The Transformation of work: challenges and strategies. Roles for workers and unions in regulating labour recruitment in Mexico”, Jan 2015

One of the most exploitative phases of transnational labor migration…takes place…[d]uring the recruitment process…This paper argues that migrants have the knowledge and ability to contribute much more than they currently do to the improvement of conditions on the ground…At a minimum, precursors to meaningful migrant engagement include the presence in either (and ideally both) the origin or the destination country of trade unions or civil society organizations that are dedicated to working on recruitment issues in ways that include migrants as key actors and agents, rather than only as the recipients of services; a political environment that allows at least some room for activism; and the possibility of activating existing protections against retaliation or creating new ones. Where these elements are in place, however, as in Mexico and the United States, ProDESC/Coalition, FLOC’s NCGA contract, and the UFW’s EFI-CIERTO initiative demonstrate that groups of migrants can organize against recruitment abuses in ways once inconceivable, challenging previously entrenched practices of employers, recruiters, and governments...