Third Ministerial Consultation on Overseas

Employment and Contractual Labour for

Countries of Origin in Asia
20-21 September 2005, Bali Indonesia

Good Practice:
Pre-departure Orientation
Program

Experience of
Bangladesh, Philippines and Sri
Lanka
Presented by: A.K.M. Masud
Ali
INCIDIN Bangladesh
20 September 2005

Outline of the Presentation

An overview of the added value of
PDOS
The institutional and legal
infrastructure within which the good
practices are identified
The elements of good practices in
PDOS program in Bangladesh,
Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Examples of good practices in PDOS
Way Forward

Stages in Processing
Migration
Pre Departure:
At every
stage
of
Origin
migration process access
to authentic information is
Reintegration:
a precondition to safe
Origin
migration and it
starts
Post
Arrival: at
Destination
pre-migration stage

Pre-Departure Orientation Adds value

for all

Migrants

Benefit
to:
Maximize
Managing
benefit
from
Maximum
Government
migration
Empowerment
With
Gain from
employment
Of individual
Informed
Migration
Enhanced
Economy
Migrants
decision
of migrant
regarding
Capacitysafe
for
labour
migration Destination
Individual
Migrants
Origin
Country
Integration Country
Migrants

Reduced
Aware on their
Vulnerability
Responsibilities

The two aspects of PDOS

program
PDOS Program

The enabling and supportive

institutional
and legal infrastructure for safe
Labour migration

Institutional and Legal

Setups
Mandatory and Enabling Pre-

departure Registration and

Orientation:
In the Philippines,
POEA
in Bangladesh
(BMET)
Memorandum Circular No. 3,
Philippines (OWWA)
Series of 1983 provided
Sri
Lanka (SLBFE)
guidelines
for the conduct of a

compulsory PDOS for all firsttime or re-contracted workers,

and every agency is responsible

Institutional and Legal

Setups
Involvement of private sector and
NGOs
520 agencies
OWWA

Philippines
703 private agencies

NGOs

Institutional and Legal

Setups
Involvement of private sector and
NGOs
Trade Union bodies
SLBFE

Sri Lanka
Private agencies

NGOs

Institutional and Legal

Setups
Involvement of private sector and
NGOs
NGO-self initiative
BMET

Bangladesh

BOESL

Private
Recruiting Agencies

Institutional and Legal

Setups
Involvement of international
organizations (Philippines)
Canadian Orientation
Abroad (COA)

Gov. of
Canada

IOM
Power to choose

GRP

Institutional and Legal

Setups
Involvement of international
organizations
(Bangladesh and Sri Lanka)

Govt.

IOM

Pioneer and piloting (90s)

PDOS Training Module on
Safe Migration
Language Lab
Health awareness
NGO facilitation

Indicators of Good Practice

Existence of innovative curricula for
pre-departure programs
Rich content of pre-departure
orientation seminars
Standardization and certification of
PDOS
Special need focused orientation for
specific group of migrants

Indicators of Good Practice

Information

campaigns for
awareness and accountability
Peer and community
involvement in PDOS
Enabling migrants to access
networks for support and redress

Indicators of Good Practice

Gender

sensitive and empowering

process
Country specific cultural, economic
and social orientation/sustainability
Recent introduction of preemployment orientation seminars
before PDOS

PDOS: Indicators of Good

Practice

Innovative Curricula for PDOS

programes:

participation
in
the
process
of
Introduction of
new
skills
Empowerment
through
the
development
of
curricula
for
syllabus
development,
Optimal
allocation
of
time
training
to
ensure
access
specific
occupations,
experience
acquisition
of knowledge
through
consultation
with
to new
labour
markets;
and
destinations
skills
differentand
stakeholders

PDOS: Example of Good

Practice
Contents of PDOS:

Migrants
Source
Workplace
Worksite
Coping
of Support
Remittance
Family
Health:
Travel
Rights
at Language
Destination
Strategy
Culture
Safety
Info.
Finance
Document
HIV/AIDS
Welfare
&
Responsibilities

PDOS: Example of Good

Practice
Contents of PDOS:

Migrants Workplace
Coping
RightsNo single
Safetycountry
StrategyLanguage
covers all the topic
the list reflectsWorksite
Travel
Culture but
Document
great potentiality Info.
of learning from
each other.
Family
Finance
Remittance
Welfare

PDOS: Example of Good

Practice

Pre-employment
orientation seminars
(Philippines)
illegal recruitment,
list of licensed
recruitment agencies, illegal
agencies;
procedures for application departure,
on-site employment and return;
job-site information, including culture
of the country of destination;

PDOS: Example of Good

Practice
Pre-employment
orientation seminars

remittances,
financial
Presently the
policymanagement
makers are
and
livelihood
projects,
as protection
stressing
on
pre-employment
against the insecurity

orientation as an essential
element
of
pre-migration
of overseas
employment insurance
preparation.
coverage for
workers and their
families.

PDOS: Example of Good

Practice
Enabling Network for
Support and Redress
Information on:
Embassies in destination countries,
on their role in supporting nationals;

Philippines:
Sri Lanka &
Humanon
rights organizations
Orientation
Bangladesh:
in destination
countries;
Resource
Stay-facilities
at
Centers
destination
Migrants associations and
trade unions in destination countries;

PDOS: Example of Good

Practice
Sustainability
Coordinated
Migrants
Effort: GO,
Welfare
NGO, IO,
fund
PS
Favourable
Institutional
Structure

PDOS: Example of Good

Practice

Gender sensitive policy

Entertainers:
Entertainers:
COPE in
the Philippines

Female
Special
legal
Household
Protection
Workers and
Training
Sri Lanka
Philippines
Bangladesh

Way Forward
Decentralization
The originFocus
and destination
countries
on rights
must come together to ensure
that PDOS is specificity
seen as a
Destination
Comprehensive process to make
Migration
safer and
beneficial
for all.
Breaking
away
gender

stereotype
Focus on Reintegration

Thank you and

Welcome to
Discussion..