Thank you chair.

We are very pleased to have the topic of fair recruitment addressed today. We believe that in the current world of globalisation, it constitutes more than ever, a crucial topic.

In today's world, workers are increasingly moving abroad for job opportunities, often far from their homes, going to countries they have never been before. Low-skilled workers are particularly vulnerable, and can be victims of unscrupulous employment agencies, informal labour intermediaries and other operators acting outside the legal and regulatory framework.

Indeed, some migrant workers, when arriving in the country of destination, experience a very different situation from the one they had expected. Retention of passports, deposits and illegal wage deductions, debt bondage linked to repayment of recruitment fees, threats if they want to leave their employers, are some examples of frequent abuses that can amount to human trafficking and forced labour.

 In such a context, we believe that ILO's initiative on fair recruitment is crucial to prevent human trafficking and smuggling and protect the rights of workers, including migrant workers, from such abuses.

 The EU is also very pleased that reducing cost of labour migration and promote ethical recruitment policies and practices between sending and receiving countries is on the agenda of UN meetings on refugees and migrants. We should also not forget, as acknowledged in the 2030 Agenda, that migrants can make positive and profound contributions to economic and social development in the host societies and to global wealth creation. 

 In the EU, our Charter of fundamental rights states that « Everyone has the right to engage in work and to pursue a freely chosen or accepted occupation". This principle guides all EU policies and legislation. 

-For nationals from EU MS, Freedom of movement for workers is the rule. The EU Charter of fundamental rights states that « Every citizen of the Union has the freedom to seek employment, to work, to exercise the right of establishment and to provide services in any Member State. » Citizens of a EU Member State can work without any limitation, in particular change employer, in another EU Member State. They have the same rights as the citizens of that Member State. Discrimination on the grounds of nationality is prohibited.

- For migrant workers (third country nationals) working in the EU, in general, EU law regulates only some aspects of recruitment and does not systematically cover all MS. Specific provisions at national level are therefore important. Mechanisms to access the labour market are differentiated according to categories of migrant workers and length of stay. Specific rules apply in particular to seasonal workers and high skilled workers. For example, the legislation on seasonal workers provides the right to change employer during the maximum duration of stay to avoid abuses and provide flexibility. The right to change employer is further granted to all migrant workers after five years of legal residence. 

Legislation on Temporary Agency Work applies to the supply of “agency workers” to user enterprises, whether private or public sector enterprises and provides that temporary workers should not be charged any recruitment fees. 

Legislation on written statement obliges employers to inform all workers in writing about the conditions applicable to their employment relation. To note is also that, once recruited, migrant workers benefit in general from the same working conditions as nationals.

Finally, the anti-trafficking directive provides for sanctions in case of trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation, with a penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment and at least 10 years in the case of aggravating circumstances. Victims of forced labour are protected under the victims directive, with provides for rights, support and protection of all victims of crime. 

 We wish this group to have a fruitful discussion and we hope that we will be able to adopt guidelines that will contribute to preventing fraudulent practices during recruitment as well as trafficking and forced labour.