Standards setting is our priority
Ms Dagmar Walter, Director, ILO DWT South Asia and India leads spoked at the virtual meeting - Reflections of the Indian Information Technology Industry on opportunities within the EU Legal Migration Framework.
Good Morning Brussels, Good Afternoon India and Namaste to all of you!
This technical support project on India EU CAMM implemented by ILO and ICMPD and local partner ICM offers, policy makers from EU and India, provides us opportunities to acknowledge and reflect upon the changing dynamics of international migration between India and the EU. Last year, the ILO observed its centenary celebrations on the theme of Future of Work confirming to the world of work that a human-centred approach is the way forward. Investments in people’s capabilities, institutions of work and decent and sustainable work forming the triumvirate pillars of this approach. And here we are today, imposed with a new reality due to COVID 19 pandemic, re-visiting, re-defining and re-shaping this discourse!
And I strongly feel that there can be no better audience than the Information Technology Industry in India to have this discussion with today. India has continued to offer the most sought-after IT talent to the international labour market globally, and to the European Union specifically. As a natural corollary, the present mobility-restrictive measures adopted worldwide severely affect the industry. Further, economic unpredictability and increased adoption of new ways of working offer new challenges as well as opportunities for the growth of the industry. This forum provides an opportunity for industry to share their perspectives and for policy makers to understand better ground realities and the impact of their policies.
Discussions foreseen in today’s meeting within the India EU context build on the project’s previous consultations on skill shortages and talent mobility. Previous discussions have emphasised the need for enhanced policy environment, coverage, efficient visa processes, and improved access to social security rights and awareness platforms. Following from there, this forum offers a unique opportunity to the industry in the current context. Industry’s reflections on the overall EU Legal Migration Framework are envisaged to give a new impetus to the on-going inter-government efforts on enhancing the migration policy framework. This framework, as observed in the EU fitness check process, builds upon a series of reformative steps undertaken by the EU to enhance its attractiveness for high-skilled migrants, significantly the IT talent and strengthen its regular migration pathways.
As a standard setting body, the ILO actively works towards strengthening dialogue between governments, employers and workers’ organizations. Consultative processes such as this reaffirm the significance of social dialogue in strengthening migration policies in the collective interest of migrant workers, employers and governments.
I take this opportunity to thank NASSCOM for being the ecosystem partners for this consultation, Fragomen and OECD for bringing in their technical expertise, collectively strengthening our efforts in ensuring a space for policy interests of the industry in global consultative processes.
On behalf of the ILO, thank you for being here. I wish you a productive consultation.
Thank you for your kind attention.
- Our esteemed guests, Dr Shashank Vikram, Director, Oversees Indian Affairs-1, Ministry of External Affairs, Sh Piyush Gupta, Director, Ministry of External Affairs, Ms Tadu Mamu, Under-Secretary, OIA-1, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India;
- Ms Maria Madrid, International Relations Officer and Alexandra Sa Carvalho, Legal and Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, DG HOME, European Commission; Mr Benoit Sauveroche, First Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to India.
- The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), our Information Technology ecosystem partner for this meeting,
- colleagues from Fragomen Global Immigration Services and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Esteemed participants from the IT Industry in India
This technical support project on India EU CAMM implemented by ILO and ICMPD and local partner ICM offers, policy makers from EU and India, provides us opportunities to acknowledge and reflect upon the changing dynamics of international migration between India and the EU. Last year, the ILO observed its centenary celebrations on the theme of Future of Work confirming to the world of work that a human-centred approach is the way forward. Investments in people’s capabilities, institutions of work and decent and sustainable work forming the triumvirate pillars of this approach. And here we are today, imposed with a new reality due to COVID 19 pandemic, re-visiting, re-defining and re-shaping this discourse!
And I strongly feel that there can be no better audience than the Information Technology Industry in India to have this discussion with today. India has continued to offer the most sought-after IT talent to the international labour market globally, and to the European Union specifically. As a natural corollary, the present mobility-restrictive measures adopted worldwide severely affect the industry. Further, economic unpredictability and increased adoption of new ways of working offer new challenges as well as opportunities for the growth of the industry. This forum provides an opportunity for industry to share their perspectives and for policy makers to understand better ground realities and the impact of their policies.
Discussions foreseen in today’s meeting within the India EU context build on the project’s previous consultations on skill shortages and talent mobility. Previous discussions have emphasised the need for enhanced policy environment, coverage, efficient visa processes, and improved access to social security rights and awareness platforms. Following from there, this forum offers a unique opportunity to the industry in the current context. Industry’s reflections on the overall EU Legal Migration Framework are envisaged to give a new impetus to the on-going inter-government efforts on enhancing the migration policy framework. This framework, as observed in the EU fitness check process, builds upon a series of reformative steps undertaken by the EU to enhance its attractiveness for high-skilled migrants, significantly the IT talent and strengthen its regular migration pathways.
As a standard setting body, the ILO actively works towards strengthening dialogue between governments, employers and workers’ organizations. Consultative processes such as this reaffirm the significance of social dialogue in strengthening migration policies in the collective interest of migrant workers, employers and governments.
I take this opportunity to thank NASSCOM for being the ecosystem partners for this consultation, Fragomen and OECD for bringing in their technical expertise, collectively strengthening our efforts in ensuring a space for policy interests of the industry in global consultative processes.
On behalf of the ILO, thank you for being here. I wish you a productive consultation.
Thank you for your kind attention.