International labour migration from India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka: trends and policies

Labour migration has risen rapidly in and from the Asian region in the last two decades and countries are struggling to put in place policies that will maximise the benefits to development from migration as well as protect their migrant workers. This paper compares three countries that are at very different stages in the policy development process. The Philippines has made most progress and ranks after Mexico as the second largest sender of labour migrants in the world. The scale of these flows and the commitment to better protecting migrant workers has led to a wide range of laws and policies. Sri Lanka and India are in a position to further improve their gains from migration as well as to much better protect their citizens who have gone offshore to work. This paper highlights the current situation drawing attention to the most vulnerable groups of workers who warrant much more attention from policy makers.