Wednesday 29 September 2010

Mobile Money for Zimbabwean Mobile Users to Launch in November

Mobile money is finally a reality for Zimbabweans in the diasporas. After six years in the cooking pot, as we would say in Zimbabwe, mikemusa Ltd is being launched this November. We’ve been working hard on our user friendly customer interface and are finally ready to pilot the first ever mobile wallet based money transfer service open to any Zimbabwean with a cell phone. Read more

Western Union announces the introduction of the Account-Based Money Transfer (ABMT

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Sep 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Western Union (NYSE:WU), a leader in global payment services, and State Bank of India (SBI), the largest commercial bank in India, today announced that SBI accountholders will soon be able to receive cross-border money transfers in their bank accounts using just their mobile phones.

In July, Western Union announced the introduction of the Account-Based Money Transfer (ABMT) service, to be launched in early 2011. This service will enable SBI customers with online bank accounts to pull a Western Union(R) Money Transfer(TM) directly into their accounts via the Internet or an ATM.

The new mobile service will provide SBI customers with an additional option to direct a Western Union Money Transfer into their accounts anytime and anywhere. Read more

Remittances to Mena region fall 8%

The World Bank has said that despite an 8% decline in remittance flows to the Middle East and North Africa region to $32bn (Dhs117.44bn) last year, from $34.8bn in 2008, figures are expected to bounce back 3.6% to $33.1bn this year, Emirates Business has reported. Remittances to the region are projected to increase further 4% next year to $34.4bn, according to the World Bank.
Source

Saturday 25 September 2010

Asia-Pacific region at UN forum calls for better protection of migrants

24 September 2010 – A United Nations meeting of Asia-Pacific countries today called for better legal protection of migrants, especially the millions who are undocumented migrants and often victims of human trafficking.

Migrant workers are development actors and contribute to development by way of remittances, skills, culture and labour to States of origin, transit and destination, said a statement issued at the end of a three-day meeting in Bangkok of representatives from 31 governments in the region.

Read more

Thursday 23 September 2010

CUBA: U.S. relatives could spur new Cuba businesses

(Reuters) - Rolando has very big plans for the little gym he runs informally out of a garage in Havana. First he wants to legalize it, then buy new equipment and - why not? - even build a sauna.

But in order to become one of the 250,000 new business owners Cuba has said it will approve, he needs start-up capital and, in a communist-led country short on financial services, that usually means turning to relatives in the United States, home to 1.5 million Cuban emigres.

"My cousin recently came from Miami and took pictures of the gym. He said I could count on him for whatever I needed. I think the time has come to call him and let him know it is time to expand the business," he said. Read more

Canadian mobile money venture Zoompass to offer international remittances

Enstream, the Canadian telco-led m-commerce joint venture is partnering with Western Union to deliver cross-border money transfer options to Zoompass mobile money users.

With the launch of the service later this year, Zoompass users in Canada will be able to send funds directly from their mobile wallets. Recipients will be able to pick up their cash at more than 380,000 Western Union Agent locations in 200 countries and territories.

Cross-border mobile-to-mobile transfers will also be available via Western Union alliance partners Globe Telecom and Smart Communications in the Philippines. Read more

Enabling international remittance services in Georgia

Archil Bakuradze is the chairman of the microfinance institution Crystal Fund. Here he discusses the “Reaching Georgia’s Rural Poor through Mobile Remittances” project, which is a joint effort of the Crystal Fund, Mobile Finance Eurasia and the microfinance organization Crystal and is funded by the Financial Facility for Remittances of the International Fund for Agriculture Development.


International remittances play an important role in the lives of people across the world, but in Georgia they are of major economic importance, accounting for 9% of the country’s GDP. According to various studies, about half of international remittances in Georgia go to rural areas.
Read more

Sensational Cases Expose Conditions Faced by Overseas Workers Throughout Asia

Last week, a Filipino woman working in Qatar as a maid gave birth on a flight from Bahrain to the Philippines, and then abandoned the child in the lavatory trash. She told officials she had become pregnant after being raped by her employer. Only a few weeks before, Sri Lankan physicians removed 24 nails and needles from a woman who had been working in Saudi Arabia. Saudi employers had hammered the nails into her body as punishment for complaining about her workload. She did not report the assault to Saudi officials for fear that her employers would prevent her from leaving.

