Labour migrants in this report are considered to be those seeking work or employed in the host country, or previously seeking work or employed but unable to continue working and remaining in residence in the host country irrespective of their documentation. In terms estimating how many migrants are labour migrants, some use legal status, some use motivation, and others general employment (10). The following definitions relevant to labour migrants are provided by key international organizations.
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) differentiates economic migrants from labour migrants (6). It defines several subgroups of migrant worker, including business travellers, contract migrant workers, established migrant workers, highly skilled migrant workers, immigrating investors, project-tied workers, seasonal migrant workers, and temporary migrant workers.
“Labour migrants” are defined as those who move for the purpose of employment.
“Economic migrants” form a potentially broader group that includes people entering a state to perform economic activities, such as investors or business travellers, but can be understood also in a narrower sense similar to the category of “labour migrants”.
International Labour Organization
A “migrant worker” is defined in the International Labour Organization (ILO) instruments as a person who migrates from one country to another (or who has migrated from one country to another) with a view to being employed other than on his own account, and includes any person regularly admitted as a migrant for employment (6,67).
United Nations
The United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families defines a migrant worker as a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a state of which he or she is not a citizen (6).
The United Nations Population Division defines irregular migrants (or undocumented migrants) as individuals who enter a country often in search of employment without the required documents or permits, or who overstay the authorized length of stay in the country (64).
Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines migrant labour as casual and unskilled workers who move about systematically from one region to another offering their services on a temporary, usually seasonal basis (68).
