Week 1 Deliverables
Team Members Al Chen, Leandra Tejedor, Jordan Andrews, Foluso Ogunlana
Challenge Identity & Vulnerable Populations
Problem Labor contracts provided to migrant workers in origin country may differ from the actual contract in the destination country due to fraud and unethical behavior by recruitment agencies and their sub-agencies.
Why Is Blockchain Necessary -Private recruitment agencies, sub-agencies, and other middlemen can tamper with paper documents and/or centralized databases managed by government agencies that approve labor contracts. Blockchain removes trust required between: 1) Employers & Government Agencies 2) Government Agencies & Recruitment Agencies -Complaints and grievances from migrant workers are documented from origin to destination and do not pass through a filter imposed by a middleman or agency
Size of Market -Global: 105,000,000 migrant workers worldwide (International Labor Organization) -Regional: 15,000,000 migrant workers in Southeast Asia (International Labor Organization) -Country/Local Recruitment Agencies: 1,130 licensed agencies in Bangladesh (Situation Report, source); 550 licensed agencies in Java, Indonesia (BSR)
Current Solutions -Existing government authorities/agencies such as BLMRA (Bahrain), POEA (Philippines), BAIRA (Bangladesh) who act as centralized “clearinghouses” validating recruitment agencies and maintain “blacklists” -Outdated online tools like BMET (for BAIRA in Bangladesh) -In-person audits and monitoring of agencies every 5 years to ensure recruitment practices in-line with legislation -Informal associations such as IHRB (Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment) to ensure fair migrant labor practices for large corporations -Memorandums of Understanding estbalished by governments between origin and destination countries encourage protection but lack enforcement
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