Sri Lanka: Study on Status of implementation of social protection provisions for migrant workers of Colombo Process Member States

1. Background

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Sri Lanka is seeking proposals from a qualified International Consultant or a team of Consultants for conducting a study on “Status of implementation of social protection provisions for Migrant Workers of Colombo Process Member States”.

IOM Sri Lanka is implementing a four-year regional project, entitled “Strengthening Labour Migration Governance through Regional Cooperation in Colombo Process countries”, with funding support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Through thematic-focused activities, the regional project supports the Colombo Process (CP)[1] in making progress on its current five thematic priorities, one of which is “Effective Pre-departure Orientation and Empowerment”.

In order to comprehensively address issues that are essential to the protection of migrant workers, including comprehensive orientations at the appropriate stages of migration, especially pre-departure orientation (PDO); empowerment of migrant workers to exercise their human rights and labour rights; and, access to social protection mechanisms throughout the migration process, the Colombo Process Thematic Area Working Group (TAWG) on Pre-departure Orientation and Empowerment (PDOE) was activated in July 2016 with the Philippines as TAWG Chair. The TAWG members include five other Colombo Process Member States (CPMS), namely: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam.

At the first TAWG meeting convened in August 2016, one of the goals for the TAWG agreed by the Member States was “Migrant workers from CPMS have adequate access to social protection mechanism throughout the migration cycle in a gender sensitive manner”. As a specific activity towards this goal, the TAWG members have agreed to study “the status of implementation of social protection provisions to all migrant workers specific to individual circumstances in a gender sensitive manner”. To this end, IOM Sri Lanka, through the CP Technical Support Unit (CP TSU), will commission a study on “**Status of implementation of social protection provisions for Migrant Workers of Colombo Process Member States**”.

2.Purpose of the Consultancy

The primary purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a study to collate information on the current status of the implementation of social protection provisions in CPMS, identify key good practices and challenges of the social protection provisions to migrant workers, and make recommendations for improvement in line with the guidance provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions and Recommendations relevant in terms of migrants social protection rights. The scope of the study will cover (but not exhaustive to the following);

• Relevant national legislative and regulatory frameworks on social protection

• Relevant national policies and practice on social protection

• Existing bilateral social security agreements, or clauses related to social protection incorporated within labour agreements, Memorandums of Understanding or other relevant policy frameworks and declarations.

While migrant workers may have access to or avail social protection provisions in countries of destination, the study will limit its scope to the social protection provisions available to them by their governments at a pre-departure stage, during employment and upon return. While the study will look into whether services are available for migrant workers in line with the nine (9) branches of the ILO Convention 102 “Social Security (Minimum Standards)”, the study will also explore other types of social or protection related services offered to migrant workers by individual CPMS[2].

The study will be primarily desktop research, supplemented by primary data to be collected from CPMS through a questionnaire, email/ phone correspondence and limited field missions to selected CPMS (up to two countries). The two CPMS will be selected by the CP TSU with approval from the TAWG Chair on PDOE and with consent from the CPMS taking into account the accessibility to target groups and geographical balance. There will be no field missions to countries of destination (CODs) nor primary data collection in relation to CODs.

3. Scope of the Consultancy Work

The consultant of this assignment shall undertake the following activities:

· Develop awork plan including the methodology, working definitions and timeline for the study;

· Carry out desktop research to collect information through primary and secondary sources, such as publicly available information from the CPMS and existing relevant research and studies;

· Carry out primary research through survey questionnaires and online/ phone interviews with CPMS officials and communicate with staff of relevant UN agencies, civil society organizations and resource persons;

· First draft of the study report; and,

· Revised draft and Final draft of the study report by fully reflecting feedback from the TAWG and CPMS, relevant stakeholders and partners.

· All costs associated with this study (including any field missions) are inclusive of the fees as per the consultancy contract, unless otherwise specified.

