge on national
and international recruitment processes 6
Pillar 2: Improving laws, policies and enforcement to promote fair recruitment 8
Pillar 3: Promoting fair business practices 10
Pillar 4: Empowering and protecting workers 12

3
X The ILO’s Fair Recruitment Initiative

The Fair Recruitment Initiative (FRI) was launched in 2014 The second phase of the Initiative will continue to be
as part of the ILO Director General’s call for a Fair Migration grounded in relevant international labour standards (ILS),
Agenda. Since its launch, the FRI has been critical to ILO’s global guidance on fair recruitment, and social dialogue
work in the area of national and international recruitment of between governance institutions and actors of the labour
workers and has added renewed impetus and visibility to this market – i.e. those who directly experience the challenges and
important topic. Throughout the implementation of the first opportunities of implementing fair recruitment practices. The
phase of the strategy between 2014 and 2019, the role of ILO FRI has combined global policy dialogue, knowledge and data
and its constituents has expanded and the development of generation with on-the-ground interventions where tools are
additional knowledge, tools and guidance has contributed to tested, implemented, and expertise created.
advancing the international debate on this subject.

Continued from Phase I, the four-pronged approach of the FRI, which puts tripartism and social dialogue at the centre, is
implemented in close collaboration with governments, representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, the private sector
and other key partners:

Enhancing, exchanging
and disseminating global Improving laws, policies Promoting Empowering
knowledge on national and and enforcement to fair business and protecting
international recruitment promote fair recruitment practices workers
processes

1 2 3 4
Pillar Pillar Pillar Pillar

4
Its centrepiece is the General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment (GPOG), adopted in 2016, complemented
by the Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs, adopted in 2018, to be read jointly. Both documents were negotiated
by a tripartite group of experts and adopted by the ILO’s Governing Body. They constitute the most up-to-date, internationally
agreed guidance in the area of recruitment. They are grounded in international labour standards; were adopted through a
process of tripartite social dialogue; and are informed by extensive research. The guidance is therefore the most legitimate
reference point for private and public actors seeking guidelines on recruitment policies and practices. They are being used by
international organizations and have served as a reference point for global and regional processes focusing on migration and
forced labour, as well as the development and revision of national regulatory frameworks and bilateral labour agreements.1

X Vision and mission

Vision statement
Recruitment practices2 nationally and across borders are grounded
in labour standards, developed through social dialogue, ensure
gender equality. Specifically, they:
1. Are transparent and effectively regulated, monitored, and
enforced;
2. Protect all workers’ rights, including fundamental principles
and rights at work, and prevent human trafficking and forced
labour;
3. Efficiently inform and respond to employment policies and
labour market needs, including for recovery and resilience.

Mission statement
To develop and disseminate knowledge, promote rights, build
capacities, foster social dialogue, reform regulations, and build
partnerships to advance fair recruitment.

1 Including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and
Regular Migration, the Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa (2018-2030), among others (see Annex 1).

2 In line with the General Principles and Operational Guidelines, the term recruitment includes the advertising, information dissemination, selection, trans-
port, placement into employment and – for migrant workers – return to the country of origin where applicable. This applies to both jobseekers and those in
an employment relationship.

5
X Pillars and targets

1 Enhancing, exchanging and disseminating global knowledge

Pillar on national and international recruitment processes

The second phase of the FRI will consolidate and expand on existing knowledge and
data. In light of the current global health pandemic, the FRI will examine the impact
COVID-19 is having on recruitment practices, including on potentially discriminatory
practices in different sectors of the economy and geographical regions, and identify
and document emerging practices to build back better.
The Fair Recruitment Initiative will continue to generate and update statistical data
on recruitment fees and related costs with a view to:
X quantifying them to understand and make visible the impact they have on
workers, employers, recruitment agencies and societies;

X monitoring progress over time and establishing links between recruitment

costs and violation of labour rights, especially fundamental principles and
rights at work;

X analysing the relationship between relevant policy choices and recruitment

costs and advocating for policy and legislative reform, and calling for global
commitment and action to eliminate them.

