The Potential of Temporary Migration Programmes in Future International Migration Policy

By Martin Ruhs

Australians are outraged at the exploitation of workers lured here by the temporary migration scheme.

They are also concerned about promises made that workers would be selected as skilled needs were unmet, rather than mass migration to provide cheap labour, only to find now that the government has represented itself at sites that make no secret of the workers being there because they can be paid low wages. This issue is an international one, with vast numbers of workers regularly moving to the USA from central and South America, and the Mediterranean Sea not being a significant barrier for African workers seeing survival and employment. The policy settings in this field are complex.

Ruhs explores the potential of temporary migration programmes (TMPs) for managing international labour migration in a way that is both practical and sensitive. Drawing upon the experiences of past and current TMPs, Ruhs discusses how TMPs can:

• help high-income countries meet their market needs;

• provide people from low-income countries with better access to labour markets in higher-income countries;

• maximize migration's developmental impact on countries of origin;

• address high-income countries' concerns about the permanent settlement of migrants and the diversity of their societies.

In conclusion, he identifies the core considerations and policies needed to formulate and effectively implement TMPs.

(International Labour Review; vol. 145, no 1-2, 2006)