Summary

This Migration Linkages issue brief identifies migration and health issues and recommended actions business can take to better promote migrant worker health.

Detail

Migrant worker health is increasingly important for companies following the UN’s endorsement of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the identification of migrant workers as a group specifically requiring protection related to health. Business is expected to adopt or establish standards and procedures to support the protection of individuals belonging to specific groups, including migrant workers. Among these principles, Principle 12 states, “with respect to the International Bill of Human Rights, additional standards for vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers and their families, should be considered to prevent adverse human rights impact.”

As health is recognized as a human right, and with migrant workers now identified as a specific group of individuals requiring protection, business should adopt and establish standards or specific procedures to promote and protect migrant worker health. Migrant workers face unique health risks that require solutions beyond the realm of traditional occupational health and safety. This paper identifies health issues at each phase of the migration process: pre-departure and transit, post-arrival/on-boarding, integration, and return.

BUSINESS ACTION
Health issues impacting migrant workers are complex and numerous. However there are steps business can take to begin to protect migrant worker health. This can be done as part of a new overall approach toward human rights, or as a supplement to existing migrant worker policies and procedures. Some steps include: 

» Mapping and identifying health risks for major migration corridors in the supply chain. 
» Building health profiles for migrant workers at the pre-departure phase. 
» Developing preventative health programs for migrant workers in the workplace. 
» Ensuring occupational health and safety standards and procedures are communicated and enforced effectively with migrant workers.
» Taking proactive steps to ensure the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of health services in the destination country.