The FRI will also launch a knowledge hub to develop and exchange research,
data, good practices, and to highlight areas with deficits against fair recruitment
principles. Within the spirit of the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of
Work, 2019, the hub will take a human-centred and forward-looking approach,
advancing and disseminating knowledge, tools and data, and connecting experts
and organizations across regions in key thematic areas, such as on labour inspection,
public procurement, access to justice and remedies, and statistical data, among
others.
The Hub will create or support networks among practitioners and experts on fair
recruitment and intersecting areas, thereby facilitating a “community of practice”
among experts, practitioners from governments and social partners, and other
organizations advocating for fair recruitment, through organizing peer-to-peer
support and learning opportunities, or exploring innovative approaches and new
areas of work. The hub will also serve as a vehicle to promote innovations through
each of the FRI strategic pillars, and ensure that the results of innovations are
examined to assess and enable scale and replication. The research and data collected
and exchanged will serve as a lens to analyse how different policy choices affect
various groups e.g. women, migrants, workers with disabilities and other equity-
seeking groups.
The “hub” will also help translate knowledge gained from pilot interventions
into (applicable) policy messages to bolster global debate, and development of
new legislation, policies or voluntary mechanisms grounded in experience and
international standards. It will also allow the identification of practical challenges/
questions faced by constituents in the implementation of global guidance and hence
develop a set of targeted, tailored tools to address such challenges. Knowledge will
feed into training and capacity building activities and tools.
Finally, the FRI will continue its engagement with journalists to support the
production of quality reporting on forced labour and fair recruitment issues, creating
or strengthening networks of specialized journalists, as well as building partnerships
with those institutions who have the capacity and mandate to take forward media
training and outreach.

6
 X Target 1.1 Quality data and research in key thematic areas or sectors, including the care economy,
agriculture, construction, transport and services, are produced and disseminated.

X Target 1.2 Evidence-based and innovative tools and guidance are produced and disseminated.

X Target 1.3 ILO fair recruitment standards, principles, including the fundamental principles and rights
at work, and guidelines are prominent on the global and regional agendas and pilot innovations are
Targets promoted.

X Target 1.4 Training and capacity building is effectively delivered in cooperation with ITC-ILO, and materials
developed, adapted and updated to address their emerging needs.

X Target 1.5 The general public has increased access to information about abusive recruitment practices
and their impact in terms of forced and bonded labour and human trafficking, including through
improved and accurate reporting by the media on this topic.

