Labour migration is of high relevance for governments, the private sector and civil society. These actors aim at promoting more transparent, effective and humane migration policies, taking into account labour market needs.

Since 2016, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) has been hosting the Business Advisory Group on Migration, a Global Platform for members to coordinate the business perspective in the area of migration policy and to provide input to the global migration debate, including at the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), which started at the initiative of Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General and UN governments.

Private sector engagement at the GFMD is ensured by the GFMD Business Mechanism, that is also coordinated by IOE.  

The GFMD Business Mechanism and Business Advisory Group on migration aim at a regulatory environment where labour migration policies support businesses, build competitiveness and resilience, and hence play a key role in society by creating decent jobs and wealth.

The 2021 annual GFMD Summit was held online and organised by the United Arab Emirates, with a focus on “The future of human mobility: innovative partnerships for sustainable development”.

The Business Advisory Group on Migration organised multiple sessions of the summit to focus on the impact of migration policies on businesses, with a view to strengthen the dialogue between businesses and governments on improved regulatory framework, skills mobility, responsible recruitment and regular migration pathways, in the post Covid-19 economic recovery process.

The following recommendations were presented by the Business Advisory Group on Migration:

• Stronger engagement with the private sector in developing and amending migration policies.
• Enhanced public-private cooperation at the regional level.
• Improved transparency and whole-of-government coordination.
• Improved legal pathways for employment.
• Better leveraging of technology for enhanced migration management.
• Adoption and implementation of responsible recruitment policies and practices