Workers' empowerment

Trade unions and workers’ organizations have been key actors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and FAIRWAY has established partnerships to ensure migrant workers have access to needed services, legal aid, and support upon return to their country of origin due to COVID-19.

To ensure that policy change is sustained and reflects the actual needs and interests of migrant workers, FAIRWAY engages with labour movements to advance migrant workers’ representation, organization, and participation in dialogue at national, interregional, and regional level. To ensure continuity of representation and protection of migrant workers across the migration cycle, FAIRWAY will build trust and mutual understanding between trade unions across corridors through joint actions and, where beneficial, bilateral social partner agreements.

The programme is engaging Global Union Federations as implementing partners, to ensure a tailored approach to organizing for the programme’s priority sectors including with the International Domestic Workers’ Federation and Building and Wood Workers’ International.

In countries of origin in Africa, the programme will also engage the most representative national union federations to support trade union action to protect migrant workers, including upon their return, and to engage in policy dialogues.

The FAIRWAY Programme will provide trade unions with capacity building on access to justice mechanisms and how they can support migrant workers. It will also support production of awareness-raising tools about migrant workers’ labour market situation and how trade unions in countries of destination can join forces with associations of migrant workers.