7
 2 Improving laws, policies and enforcement to promote fair recruitment
Pillar
Beyond knowledge sharing, the second phase will strengthen its focus on
implementation of fair recruitment on the ground, particularly to work on regulatory
reforms at national and bilateral level, including the ratification and effective
implementation of international labour standards. By promoting robust social
dialogue, the Fair Recruitment Initiative will support constituents in their efforts
to align their laws and policies to the relevant International Labour Standards –
especially ILO Convention No. 181 – the GPOG and the Definition on Recruitment
Fees and Related Costs, while ensuring that the principle of non-discrimination is
adhered to. The FRI will also be part of ILO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
towards a new social contract with reconstruction and resilience based on climate-
friendly jobs with rights, just wages, universal social protection and inclusion.
Targeted support to regulatory efforts, implementation of legislation and policy,
and to effective oversight and enforcement mechanisms is necessary to create the
enabling environment needed for fair recruitment practices to prosper. Effective
regulations can create the necessary “level playing field” for compliant recruiters and
employers to operate in the market, to help safeguard workers’ rights, to adhere to
the fundamental principles and rights at work, and to reduce the breadth and range
of opportunities for less-scrupulous actors to operate. The second phase of FRI will
move towards focused action on labour market activation, access and transition,
ensuring that the regulatory framework for fair recruitment is in place, which should
ultimately support job creation and employment opportunities.
Where applicable, the FRI will seek to integrate fair recruitment components in
constituents’ national strategies to eradicate forced labour and human trafficking
developed by Alliance 8.7 Pathfinder countries.3 In addressing root causes of forced
labour and human trafficking, the FRI will prioritize solutions for non-discrimination
and labour market activation. The FRI will further leverage the Alliance’s processes
and diverse stakeholders to deepen Alliance members’ understanding of the
synergies between recruitment violations, forced labour and human trafficking.
National capacities and mechanisms will be enhanced to adopt preventive measures
and ensure access to effective remedies.
As Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements (BLMAs) are one of the key instruments
to regulate, promote and monitor fair recruitment practices across borders, the
FRI will link into ILO’s work on developing guidance on Bilateral Labour Migration
Agreements, including through the UN Network on Migration.
The FRI will seek to collect, systematize and disseminate emerging practices to
address the multiple adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on recruitment
opportunities, the recruitment agency industry, sectors severely affected by the
crises, as well as on workers and employers, and their organizations, with a view
to addressing pre-existing challenges and build a better post-crisis reality on
recruitment.
Recognising that international labour standards are a crucial building block of
effective regulation, the FRI will build on synergies with ILO work to promote
the ratification and effective implementation of relevant International Labour
Standards.4 In particular, this will involve supporting member States to take steps
towards the ratification of Conventions Nos. 88 and 181, developing synergies with
the follow-up to the recommendations of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite
Working Group as requested by the Governing Body.
The viewpoint of representative employers’ and workers’ organizations is often
lacking when policy makers develop recruitment laws and policies. The FRI will seek
to set up or reinforce existing mechanisms for tripartite and bipartite social dialogue
to ensure clear understanding of needs and challenges on both sides.

3 Pathfinder countries are committed to accelerate efforts to achieve SDG target 8.7, including through
mobilising national stakeholders around national strategies on eradicating forced labour, human traf-
ficking and child labour.

8 4 Relevant International Labour Standards include ILO Conventions Nos. 88, 97, 141, 181 and 189,
Protocol No. 29 and Recommendations Nos. 201 and 203.
 X Target 2.1 National laws and policies are adopted, in consultation with social partners, and implemented
to support employment creation and protect workers throughout the recruitment process.

X Target 2.2 Increased number of countries that have introduced/improved their recruitment enforcement
system to monitor recruitmnt violations and provide effective remedies.

Targets X Target 2.3 Increased number of countries that agree or renegotiate bilateral labour agreements in line
with ILO standards and principles, and through social dialogue at all stages.

X Target 2.4 Workers’ and employers’ organizations engage effectively in bipartite or tripartite social
dialogue in the area of recruitment.

X Target 2.5 Increased number of countries that have taken steps towards the ratification of international
labour standards relevant to fair recruitment.

9
 3 Promoting fair business practices
Pillar
Fair recruitment helps to create decent work, provides new job opportunities and
improves labour market functioning, prevents labour and human rights violations,
including discrimination, during the recruitment process that can lead to situations
of forced labour including deception, illegal retention of documents, and worker debt
resulting from the payment of recruitment fees and related costs, among others.
During its first phase, the FRI produced knowledge and tools to support businesses
in their commitment to promote fair business practices at all levels, but particularly
at the global level through the ILO Global Business Network on Forced Labour
(GBNFL), and at the corridor level through a pilot initiative carried out between Nepal
and Jordan. The second phase of the FRI will encourage and strengthen employers’
action to promote fair recruitment through policy advocacy, service provision and
outreach to employers.
In Phase II, the FRI will focus on the specific challenges for small and medium
enterprises, which are often without human resource departments or additional
resources to dedicate to recruitment procedures. The FRI will develop a toolkit for
small and medium enterprises with easy-to-follow procedures and guidance to help
them to most effectively mitigate potential risks and track the effectiveness of their
recruitment procedures.
At the national and corridor level, the FRI aims to engage with compliant private
recruitment agencies and their associations at national and global level. The FRI will
support them to address challenges related to the adverse impact of the COVID-19
pandemic. This will include providing opportunities for peer-to-peer exchanges and
learning; fostering innovative approaches; and promoting use of digital solutions to
increase effectiveness and transparency in the delivery of fair and effective services
to employers and workers.
At the global level, alliances with the International Organization of Employers (IOE),
the World Employment Confederation (WEC), as well as with relevant business
networks, will be further pursued to seize opportunities to showcase innovative
approaches to recruitment. The FRI will build and expand on existing external
alliances,5 to further document and promote the business case for fair recruitment.

