Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim addresses the 10th European Regional Meeting of the International Labor Organization in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2, 2017. The 10th European Regional Meeting of the International Labor Organization kicked off on Monday in Istanbul with a call for quick solution to the growing migrant workers problem. (Xinhua/He Canling)
ISTANBUL, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The 10th European Regional Meeting of the International Labor Organization kicked off on Monday in Istanbul with a call for quick solution to the growing migrant workers problem.
The participants at the meeting agreed that poorly-governed labor migration would bring risks and challenges, including growing racism and xenophobia that fuel discrimination in societies and workplaces.
A well-observed labor migration, however, can provide benefits and opportunities to all concerned, mainly in the forms of balancing labor supply and demand, transferring skills and enriching communities both culturally and socially, according to a report presented at the opening session.
The report acknowledged that refugees from Syria have concentrated in a handful of countries, increasing the burden of these countries for their protection and integration.
Addressing the meeting, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said his country has been providing all the sincere care and hospitableness to 3.5 million Syrian refugees being sheltered in Turkey for more than six years.
"This is a burden we have been carrying all along, yet we are expecting closer cooperation from the rest of the world," he said, adding, "Unfortunately, both the European Union countries and the world have been mere spectators."
The EU has promised 3 billion euros (3.5 billion U.S. dollars) in aid to the Syrian refugees after reaching a deal with Ankara last year on stemming the flow of illegal migrants to Europe, but Turkey has received just 80 million euros so far, the premier said recently.
Julide Sarieroglu, Turkey's labor and social security minister, emphasized the risk of growing xenophobia and discrimination toward immigrants in the host countries, noting that immigrants might be subject to inferior working conditions and deprived of social security.
She urged the world to create a convenient social and cultural atmosphere that would ease the integration process of refugees in a move to prevent xenophobia.
The issue of labor migration is set to be discussed in detail at an informal ministerial meeting under the theme of "fair and effective access to labor markets for migrants and refugees."
The four-day meeting brings together government officials as well as employer and worker representatives from 51 countries in the region.
