Part I International laws and mechanisms The Convention requires member States to accord equal treatment to regular migrant workers in relation to working conditions; membership of trade unions and enjoyment of the benefits of collective bargaining; accommodation; social security; employment taxes; and legal proceedings relating to the matters referred to in the Convention (article 6). The Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 sets out a comprehensive approach to address labour migration, starting with a commitment to the protection of basic human rights of all migrant workers (article 1). It provides minimum standards for the protection of migrant workers in both regular and irregular situations. The Convention is the first international instrument to deal with problems arising from irregular migration. It seeks to suppress the clandestine migration and the illegal employment of migrants (article 3) and encourages the prosecution of “manpower trafficking” (article 5).107 The Convention requires member States to guarantee equality of opportunity and treatment for documented migrant workers and their families in respect to employment and occupation, social security, trade unions, cultural rights and individual and collective freedoms (article 10). However, this provision does not apply to frontier workers, short term entry of the liberal professions and artistes, seamen, trainees and persons coming for training or education and persons who come for specific duty assignments (article 11(2)). In addition, the Convention stresses the importance of consulting representative organizations of employers and workers in relation to the laws, regulations and other measures provided for in the Convention which are designed to prevent and eliminate migration in abusive conditions.108 The Migrant Workers Recommendation, 1975 calls for further elaboration and broadening of the standards set out in C-143, within the framework of a coherent policy on international migration for employment. It seeks to promote effective equality of opportunity and treatment with nationals for migrant workers lawfully within the territory of a member State in respect to vocation and employment training, security of employment, working conditions, trade union membership and remuneration for work of equal value, as well as living conditions, including housing, social services and access to education and health services (article 2). The Recommendation encourages member States to provide the free choice of employment and geographical mobility for migrant workers who have resided lawfully in the country (article 6(a));109 to ensure the efficient resolution of cases where migrant workers with irregular status may be regularized, and where they cannot be regularized, to ensure equal treatment with regards to certain rights arising from past and present employment (article 8); to formulate social policy appropriate to the conditions and specific needs of migrant workers (article 9), to promote family reunification (article 13) and to provide assistance and information in adapting to the economic, social and cultural environment of the country of employment (article 24).110 The ILO has a dedicated unit for labour migration, the International Migration Programme (MIGRANT), which promotes international standards and cooperation and provides technical assistance and capacity building to member States on labour migration and the promotion of migrant worker’s rights.110 107 The Convention does not specifically define the phrase “manpower trafficking” which, in summary, refers to trafficking for labour. For a comprehensive definition of trafficking in persons, which includes trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation, see the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. 108 See article 7 in particular and, more generally, articles 2, 4 and 12. 109 The provision is limited to those who have migrated for work purposes for a prescribed period of two years or less. 110 “MIGRANT: International Migration Branch”; ILO; see: www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/migrant/index.htm. Chapter 4: The International Labour Organization and migrant workers | 43