Working abroad: Madagascar does not comply with international conventions

As job offers do not flow in Madagascar, many people tend to be interested in working abroad. Yet, according to the explanations provided by the ILO representative in Madagascar, our country has not yet ratified the Convention N° 189 concerning domestic work. However, the Malagasy government for years gave its consent to the sending of Malagasy women to work, mostly as maids, abroad. The ratification of this convention should allow Malagasy migrant workers to defend themselves in case of problems or conflicts with their employers.     

Furthermore, although Madagascar has ratified the Convention 97 concerning migrant workers in June 2001, some key points in this international convention have not yet been respected by the Malagasy authorities. In the same way, while stipulated by international labor laws, the local authorities have never performed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the host country of Malagasy workers and Madagascar. However, the fact is that no agreement has been signed, for example, between Madagascar and Lebanon, Mauritius or Jordan. Indeed, the signing of such a document would be a guarantee for Malagasy workers.

In addition, the establishment of a mechanism tending to guarantee the employment of people who decide to work outside Madagascar should be settled and has to be very efficient. This is a sort of guarantee that employment agencies should make in order to ensure the payment of the immigrants’ wages.