Migrant worker

Two hobos walking along railroad tracks after being they were put off a train.

Migrant farm worker in New York

A migrant worker is someone who regularly works away from home, if they even have a home.

The United Nations' use of this term overlaps with "foreign worker". In the United States, the term is commonly used broadly to describe people who move frequently to find work or, more narrowly, those who earn low wages performing manual labor in the agriculture field.

Migrant workers are often forced into poor situations. Some are illegal immigrants and can be expelled if found. They are supported by the International Labour Organization. In 1990, the United Nations also adopted the Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers to protect them.

Often, migrant workers boost regional economy by spending their wages there.

Open borders help migrant workers. In Europe, for example, countries that recently joined European Union have seen massive outflow of workers to the countries with higher wages. Some people who work in foreign countries are called "expatriates".

Canada

In Canada, migrant workers are commonly referred to as foreign workers in general and temporary foreign workers in particular.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has the Government of Canada hire foreign nationals to fill temporary skills and labour shortages in the country. Temporary foreign workers can be hired by Canadian employers only if qualified citizens or permanent residents of Canada are not available to fill the same vacancy.

Currently, there is a great gap in the Canadian market. The declining birth rate and many in the workforce retiring soon make it difficult for Canada to fill the significant gap that it faces. Immigration is regarded to hold the answer to a great extent.

With the TFWP, Canadian employers can easily hire international workers. At times, there might not even be the requirement to get someone from abroad. Canadian employers hiring through the TFWP might find qualified foreign workers who are already in the country.

Such skilled foreign workers already in Canada can easily be hired by a Canadian employer though they are about to complete a job contract with a different employer. Also, they might be working in Canada on an open work permit, which allows them the freedom to work for any employer anywhere in Canada.

Usually, such temporary foreign workers or migrant workers in Canada are hired to address a specified short-term requirement. Nevertheless, foreign workers who had initially come to Canada for filling a temporary vacancy might transition to Canadian permanent residence if they meet specific requirements.

Canada’s immigration programs like the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Provincial nominee Program (PNP) provide pathways to Canada permanent residencefor migrant workers. As per the Government of Canada’s official website, “These routes exist to ensure that workers who have shown that their skills are in continuing demand and that they have already adapted well to life in Canada can build a future here.”

Since the imposition of COVID-19 special measure on March 18, 2020, Canada has been holding program-specific draws from the Express Entry System. The latest draw to be held, Express Entry Draw No. 148, was specifically for those candidates who had Canadian experience, which thereby qualified them for the Canadian Experience Class program.

While more than 192,000 temporary foreign workers came to Canada in 2011, around 29,000 foreign workers eventually took up permanent residency.

Other websites

• Dust bowl migrants Archived 2007-07-15 at the Wayback Machine (Okies)
• In China, Filmmakers Get Involved with Migrant Workers
• China Labour Bulletin Archived 2007-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Removals Services
• Beijing's Min Gong migrants