By Peter Tum
Labour migration today is a global phenomenon and many states are now countries of origin, transit and destination for migrant workers.
It’s for this reason that the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDG) target 8.8 calls on member countries to “protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular, women migrants, and those in precarious employment”.
Eight percent of labour migration in Africa is intra-regional, within the continent, contrary to the popular belief that African workers mostly migrate to the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Europe and America.
Labour migration in Africa is mainly driven by economic reasons as workers seek better jobs and wages and it has a great impact on the social and economic well-being of countries of origin, transit and destination.
In destination countries, migrant workers help meet the demand for skills, contribute to the growth of sectors such as agriculture, mining, construction and services and promote entrepreneurship. Countries of origin benefit from remittance flow, transfer of skills and technology.
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