Description:

According to Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) the term migrant worker means a person who migrates or who has migrated from one country to another with a view to being employed otherwise than on his own account and includes any person regularly admitted as a migrant worker.

So, the main purpose of migration in the context of labour migration is the intention of employment in another country rather then the country of the nationality of the worker. ICT revolution made workers do works for interest of employers who are located in different country with out movement. Which creates a new type of migrant worker " Virtual Migrant workers"

Evolving technologies have been driving dramatic shifts in the way people work, allowing them to complete their tasks virtually without having to physically travel to their offices or from country to another. ICT makes it easier to work from anywhere, companies, research centers and any other entities can hire employees based on their skills without concern for where they are. In addition, the dramatic increase in virtual work during the COVID-19 pandemic boosted organizational capacity for virtual work and is likely to result in a long-term increase in the number of employees working remotely. As a result, the concept of online labour appeared.

Online labour is defined as contingent (task- or project-based) intangible work delivered digitally and done for money, organised via online outsourcing platforms , and telework and ICT-based mobile work (TICTM) refers to any type of work arrangement where workers work remotely, away from an employer's premises or fixed location, using digital technologies such as networks, laptops, mobile phones and the internet'. Remote work can be performed in a variety of possible locations, all of which can be viewed as an alternative to the location where the work could typically be expected to be carried out, taking into account the profession and the status in employment. This has different implications for dependent workers and independent workers Remote Employment has often been used interchangeably with the term telecommuting, telework, or work from home which are all terms that indicate making use of technological advances to work away from the employer’s office or customer’s location in a flexible work environment"

In virtual employment, an employee could work for an employer who is located in the same country as himself or he could work for an employer who lives in another country on the other side of the world. So, all over the world a new kind of employee is appearing in increasing numbers - the virtual employee.
From the forgoing , it is clear that the ICT has impact on international migration for employment purpose and migrant workers and contributes to emergence of new concept which is “ virtual migrant workers “ who they are exactly?
The advent of virtual employment has resulted in the creation of number of unique and interesting legal issues such as wage-and-hour compliance, holidays, leave, maternity leave, workers’ compensation, and safety and health protection. in addition, there have been instances of virtual employees being fired or disciplined without a proper inquiry or not paid their due wages or remuneration or deprived of their leave, overtime, holidays and terminal benefits without justification.

The main challenge of virtual employment when employer and employee located in different countries. This situation creates several legal issues related to rights of virtual migrant workers. what is the rights of the virtual migrant workers ? what is the regulating legal and institutional framework? what is the national laws will be applied in case of disputes? Is it the law of workers nationality? or it is the law of entity (employer) location? What is the legal procedures that the virtual migrant worker could take in case of his rights been breached by his employer?

Yet, international labor law at the moment has no remedy to offer this kind of situation as the ILO has not entered into any treaty to deal with situations where a virtual employee intends to sue his employer located in another country to obtain legal redress. Further there are no treaties or conventions dealing with the terms and conditions of virtual employment entered into by parties living in different countries.
Also, if the virtual migrant workers are become a fact what is the impact of virtual labor migration on Digital Gig Economy?

Therefore, the main aim of this workshop is to discuss the virtual migrant workers as new type of migrant workers, to know what is the relevant legal framework, what is the ethical recruitment process applied on the case of virtual migrant workers? what the impact of this new type of work on digital economy?
The main aim of the workshop fit under Human right theme