United Nations Radio

Progress has been slow in adopting global regulations on the migration of low-skilled workers, according to a new report released today by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The report says member states of the World Trade Organization have shown little interest in easing market access to low-skilled temporary workers. It adds that countries also are reluctant to make binding commitments on the matter as migration touches on sensitive issues, including national security and unemployment.

Rupa Chanda, an economics professor at the Indian Institute of Management, was commissioned to prepare the report.

"It's quite clear that there is a lot of hesitation, there's a lot of sensitivity; and yet there are a lot of calculations which show that the biggest area of welfare gains for the developing countries would be movement of service suppliers."

Ms. Chanda says low-skilled workers who temporarily move to another country play a critical role in the cross border movement of goods, money and technology which can result in substantial benefits for both the country of origin and the country of migration.

For UN Radio, I'm Dianne Penn.

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