Each year, inhabitants of the least-developed Asian countries pursue the economic benefits of overseas employment despite the high social cost at home and possibility of injury at the hands of employers abroad. Workers experience abuse along a spectrum, from being denied legal status and labor protections to enduring legally condoned and even legally abetted forms of physical and psychological abuse. Read more

EastNets to Showcase Mobile Remittance Solution at the Workers Remittances Business Day Hosted by SWIFT in Beijing

EastNets, a leading global provider of compliance and payments solutions and services, announced today that it will be showcasing its new mobile remittance solution at the upcoming Workers Remittances Business Day, hosted by SWIFT, on the 21st of September in Beijing, at the Beijing International Hotel.

EastNets new mobile remittance solution, en.MoRe, enables consumers with a simple mobile phone to transfer money from a mobile wallet to cash at a foreign bank more easily, cost-effectively and conveniently than with more traditional remittance approaches. The new solution targets the estimated 800 million migrant workers around the globe who send money to their friends and families on a regular basis.

en.MoRe is a technology platform and payment scheme to enable banks and mobile network operators to interoperate globally. The new solution is currently in pilot phase with aggressive plans to create a many-to-many network between mobile network operators in 10 sending countries and banks in 15 receiving countries by end of 2010.

"EastNets is delighted to be showcasing our new mobile remittance solution at the upcoming Workers Remittances Business Day," said Hazem Mulhim, CEO of EastNets. "With en.MoRe, financial institutions and mobile operators have a new platform to better serve their existing customers, and tap into this growing mobile remittances market by acquiring new customers who want to utilize this service."

en.MoRe will allow mobile network operators to connect to a single hub that is already linked via SWIFT to more than 8000 banks worldwide. EastNets is currently in the process of obtaining certification for the SWIFTReady Workers' Remittance Label with its en.MoRe solution.

Cash flowing to native lands

Delmy Aldana works two jobs — at a restaurant by day and the post office at night — to send hundreds of dollars a month to her native El Salvador. Half pays the mortgage on a house she built for her family, and the rest covers necessities for relatives, including a teenage son and 71-year-old mother she left behind.

“It’s really hard,’’ said Aldana, a 31-year-old Lynn resident. “The money I send my mother helps her to survive. What I send her pays her bills, the electricity, the water, the telephone. If I didn’t send money . . . I don’t know how she would manage.’’

Across the state, Aldana and other immigrants showed their enduring devotion to their loved ones last year by sending $1.8 billion home to more than 200 countries, according to the first full accounting of the cash that flows out of Massachusetts. The findings are based on a Globe review of annual reports that money-transfer companies such as MoneyGram and Western Union are required to file each year with the state. Read more

UAE Exchange announces launch of its MasterCard MoneySend service in UAE

UAE Exchange, the global remittance and foreign exchange brand based in the UAE, has recently announced the commencement of the MasterCard MoneySend service in the UAE market for outbound remittances to the Philippines.

MasterCard MoneySend is a person-to-person money transfer service that allows participating customer financial institutions to use the global network and card products of MasterCard to facilitate domestic and cross-border remittances. UAE Exchange will leverage the MasterCard MoneySend platform to offer cardholders a convenient and cost-effective way to send funds directly to the recipients' MasterCard debit or credit card in the Philippines so that they can withdraw cash from their nearest ATM; use directly for purchases at MasterCard merchant accepted locations; or pay their credit card bills back home. UAE Exchange will be offering this service in the UAE for outbound remittances to the Philippines through the extensive network of UAE Exchange which has over 85 branches across the country. Read more

KENYA: Fresh effort to market Kenya abroad

Fresh effort to market Kenya abroad

BY EVELYNE NJOROGE
Updated 1days 11 hours 35 minutes ago

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 21 - The Brand Kenya Board has entered into a partnership with the Kenya Overseas Business Alliance (KOBA) to promote the country as a top business and investment destination to citizens in the Diaspora and foreign investors.

