Strengthening Labour Migration Management in Lesotho

The overall objective of this project is to support the Ministry of Labour (MOL) of Lesotho towards implementing labour migration programmes in the context of existing regional frameworks. These include the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Labour Migration Action Plan, SADC Regional Labour Migration Policy Framework, and Article 19 of the SADC Employment and Labour Protocol on the Protection of Migrant Workers.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, will achieve this objective through the the following two outcomes: 1) The practical implementation of the labour migration policies of the Government of Lesotho (GoL) incorporates migrant protection principles; and 2) GoL utilises up-to-date factual information on regional mining migration trends.

This national labour migration project will help address critical labour migration challenges confronting the GoL, including the lack of effective data collection and analysis, lack of inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms, limited cooperation with destination countries, and weak capacity to develop and implement labour migration programmes.

This project is designed to complement the IOM Development Fund (IDF)-funded regional labour migration project that aims to bring together the selected SADC Member States in order to facilitate South-South labour mobility arrangements with a view toward ensuring the protection of the fundamental human, labour, and social rights of migrant workers, their families, and associated communities of origin and destination. The components of the national project, therefore, are aligned with the regional project. In addition and in response to a specific request from the Ministry of Labour and other stakeholders during consultations, IOM will provide training on the negotiation and formulation of comprehensive bilateral labour agreements to ensure that migrant workers are protected and have access to essential services during their engagement in countries of destination and following their return to Lesotho.