Fair Recruitment and Forced Labour: An Evaluation of Migrant Workers’ Experiences

Abstract

International Labour Organization (ILO) and directorates of employment of various countries have mapped out strategies that would enhance fair recruitment exercise between recruiters and potential migrant workers. However, some recruiters take advantage of migrant workers' experiences and economic hardship to deny them their rights and privileges. This paper, adopting the content analysis approach of the qualitative research method, evaluates the video content that showcases some of the traumatic experiences of migrant workers who thought before leaving their countries of origin that their new work environment would meet their needs and aspirations. Also the researcher utilized survey design of quantitative research methodology to ascertain the level of awareness created so far in the public to intimate the masses about the rudiments of fair and unfair recruitment exercises. Majority of the respondents are Nigerians. One of the objectives of this survey is to sample the opinions of some workers who engage in internal
or inter-state migrations across Nigeria, and to evaluate their experiences about fair and unfair recruitments. The population of the survey is 50 participants who filled an online Microsoft Form that contained the questions of the survey. The researcher discovered that
there are traces of forced labour from the video content evaluated in this study. Answer to question number 8, from the survey conducted also reveals that 32 respondents, representing 65% of the population have not heard about Fair recruitment, as such, there
is a need for ILO to create more awareness on the tenets of fair recruitment and the rights of migrant workers. The researcher further recommends that more campaigns should be carried out through the secondary schools and tertiary institutions, media and social media platforms, by organizing or instituting short- and long-term courses, and sensitization programmes for prospective migrant workers.