The Board’s Chief Executive Officer Mary Kimonye said that through the partnership, they hope to achieve their mandate of improving Kenya’s image, visibility and competitiveness both locally and internationally.

“Our mandate is to provide for government an integrated mechanism of marketing the country. So we will partner with anybody who’s willing to work with us,” she said. Read more

Diaspora Nigerians remit $7bn as CBN releases N130bn to BoI for 317 projects

The Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM) has disclosed that Diaspora Nigerians remitted over $7 billion in 2009, which represents 50 percent of the $14 billion globally remitted to Africa. Robert Orya, managing director, NEXIM, who made this known on Monday in Abuja at the 2010 Enterprise Exhibition and Business Forum, said the $14 billion global remittance in 2009 formed the highest source of foreign exchange into the continent. Read more

ROMANIA: Conservatives oppose 1 pct tax to be levied on Romanians abroad remittances

Conservatives are opposed to Democrat Liberal Party (PDL, at rule) deputy William Branza to levy a 1 percent tax on the remittances made by Romanians abroad, announced on Monday, in a press conference, Maria Grapini, Vice-president of the Conservative Party (PC, in opposition).

“We cannot agree with such a law representing in fact double taxation and it is not the sole example of Romanians being taxed several times. (…) We are opposed to it, we are going to organize public debates, we will attempt to discuss the matter with our allies in the Parliament, with the opposition parties – the National Liberal Party and the Social Democrat Party – so that this legislative initiative is not adopted”, said Grapini on Monday. Read more

Sri Lanka state bank in deal to boost remittances from Jordan

Sep 21, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's state-run National Savings Bank (NSB) has inked inked a deal with a financial partner in Jordan as part of a bid to expand its remittance business tenfold over two years, officials said.

NSB announced a deal with JRM Alami and Partners Exchange Company in Jordan Monday to help channel remittances of Sri Lankan expatriates in that country more easily.
Last year expatriate Sri Lankans working in the Middle East, Far East and Europe sent 3.3 billion dollars to the country officially.

"We are enjoying only 0.7 to 0.8 percent of this market," Predeep Kariyawasam, chairman of state owned NSB told reporters after announcing the link with JRM Alami. Read more

Bulgaria Benefits from Emigrants' Remittances More Than from EU Funds

The economic crisis has not triggered a mass return of Bulgarian emigrants to their homeland, according to a study conducted by the "Open Society" Institute presented Tuesday.

The monetary remittances made by emigrants have not decreased significantly either – in 2009, money transfers from Bulgarians living abroad amounted to EUR 1.2 B with a reduction of 15%, which is much smaller than the decrease in foreign investments. Read more

Monday 20 September 2010

GUYANA: Constrained dependence on official external financing

Role of official external financing

As a rule, small relatively poor open economies that are highly dependent on the production and export sale of low-value added primary products and/or other natural resources-based products that are not presently enjoying a secular boom in world commodities markets, end up in a situation where debt-led and capital inflows-led processes become the key drivers of economic growth. Guyana and most of the wider Caricom represent classic examples of these processes at work. However, to be in a position to cope with exogenous external economic shocks, the authorities in such countries are constrained to rely on official external financing as both a lender of first and last resort. This is needed to provide cover against the pitfalls of debt and capital inflows-led growth. Read more

SRI LANKA: Foreign earnings target US 4 b

Foreign earnings target US 4 b
Foreign remittances to Sri Lanka increased by 11 percent to US $ 1820 million in the second quarter of the year. This was at US $ 1602 in the corresponding period last year.

Foreign remittances are Sri Lanka's number one foreign exchange earner and the government hopes to achieve a record US $ 4 billion target this year. This was at US 3.3 billion last year.

Despite the global economic downturn last year, Sri Lanka recorded a sharp 15 percent increase in foreign employment, an official from Foreign Employment Bureau said. A record number of 134,670 Sri Lankan employees went overseas in the first six months of this year which is a 17,669 increase as against the first six months of the previous year.

Sri Lanka had provided the highest number of employees to Qatar which shows a 54 percent increase.

Lankan employees to South Korea have increased by 43 percent, Kuwait 18 percent and UAE 11 percent. Over 2,000 Sri Lankans ventured to South Korea in the first six months of this year and under new agreements the Bureau expects this number to increase by 12 percent.

