Agencies of Slavery: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers by Recruitment Agencies

Authors

Elaine Dewhurst

Publication Date

3-1-2007

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This paper has been led by the desire to reinstate the concept of real consent back into the discourse on migration and the recruitment process. An examination of the concept of recruitment for employ ment and of recruitment agencies will reveal the important role such intermediaries play in the international migration process. This will be followed by a brief description of both the international and national regulations presently governing recruitment agencies. The experience of Ireland and its recent unique encounters with international migration for employment will be used as a case study to demonstrate the types of obstacles that prevent real consensual recruitment for employment. The lack of regulation at an international and national level causes these obstacles. It is this author's opinion that certain measures are more effective than international action in this regard due to the inevitable flexibility and compromise inherent in international law. It is only when such obstacles are removed that real consent can finally be reinstated back into the lives of those migrating for employment, allowing the development of an open, transparent, and exploitation free recruitment process.

DOI

10.37419/TWLR.V13.I2.4

First Page

377

Last Page

410

Recommended Citation

Elaine Dewhurst, Agencies of Slavery: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers by Recruitment Agencies, 13 Tex. Wesleyan L. Rev. 377 (2007).
Available at: https://doi.org/10.37419/TWLR.V13.I2.4