ABSTRACT
Regulation of admission and residence of non-nationals is often viewed as being at the heart of the sovereign prerogative of States, with the result that the costs experienced by low-skilled migrant workers in terms of their precarious work and residence status remains relatively unexplored. International law also defers to this sovereign prerogative and while international labour standards apply to all workers, the priority afforded immigration enforcement in many countries often overrides their full enjoyment by migrant workers. Moreover, global discussions around migration today are still rooted in the costs–benefits paradigm of the migration and development nexus where the focus has been on measuring economically quantifiable costs that are seen as precluding optimal development outcomes from labour migration, such as the cost of remittance transactions and, more recently, the cost of recruitment. After a brief examination of the position from the perspective of international labour standards and human rights law, the chapter reflects on how the precarious work and residence status of many low-skilled migrant workers could be addressed in light of the global development agenda, adopted in 2015, and the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, which UN Member States have committed to adopt in 2018. Where relevant, examples are also provided of developments at the regional and national level.