Sri Lanka also expects a high quota of employment opportunities from Malaysia, Libya and Bahrain. - SS

Source

NEPAL: Remittance inflows Vital lifeline for rural poor

Remittances are the only means of survival for millions of poor households worldwide where money sent to beneficiary families enable them to afford not only the basic necessities of life which are otherwise lacking or inaccessible, but also a degree of economic empowerment. Research has corroborated that in addition to supporting domestic consumption, remittances have promoted investments in real assets including building schools and clinics, rather than formal sector financial instruments.

At the macro level, the use of remittances has helped to counter the effects of economic downturns such as political conflicts, financial crises and natural disasters, and contributed, to some extent, to the stability of recipient economies. Remittances also constitute a steady stream of foreign exchange that helps to stimulate economic growth in migrants’ countries of origin.

Read more

Sunday 19 September 2010

Toiling Far From Home for Philippine Dreams

MABINI, the Philippines — Mediterranean-inspired, pastel-colored houses dot the coast and hills of this rural town in the Philippines, dwarfing their traditional counterparts made of unpainted concrete blocks under roofs of corrugated zinc. The larger houses, barely inhabited, many of them empty, belong to overseas workers who plan to return here one day.

Kate Michele Mendoza, 12, above, is able to attend a private school in Mabini because her parents work in Italy.

Despite their absence, the workers have contributed money to help build roads, schools, water grids and other infrastructure usually handled by local governments. They pay for annual fiestas that were traditionally financed by municipalities, churches and local businesses. Thanks to their help, Mabini became a “first class” municipality last year in a government ranking of towns nationwide, leaping from “third class.”

In one village nicknamed Little Italy, where a quarter of the 1,200 residents are working in Italy, the overseas workers paid 20 percent of the cost to construct a public hall.

“We couldn’t have finished it without the O.F.W.’s,” the village head, Raymundo Magsino, 64, said in an interview inside the building, referring to “overseas Filipino workers.”

Remittances, which the government says have been rising sharply — from $7.6 billion in 2003 to $17.3 billion in 2009 — now account for more than 10 percent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product. The payments are also the main factor driving the country’s recent economic growth, which would have otherwise remained stagnant.

But critics, including many overseas workers, say the government has developed an unhealthy dependence on the remittances, turning a blind eye to their social costs, especially divided families and the reliance on them to pay for services while failing to build a sound economy that produces good jobs at home.

About 15 percent of the 42,000 residents of Mabini, about 80 miles south of Manila, live overseas — typically working as maids, nurses or service workers — compared with an estimated national average of 10 percent.

One recent morning, Jocelyn Santia, 40, was packing her bags after two months of vacation here to return to her job as a housekeeper in Milan. She and her husband, who died six years ago, began working in Italy 20 years ago after being recruited by an employment agency.

Her grandparents and a brother raised her four children here, though the two eldest now attend college in Italy. Her sacrifice, she hoped, would yield good, white-collar jobs for her children. But with her departure — and yet another separation from her two younger children — looming before her, she expressed bitterness about having to leave her family.

“The economy is bad here, salaries are low,” she said. “It’s the fault of the government that so many Filipinos have to go abroad. If there were good jobs here, why would we ever think of going abroad?”

Nilo Villanueva, the mayor of Mabini, said he had often heard this criticism from overseas workers. Mr. Villanueva was elected in 2007 by campaigning in Italy and championing the interests of overseas workers. The mayor connected Little Italy to the water grid last year.

Yet, even as Mr. Villanueva has sought overseas workers’ investments in a feed mill and other projects, he said he worried about the town and country’s reliance on remittances. “Many people have become lazy now because they are overdependent on remittances,” he said.

He said the municipality not only counted on investment from its overseas workers, but also had become dependent on their earnings in less direct ways. Most overseas workers here, for example, send their children to private elementary schools, which have smaller class sizes and offer richer educational and extracurricular programs.

“They are helping the municipal government because we are spending less on public schools,” Mr. Villanueva said.

