Driving Responsible Recruitment in Southeast Asia - regional roundtables in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur

On 20th and 22nd March 2018, IHRB, the Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, and The Consumer Goods Forum (the CGF), with the support of Humanity United, organised two roundtable events in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand on "Driving Responsible Recruitment in Southeast Asia".

These practical roundtables offered a rare opportunity for brands, suppliers and recruitment agencies to come together for constructive discussions on transitioning  to an Employer Pays model for recruitment with the objective that No Worker Pays for a Job. During these sessions, participants were able to share their thoughts openly and identify the roadblocks faced, the implications, and opportunities in shifting to a new recruitment model: one which will benefit workers across the region and meet corporate objectives for ethical recruitment.

The Roundtables were tailored to the local context and included expert inputs and practical learnings from those directly involved in the different stages of the recruitment cycle in Malaysia and Thailand, as well as in migrants’ countries of origin, including Nepal and Cambodia.

The roundtables aimed to:

• raise awareness on the need for ethical standards of recruitment of migrant workers;
• initiate dialogue on the roles of brands, suppliers and recruiters;
• encourage discussions on the transition to and operationalisation of an Employer Pays model of recruitment; and
• identify entry points for dialogue between business and governments on steps to improve the professionalization of the recruitment industry.

During the week, members of the CGF and IHRB’s Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), also had the opportunity to engage in an insightful dialogue with both the Malaysian and Royal Thai Governments on responsible recruitment and collective solutions.

Download the Meeting Report to read the highlights from each Roundtable, or take a look at the CGF's gallery to view all of the photos from the week’s events.

This event has been kindly supported by: