Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) - Dominica (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

While noting from the Government’s report submitted in 2009 that 944 work permits were issued in 2008, in particular to Haitian workers (510), the Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received this year. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 1 of the Convention. Obligation to provide information. The Committee notes that the Government’s report refers in a very general manner to the current situation of foreign workers seeking employment in Dominica. The report does not supply any further information on the practical application of the relevant laws and national policies regarding migrant workers, or updated statistical information on the number, places of origin, and sectors of activity of migrant workers in Dominica, disaggregated by sex. The Committee requests the Government to provide such information in its next report.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the country has experienced an influx of Haitian and Dominican Republic nationals over the last five years seeking employment in various fields. At the same time, the Government states that Dominica had been used as a staging ground to smuggle nationals from these two countries to neighbouring territories. In this regard, the Committee recalls that “migrant workers should be protected from misleading information stemming from intermediaries who may have an interest in encouraging migration in any form to take place, regardless of the consequences of the workers involved. Unscrupulous agents who profit from migration flows may have an interest in disseminating erroneous information on the migration process” (General Survey, 1999, paragraph 214). Given migrants’ vulnerability to this form of abuse, the Committee trusts that the Government will take appropriate measures to combat such activities and requests the Government to indicate any measures taken in this regard, including through cooperation with the authorities of the territories concerned, as envisaged under Articles 2(2) and 10 of the Convention.

Equal treatment. The Committee recalls the Government’s obligation under Article 6(1) to apply, without discrimination in respect of nationality, race, religion or sex, to migrant workers lawfully within its territory treatment no less favourable than that applied to the country’s nationals in respect of remuneration, trade union rights, accommodation, taxes, social security and access to justice. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that all migrant workers are required by law to be registered with the Dominican Social Security and as a consequence are entitled to all the benefits. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific legal provisions and practical measures taken to ensure that all men and women migrant workers enjoy equal treatment concerning all the areas covered in Article 6(1), including information on relevant judicial decisions or cases addressed by the competent authorities.

Agreements and special arrangements. Noting the statistical information provided by the Government concerning the participation of Dominicans in the Canada/Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme, the Committee asks the Government to continue to provide such information in its next report, as well as information on other schemes of this type (disaggregated by sex). Please also provide updated information on any agreements on labour migration made since the last report, as well as information on any measures relevant to the application of the Convention taken within the framework of CARICOM.