At the private Santa Fe Integrated School, which charges an annual tuition of $370, 80 percent of the 250 students are children of overseas workers. About half have both parents overseas and are being raised by relatives or housekeepers, said Louella D. de Leon, the principal. Read more

Thursday 16 September 2010

Romanian emigrants’ remittances – potential engine for economic rebound

According to a recent article in the Romanian media, Romania is among the top ten countries in the world to benefit from remittances. The International Agency for Source Country Information (IASCI), an Austrian non-governmental organization, has been conducting a project with the Soros Foundation focusing on the impact of migration on financial investments in Romania – the first study of this kind to be developed in a European Union country. The project, which will be finalized in November, aims to highlight the extent of Romanian migrants’ remittances and their impact on the development of their home country. Read more

I

SRI LANKA: The impact of remittances on financial development

Maria Soledad Martinez Peria

Remittances, funds received from migrants working abroad, to developing countries have grown dramatically in recent years from U.S. $3.3 billion in 1975 to close to U.S. $338 billion in 2008.

They have become the second largest source of external finance for developing countries after foreign direct investment (FDI) and represent about twice the amount of official aid received.

Relative to private capital flows, remittances tend to be stable and increase during periods of economic downturns and natural disasters. Read more

PHILIPPINES: Manulife cites insurance growth in RP due to remittances, new gov’t

By Alexander Villafania


MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA – Increased remittances from overseas Filipino workers and renewed optimism in the new Philippine government resulted in higher growth sales for insurance company Manulife Philippines in the second quarter of 2010.

The company also posted a 44 percent increase in the number of agents for this year, indicating increased sales potential by the company. The company now has 1,725 sales agents, up from 1,200 in 2009.

In a press briefing, Manulife Philippines President and CEO Indren Naidoo said the company generated 88 percent increase in weighted insurance sales for the second quarter over the same period last year. He noted a 71 percent growth year-to-date as of June 30 this year. Read more

MEXICO: Migrant Dollars Lag

Migrant remittances to the six northern Mexican border states showed a mixed record during the first half of 2010, according to figures from the official Bank of Mexico (Banxico) quoted in an El Paso newspaper. While Baja California, Sonora and Chihuahua registered increases in comparison with the same period of 2009, the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas all recorded decreases.

For the first six months of 2010, Chihuahua led the border pack in terms of migrant dollars received, registering the capture of $211.9 million. Still, the dollar total was only $200,000 more than the first semester of 2009’s remittances. Counting $131.3 million in remittances, Coahuila came in at the bottom of the list for the first six months of 2010.

Taken as a whole, the northern border region experienced a slight dip in remittances when comparing the first half of 2010 with the same months of 2009. Although about $1.023 billion was received last year, the number dropped to approximately $1.019 billion this year. Read more

Remittances to Vietnam: $7 Billion a Year

Financial remittances — better known as money being sent back to the home country — have dramatically changed the economic landscape of Vietnam in terms of poverty levels and development over the years.



The aftermath of the war had left Vietnam among the five poorest countries in the world, with 75 percent of the population living in poverty in 1984. With the help of financial remittances over the years, the poverty level had dramatically decreased to 37 percent in 1998 and later to 29 percent in 2002, according to the World Bank.



The support of financial remittances has had a heavy hand in the improved conditions in Vietnam, and the gradual increase in those remittances over the years has been attributed to a combination of key events, which include but are not limited to: the Vietnamese government launch of a renovation process (Đời Mới) in 1986, the U.S. lifting of the embargo against Vietnam in 1994, and Vietnam’s membership into the World Trade Organization in 2007. Read more

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Pakistan August Remittances From Overseas Workers $933 Million

KARACHI -(Dow Jones)- Pakistan received $933 million in remittances from overseas workers in August, the highest ever for a month, the central bank said Monday.

The previous high was $841.4 million in June.

In the July-August period--the first two months of the fiscal year which started July 1--remittances rose 13% from a year earlier to $1.72 billion, the State Bank of Pakistan said.

The central bank and the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis have undertaken a joint initiative to facilitate the flow of remittances through formal channels rather than illegal methods.

