The Executive Council of the World Movement of Christian Workers has Chosen the theme of Globalisation and Migrant Workers for the International Seminar.

Every year, millions of men and women leave their homelands in search of a decent life for themselves and their families. Most are motivated by the quest for higher wages and better opportunities; some are forced to leave because of famine, natural disasters, violent conflict or persecution. The International Labour Office estimates that there are about 90 million are migrant workers. Traditional migration is from the South to North yet the trend is towards a growing immigration within the developing world.

Current migration is closely linked with features of globalization; a widening income gap between the rich and poor parts of the world also spurs people to seek economic opportunities elsewhere. These factors, combined with aging populations in many developed countries, mean migration is likely to continue to increase. 

The fears surrounding the impact of immigration on developing countries are unfounded. There is no evidence that immigration reduces wages or pushes up unemployment. The economic picture is less clear-cut when it comes to the countries left by migrants. Advantages include migrants’ remittances, lower unemployment, less population pressure and knowledge brought by returning migrants. On the downside, emigration often entails loss of skilled workers and dynamic young people. It also can reduce a country’s output and tax revenues.

The Migrant Worker Reality

Many migrant workers frequently find themselves without the proper documents or papers and have to work clandestinely in their host country.  They are often referred to pejoratively as “illegal”.  The increase in clandestine migration, including trafficking, threatens human rights and creates new challenges for national governments and the international community. A growing number of migrants find themselves in vulnerable situations, mainly because of their lack of documents and irregular status or the kind of work they do, and many face discrimination.

The social upheavals that migration produces in both sending and receiving countries can be far-reaching and destabilizing. There are many difficulties surrounding integration of people from different cultures, backgrounds and race. This integration is made worse in host countries where there is a decline in traditional industries with the resultant mass redundancies and long-term structural unemployment of native workers.   Political extremist movements espousing racism and xenophobia exploit these difficulties blaming migrant workers for causing unemployment.

Building Solidarity with Migrant Workers to create Decent Work

The WMCW we recognises migrant workers as, our sisters and brothers. To welcome the migrant, it is to welcome God among us. In the Church there is no stranger. The Gospel of love of neighbour at home and abroad (MT 22,34-40) requires clear actions of solidarity with the stranger.  We have to take more seriously our vocation to walk with migrant’s workers, in whom the face of Christ can be seen.

As a workers movement we cannot shy away from the fact that migration is a complex issue requiring solutions to worker problems for migrant and native workers alike.  The failure of the global economy to give an equal participation in the sharing of the wealth created for workers at home and abroad is a threat and a challenge to all women and men of good will struggling to build genuine international worker solidarity.