Zimbabwe / IOM Labour Migration Centre Opens in Beitbridge
HARARE, Zimbabwe, August 28, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Press Briefing Notes
An IOM-managed Labour Migration Centre, opening today in the border town of Beitbridge, will facilitate the flow of seasonal migrant workers to South Africa and reduce the risks associated with irregular migration.
The opening of the Centre follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa aimed at strengthening cooperation and promoting safe and orderly labour migration between both countries.
The facility will be housed at the IOM Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre, which opened in 2006 and has provided humanitarian assistance to more than 314,000 Zimbabweans returnees.
The new Labour Migration Centre, in partnership with the Zimbabwean Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the South African Department of Labour, is part of a pilot project which will match an estimated 5,000 Zimbabwean job seekers with the labour needs of five commercial farms in South Africa.
Zimbabweans wishing to participate will register with their District Labour Centre and their profiles will be sent to the IOM database in Beitbridge. Custom designed software will match their applications with the labour needs of the South African farmers.
The selected candidates will undergo medical screenings and will be interviewed by the prospective employers. Once selected, labour migrants will be receive passports and work permits allowing them to travel and reside in South Africa for the duration of their contracts.
“This pilot project comes at a critical time when South Africa has announced a special dispensation permit for Zimbabweans wanting to work in South Africa, and is in line with IOM’s efforts to strengthen cooperation and support organized labour migration between the two countries,” explains Marcelo Pisani, IOM Chief of Mission in Zimbabwe
Since 2008 IOM has been implementing a cross border labour migration project to facilitate the temporary and safe migration of Zimbabwe farm workers to the Limpopo Province of South Africa.
The Labour Migration Centre and the pilot project are supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the IOM 1035 Facility which provides support to IOM Developing Member States and Member States with Economy in Transition, and by ILO, which provided the Information Technology.
SOURCE
International Office of Migration (IOM)