-By Haris Zamir, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +91-11-43563311; anant.kala@dowjones.com

Source:

HAITI: After rough 2009, remittances on rise

BY MIMI WHITEFIELD AND NADEGE CHARLES

MWHITEFIELD@MIAMIHERALD.COM

After the Jan 12 earthquake in Haiti, Pierre Lopez doubled the amount he sends to his family in remittances.

Lopez, 49, a part-time hotel cleaner who lost his wife and 19-year-old daughter in the catastrophe, scrapes by on $400 every two weeks. He used to send $150 to his parents monthly. Now it's $300.

Fueled by a desire to help relatives, remittances to Haiti are expected to increase this year.
But recently these money flows have gone through a rough patch. Remittances to Latin American and Caribbean nations sank 12 percent as the U.S. and global economies hit the skids last year.


Read more:

Remittances to the Caribbean on the rise again — World Bank

WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) — After what was considered to be a "rough 2009", the World Bank says remittances are on the rise again in the Caribbean.

A briefing paper by the Washington-based financial institution said remittances "began to bottom out during the last quarter of 2009" and, as a result, "money transfers now appear to be on the rise" in Jamaica, Haiti and other places.

The briefing paper said remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean didn't fall as sharply as private capital flows to the region, as investors pulled out of emerging markets.
The bank said remittances to Latin American and Caribbean nations sank 12 per cent as the US and global economies "hit the skids" last year. Read more

Monday 13 September 2010

SWIFT: Workers' Remittances Business Day — Beijing

Bridging into a world of opportunities

Dear SWIFT member, It is our pleasure to cordially invite you to attend the Workers’ Remittances Business Day hosted by SWIFT in Beijing on Tuesday 21 September 2010.

At this exclusive gathering, you will hear from industry practitioners and SWIFT experts on the new perspectives in the workers’ remittances market and find out how your institution can turn these into new opportunities to reduce your operation cost, improve customer service and acquire new customers. Furthermore, we have arranged special interests roundtable meetings for you to have face-to-face discussions with your counterparties.

To register, please RSVP with elva.li@swift.com or call Vincent Yang at +86 13 91 02 57 332.

Sincerely,

Olivier Denis, Banking Market Manager, SWIFT
Alex Lee, Head of Payment Solutions, Asia Pacific, SWIFT

More info

Thursday 9 September 2010

BANGLADESH: Despair in Bangladeshi Migrant Workers: focus on 2009

Bangladeshi migrant workers have turned into a group of people who are blessings for this poor and small nation state in terms of remittance. On an average, 2,50,000 people annually (1995-2003) migrate to take up overseas employment migration to Middle East and South East Asia had been observed on short-term contract since independence. Read more

BANGLADESH: Bangladesh remittances up 2.4% to $957.9mn

Bangladesh received $957.9mn in remittances from workers overseas in August, up 2.4% from a year earlier, central bank data shows.

The income from more than 6mn workers overseas, a key source of foreign exchange for the cash-starved economy, hit $10.97bn in the 2009/10 fiscal year that ended in June, 13% above the previous year. The central bank expects remittances to reach $14bn this fiscal year as the global economy recovers from the downturn, although the number of Bangladeshis leaving for overseas jobs has decreased. Bangladesh sent 202,000 workers abroad during the first half of 2010, the lowest in four years, government figures show. Source

FIJI: Remittances up after devaluation

REMITTANCES picked up in 2009 recording $294million. This, the Reserve Bank of Fiji said, was likely due to gains from the devaluation of the Fiji dollar in April.

Remittances remained the largest foreign exchange in the country after tourism, the central bank said in its 2009 annual report.

The growth was 56.5 per cent more than 2008 figures.

Much of the remittance revenue is sent home by servicemen and women in the British Army.

Previously a large percentage of remittances came from health workers and caregivers in the United States. Read more

Sunday 5 September 2010

BANGLADESH: Saviour, not slave

en Anderson of BBC has made a short documentary entitled "The Slaves of Dubai," visualising the heart-rending plight of South Asian workers who arrived in Dubai in the hope of alleviating their abject poverty, but ended up becoming virtually bonded labour.

These modern slaves include a large number of our migrant workers, who are working there as construction labour in inhuman conditions. Anderson tried to interview one such migrant worker from Bangladesh who, being unable to express the level and depth of his woes in words, only broke down in tears during the interview.

