SERVICES: SEMINAR — 4-5 OCTOBER 2004
Managing the movement of People: what can be learned for Mode 4 of the GATS?
Joint IOM/World Bank/WTO Seminar, Geneva, 4-5 October 2004
The seminar focused on the relationship between migration and the supply of services via the temporary movement across borders of natural persons, or “Mode 4” of the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The presentations explore what can be learned from the actual experience of governments in managing the movement of people for Mode 4 of the GATS, dealing with issues that are of interest to both trade and migration authorities.
Note:
Downloadable files in Powerpoint and pdf (portable document format).
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Background material
> IOM/World Bank/WTO Trade and Migration background paper (pdf format, 21 pages, 116KB)
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Programme
Monday, 4 October 2004 back to top
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What can we learn from existing schemes for Managing the Movement and temporary Stay of Foreign Workers that is relevant for mode 4 of the GATS? | |
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09.00-10.00 |
Registration |
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10.00-10.10 |
Welcome Remarks: Brunson McKinley, IOM Director General Objectives and structure of the meeting: Aaditya Mattoo, World Bank, Lead Economist |
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10.10-11.00 |
Session I: Trade and Migration Contexts: Setting the Scene Chair: Lakshmi Puri, head, Division on Trade in Goods, Services and Commodities, UNCTAD Trade: Update on Mode 4: Hamid Mamdouh, WTO Secretariat, Director, Trade in Services. Migration: Managing Movement and Temporary Stay of Labour Migrants: Policy and Implementation, Gervais Appave, IOM, Director, Migration Policy and Research Discussion |
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11.00-13.00 |
Session II: National Level Unilateral Approaches to Managing Movement and Temporary Stay of Workers What approaches have countries taken at the national level to manage unilaterally the movement and temporary stay of workers? What has been their purpose and what types of movement (e.g., skill level, sector, duration of stay and type of contractual arrangements) do they cover and how does this compare with bilateral, regional and multilateral mechanisms, including GATS mode 4? What have been the strengths and weaknesses of these initiatives? What lessons can we learn? Chair: G. Joseph, Director, Department of Home Affairs, South Africa Introduction: Frank Laczko, Director of Research, International organization for Migration Case Studies: Philippines: Danilo P. Cruz, Under Secretary for Employment, Department of Labor and Employment Bahrain: Ausamah Al-Absi, Director of Employment, Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs United Kingdom: Lesley Maundrell, Policy Development Manager, Home Office, Work Permits (UK), Policy Team Discussion |
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13.00-15.00 |
Lunch |
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15.00-17.00 |
Session III: Bilateral Approaches to Managing the Movement and Temporary Stay of Workers How are bilateral agreements for managing temporary labour migration designed? What kinds of agreements exist? How do they address labour market and administrative issues, and what lessons can we learn, including for mode 4? What have been the strengths and weaknesses of such agreements? What has been their purpose and what types of movement (e.g., skill level, sector, duration of stay and type of contractual arrangements) do they cover and how does this compare with GATS mode 4? What have been the strengths and weaknesses of these initiatives? What lessons can we learn? Chair: Irena Omelaniuk, Editor-in-Chief, World Migration 2005 Introduction: Georges LeMaitre, Principal Administrator, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (DELSA), OECD Case Studies: Hispano-Ecuatoriano bilateral labour agreement: Victoria Galvani, Jefe de Coordinación, Subdirección Gral. de Régimen Jurídico, Dirección Gral de Inmigración Secretaría de Estado de Inmigración y Emigración, Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales Canadian seasonal agricultural worker program: Elizabeth Ruddick, Director, Strategic Research and Statistics; Priorities, Planning and Research Branch, Citizenship and Immigration Canada Discussants: Veronica Robinson, Deputy Director, Manpower Services (Work Permits, Local Employment and Overseas Migration Programme), Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Jamaica Dr. Torsten Christen, Deputy Head of Division, Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour, Germany Discussion |
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17.00-18.00 |
Session IV: Regional Arrangements for Managing the Movement and Temporary Stay of Workers How do regional trade agreements and other regional arrangements for managing temporary labour migration actually work? What kinds of agreements exist? What has been their purpose and what types of movement (e.g., skill level, sector, duration of stay and type of contractual arrangements) do they cover and how does this compare with GATS mode 4? What have been their strengths and weaknesses? What lessons can we learn, including for mode 4? Chair: Carlos Primo Braga, Senior Adviser, World Bank Introduction: Julia Nielson, trade directorate, OECD Case Studies: APEC Business Travel Card: David Watt, Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, Australia — what exactly does it provide, how does it work, and what lessons can we draw from it for mode 4? NAFTA — Luz María Servín Sotres, Director for International Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, National Migration Institute, Mexico — how does NAFTA cover temporary labour movement, how does it work, and what lessons can we draw from it for Mode 4? Discussant: Johannes Bernabe, the Philippines Discussion |
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18:30-20:00 |
Reception Hosted by the World Bank: World Meteorological Organization |
Tuesday, 5 October 2004 back to top
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What can we learn from existing schemes for Managing the Movement and temporary Stay of Foreign Workers that is relevant for mode 4 of the GATS? | |
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10.00-11.00 |
Session IV: Regional Arrangements for Managing the Movement and Temporary Stay of Workers (Continued) |
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11.00-13.00 |
Session V: National Implementation of International Obligations How do states implement at the national level the international trade obligations they undertake at the regional and multilateral level with respect to movement of persons? Chair: Alejandro Jara, Ambassador of Chile to the WTO and Chair of the Services Negotiations Introduction: Carlo Gamberale, Trade in Services, WTO Case Studies: Mexico: Luz Maria Servin Sotres, Director for International Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, National Migration Institute Canada: Paul Henry, Trade Policy Adviser, Citizenship and Immigration Canada Colombia: Adriana Suarez, Consejera Comercial, permament Mission of Colombia, in Geneva Discussant: Sumanta Chaudhuri, India, WTO Mission Discussion |
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13.00-15.00 |
Lunch |
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15.00-16.00 |
Session VI: A View from the Constituents Chair: Assane Diop, Executive director of the social protection sector, International labour office Employer: Ellen Yost, Partner, Fragomen, Global Corporate Immigration Law Firm Union: Mike Waghorne, Public Services International Discussion |
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16.00-17.30 |
Session VII: Where do we go from here? Implications for Mode 4 Chair: Hamid Mamdouh, WTO, Director, Trade in Services Introduction: Aaditya Mattoo, World Bank, Lead Economist: Synopsis of the seminar discussions and focus on key questions from here Ambassador Sergio Marchi, Former Canadian WTO Representative and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Commissioner, Global Commission on International Migration Ambassador Chandrasekhar, Permanent Representative of India to the WTO Anya Oram, Administrator, Directorate General Trade, European Commission Discussion |
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17.30-18.00 |
Closing Remarks — IOM |