5 Including the Alliance 8.7 working group on Supply Chains and Business Advisory Group, in particular
when related to cross-border recruitment.

10
 X Target 3.1 Businesses and employers in IOE’s networks as well as ILO networks (e.g. ILO GBNFL & Alliance
8.7, the Child Labour Platform, etc.) and in selected sectors have increased awareness and access to
knowledge, guidance and tools to change recruitment practices in a gender-responsive manner and
implement ILO guidance.

Targets X Target 3.2 Businesses, particularly SMEs, have improved access to country and/or sector specific tools to
conduct due diligence for fair recruitment practices.

X Target 3.3 Private recruitment agencies (as well as public employment services as relevant) have increased
awareness and access to knowledge, guidance and tools to change practices, conduct due diligence, and
align with voluntary schemes.

11
 4 Empowering and protecting workers
Pillar

The FRI adopts a rights-based approach and seeks to promote protection of workers’
rights at the recruitment stage, recognising that it is often during recruitment that
workers face many significant challenges that lead to an increased risk of abuse and
exploitation.
Workers’ interests can be better reflected in national recruitment regulations and
relevant bilateral labour migration agreements by promoting trade unions’ effective
participation in policy discussions and monitoring of recruitment processes as well
as in labour migration governance more broadly. Trade unions have an instrumental
role to play in promoting fair practices during the recruitment stage and, for those
seeking employment abroad, fostering a positive migration experience. The ILO
GPOG and Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs provide guidance
to national tripartite constituents in developing and implementing improved
recruitment laws, policies and practices to better protect migrant workers and job
seekers.
The protection of workers throughout the recruitment journey is all the more critical
in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected both workers and
employers. The livelihoods of households around the globe have been jeopardised,
creating new vulnerabilities owing to the sudden disappearance of previously-stable
job opportunities and the generation of private debt on a massive scale.
The strategic alliance with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) for
the establishment of the global Recruitment Advisor6 platform has been one of
the most salient features of the FRI. This platform will be further strengthened in
the future, including through the use of digital technology and social media. More
broadly, the FRI will encourage and strengthen trade union action to promote and
protect workers’ rights through representation in social dialogue, policy advocacy,
service provision and outreach to workers.

6 www.recruitmentadvisor.org

12
 X Target 4.1 Trade unions have increased awareness and access to knowledge, guidance and tools to
increase representation of migrant workers among their members.

X Target 4.2 Trade unions have increased awareness and access to knowledge, guidance and tools to
improve and expand their activities to promote, support and advance fair recruitment, in cooperation
Targets when relevant with civil society organizations.

X Target 4.3 Workers are provided with independent, relevant, understandable and actionable information
about their rights and obligations in recruitment, including on access to justice and remedies.

X Target 4.4 Workers can effectively access compensation and other remedies through justice and
company-union grievance mechanisms and social dialogue.

13
14
15
 Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch (FUNDAMENTALS)

Labour Migration Branch (MIGRANT)

International Labour Office

4, route des Morillons
1211 Geneva 22 - Switzerland
T: +41 (0) 22 799 61 11

ilo.org/fairrecruitment

Copyright © International Labour Organization – 2021

Published in August 2021

16