The Daily Star report carried on August 30 said at least 44 Bangladeshi workers have been languishing in the United Arab Emirates for the last five months after they sued their employers for not paying wages for nearly one year. The workers, living in two camps in Sharjah, can neither find new jobs nor have money to return home.
Read more

The ACP Observatory on Migration

The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States Observatory on Migration is a new institution created to provide reliable data and information on migration flows in ACP countries. The objective is to design better policies to enhance the migration contribution to development. The Observatory will be officially launched in a ceremony foreseen for 25-27 October 2010 which will gather relevant figures from the political, economic and cultural fields both in the EU and the ACP countries. The European Commission and the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States have partnered in the establishment of an intra-ACP Migration Facility aimed at fostering institutional capacity in the ACP countries and strengthen the civil society with the ultimate aim to include migration issues into national and regional development policies and strategies.

Available data on ACP migration is scarce and often unreliable. In many countries, the lack of relevant information has serious political consequences, since migrants’ need cannot be taken into account by policy makers. Migration is widely considered to present one of the factors influencing development but in many cases it has not been included in development strategies because of the lack of reliable data. According to Laurent de Boeck, Director of the ACP Observatory on Migration, “unlike South-North movements, South-South migration flows have received very limited attention in the past years. Yet contrary to public perceptions, South-South migration is highly important in many regions and often takes place between neighbouring countries and those with small wage differentials. Drive factors include labour migration, family reunification, forced migration, traditional cross border flows and the effects of climate change”.

The ACP Observatory on Migration will tackle existing data and information gaps by improving policy-oriented knowledge on migration flows between ACP countries. Under the Secretariat of ACP States and funded by the EDF and Switzerland, the Observatory will introduce an innovative approach to enhance research capacities in ACP countries and provide policy makers the tools to improve their action. Information will be provided to general public to improve knowledge on migration issues. Research will focus on the protection of migrants’ rights through several research topics including forced migration, labour migration, migration and health, remittances and migration and climate change.

The Observatory will foster networking and cooperation between research institutions, private researchers and government agencies through a website and will conduct research to obtain currently inexistent information. The total budget for the project is 9 404 776 €. The European Union contributes with 7 994 060 €. An official ceremony will be organized in Brussels on 25-27 October 2010 to launch the Observatory. High representatives from EU and ACP institutions will be present to support the initiative, which strengthens the cooperation between European and ACP countries on migration and development. The launching ceremony will include working session and an artistic event foreseen for the 26th October 2010 where cultural and artistic creations from the ACP countries will be presented to the public.

Source: ACP Secretariat

Spain: Proposal about the statute of seasonal workers

The European Commission presented to the European Parliament and to the Member States a proposal on seasonal workers, based on the consideration that the economy of the EU requires seasonal workers that are not available in the UE labor market, especially in agriculture, horticulture, and tourism.

The proposal seeks to establish procedures for rapid and flexible administrative management, guaranteeing the rights of these workers while protecting the community workers who develop temporary jobs of a possible unfair competition. The proposal sets a limit on work permits for six months and provides for the issuance of permits for successive seasons for three years. The Directives foresee that these seasonal migrant workers from third countries receive the same treatment as nationals of the Member State granting permission in areas such as freedom of association, social security, access to public services and the implementation of collective agreements in the sectors where they develop their business.

Source:

PAKISTAN: Remittance needed for revival of economy: Khursheed Shah

Federal Minister for Labour & Manpower, Syed Khursheed Shah said that overseas worker's remittance are needed for the revival of the economy,
"Overseas employment is playing a vital & significant role in reducing the pressure of unemployment at home and increasing foreign exchange earning by helping enhance the overseas worker's remittance which are needed for the revival of the economy, improvement in debt services, balance of payment, alleviation of poverty and hunger", he said during his visit to Tower of Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment. He said that.
According to press release issued here on Thursday, the foundation stone ceremony of Emigration Tower was held in March 2009 in Islamabad. The purpose of the bureau is to control, regulate and facilitate & monitor the emigration process. Minister completed the inspection and showed satisfaction over the construction of the Tower.