The consultant shall take into account the following points when conducting the study:

· Existing studies on social protection in the CPMS by development partners, especially the ILO study on Social Protection for Migrant Workers in ASEAN shall be carefully studied and utilized as secondary sources so as to avoid duplications and pursue complementarity.

· The CP TSU has developed a questionnaire on existing social protection systems for migrant workers in CPMS under the guidance of the TAWG Chair. The questionnaire shall be utilized for primary data collection with necessary adjustments.

· The study shall capture gender perspectives and issues, and look into how the social protection provisions address gender-specific needs of migrant workers and whether the services are accessible to different skill/ occupational categories of workers.

The consultant is also required to participate in relevant meetings primarily via an online video conferencing facility, including TAWG PDOE meetings, to present the work plan and receive feedback on the deliverables.

4.The Key Deliverables and Timeline

The study including the production of a report shall be completed within the timeline of maximum sixmonths (6 months). The Consultant is expected to deliver the following key deliverables (in bold) in close consultation and coordination with the CP TSU. The consultancy work shall commence no later than 24^th September 2018.

28^th September 2018

Submission of a Work Planincluding the methodology and timeline

2^nd or 3^rd week of October 2018

Presentation of the work plan at the TAWG PDOE meeting (online meeting)

19^th November 2018

Completion of desktop research and primary research including field missions to the selected CPMS

6^th December 2018

Submission of the First Draft of the study report

21^st January 2019

Submission of the Revised Draft of the study report

8^th March 2019

Submission of the Final Draft of the study report

5.Qualifications or expertise required

The Consultant shall have the following qualifications and expertise:

Ÿ Relevant university degree in public administration and policies, social science or related field;

Ÿ At least 7 years’ experience in research and analyses on social protection of migrant workers and/ or international labour migration issues, including a proven record of primary research in countries of origin;

Ÿ Demonstrable expertise in Social Protection and Social Security. Relevant work experience with international organizations, government and/or research institutions is an advantage;

Ÿ Work experience and in-depth knowledge of labour migration in West Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

6.Competencies required

The Consultant shall have the following competencies:

Ÿ Strong thematic knowledge and ability to carry out research independently based on a robust methodology. Ability to deliver quality products consistently throughout the consultancy duration.

Ÿ Demonstrated ability to analyse complex issues by taking into account the situations of multiple countries, synthesize the analyses and reflecting feedback from multiple stakeholders to produce a study report.

Ÿ Excellent command of English both orally and in writing.

Ÿ Excellent organizational skills and punctuality of the submission of the deliverables.

Ÿ Excellent coordination and communication skills and readiness to keep clients updated and consulted on the progress and challenges encountered.

Ÿ Demonstrated ability to effectively interface with stakeholders including government officials, migrant workers and other stakeholders to collate information.

Ÿ Flexible to accommodate certain changes to the timeline and methodology and responsive to changes as part of the review and feedback process.

[1] The Colombo Process is a Regional Consultative Process on the management of overseas employment and contractual labour for countries of origin in Asia. The process is currently chaired by Nepal and has eleven other Member States encompassing: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam (https://www.colomboprocess.org/).

[2] CP Member States offer various social and protection related services to their migrant workers that are broader than the internal definition of social protection.

IOM now invites Service Providers/ Consulting Firms to provide Technical and Financial Proposal for the following Services: A study on status of implementation of social protection provisions for migrant workers of Colombo Process Member States. Request for proposal (RFP) for the services can be downloaded from the link here.

The Service Provider /Consulting Firm will be selected under a Quality –Cost Based Selection procedures described in this RFP.

The RFP includes the following documents:

Section I. Instructions to Service Providers/ Consulting Firms

Section II. Technical Proposal – Standard Forms

Section III. Financial Proposal – Standard Forms

Section IV. Terms of Reference

Section V. Standard Form of Contract

The Proposals must be delivered through e-mail to IOM at CPTSU@iom.int by *7 September 2018.* No late proposals shall be accepted.

IOM reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal and to annul the selection process and reject all Proposals at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to affected Service Providers/ Consulting Firms