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ABSTRACT
Unequal development in neoliberal globalization causes economic, social, and political problems that force people into irregular migration and to become part of informal labour markets. Although informal sector enterprises in both developed and peripheral countries depend mainly on migrant labour, this demand is usually not recognized in official migration policies, thus increasing the vulnerability of migrant workers. The relationship between informal employment and irregular migration has been one of the main themes in the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) since its foundation. The general approach in the GFMD can be summarized as acceptance of this interrelationship, without discussing the underlying causes behind it. This article reviews discussions in the literature by focusing on the interrelations between the informal sector, informal employment, and irregular migration. Then, it investigates how this issue has been tackled in the Forum's Government and Civil Society Days.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the co-editors Raul Delgado Wise and Branka Likic-Brboric of this special issue as well as Carl-Ulrik Schierup for their invaluable comments on earlier drafts of this paper. I also thank the anonymous reviewers who contributed to the refinement of the paper with their suggestions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 An interesting example of this situation compelling small employers to employ irregular migrants concerns farmers in Murcia, Spain. After a traffic accident in which 12 Ecuadorian irregular migrants were killed on their way to a farm, the government announced plans to combat the underground economy. However, farmers reacted by claiming that they were obliged to hire undocumented immigrants as they represented the only available labour force. Recognising this demand from 4000 farmers, the government approved a special regularisation plan that legalised 24,532 Ecuadorian migrant workers (Gonzalez-Enriquez, Citation2009, p. 17).
2 For a critical evaluation of the role of civil society in global migration governance, see other articles in this issue.
3 GFMD Operating Modalities, http://www.gfmd.org/process/operating-modalities
5 While documents of all the following GFMD meetings were examined, only the relevant ones are referred to in the following section.
6 Gonzalez-Enriquez (Citation2009, p. 21).
7 Background Paper, Roundtable 1, Session 1.2, (Philippines contribution for RT1.2), p. 5.
8 Gonzalez-Enriquez (Citation2009, p. 5).
9 Draft Concept Note, Turkey, 13–14 October 2011, p. 2.
10 Concept Note, San Salvador, 4–5 October 2011, pp. 2–3.
11 Draft Concept Note, Turkey, 13–14 October 2011.
12 Mexico GFMD 2010 Report of the Proceedings, pp. 23–24.
13 Summary Report for the GFMD, Jamaica, 7–8 September 2011, p. 4.
14 GFMD 2011 Concluding Debate, Geneva, 1–2 December 2011, Cluster I Summary Report, p. 11.
15 Session Rapporteur's Summary notes, p. 4.
16 Background Paper on Roundtable Session 3.2: ‘Private sector-government partnerships to support migrant/diaspora entrepreneurship and job creation, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises’, GFMD Turkey 2014–2015, p. 2.
17 No documents are available for the outcomes of Civil Society Days between 2007 and 2010 on the website of gfmdcivilsociety.org
18 Final Report Civil Society Days 2011, GFMD.
19 Final Report of the Civil Society Days Sweden had not been published on 3 December 2016.
20 Civil Society ‘Stockholm Agenda’ on migrant and migration-related goals and targets in post-2015 global and national development agendas.
21 Consolidated civil society feedback on 1st draft GFMD 2015 Concept Note (dated 2 October 2014).
22 GFMD Civil Society Recommendations, Benchmarks, Actions, GFMD Civil Society Days 2015, Turkey, p. 6.
23 Final Report – Civil Society Days Global Forum on Migration and Development, Mauritius 2012, p. 24.
24 Action Paper for Working Sessions 4.21: ‘Diaspora and migrant action on job creation, social entrepreneurship and public policy’.
25 GFMD Civil Society Recommendations, Benchmarks, Actions, GFMD Civil Society Days 2015, Turkey, p. 9.
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Gülay Toksöz
Gülay Toksöz was Professor of Department of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations at Ankara University and retired in 2016 because of being among the signatories of the Peace Petition of January 11, 2016. She got her PhD in Political Sciences from the Free University Berlin. She is specialized on international labour migration, gender issues in labour markets, and female labour in development. Her book on Female labour in development (2018, 2nd edition in Turkish) highlights the importance of women's paid and unpaid work in the welfare of their societies.