Mongolia has become the latest country to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Convention No. 181 on private employment agencies, highlighting the growing interest from ILO Members in reaching appropriate regulation for the employment and recruitment industry.

According to the International Confederation of Private Employment Services (Ciett), establishing a regulatory framework on employment and recruitment agencies is the first step for countries to be able to take full advantage of the contribution the industry can make to establishing more efficient labour markets.

A Ciett research paper on the benefits of Convention 181 concluded that countries that ratified it benefit from:

• Lower levels of informal and undeclared work;
• High correlation with democracy
• More cooperation between public and private employment services;
• Greater protection for freedom of association and collective bargaining;
• Full respect for the right to strike;
• Meaningful and constructive social dialogue in the temporary agency work sector;
• Better protection of agency workers by forbidding fee-charging;
• Better wages for agency workers;
• Controlled and mitigated development of the industry.

According to Ciett, the Convention will help level the playing field for the industry and will ensure that only ethical and responsible employment and recruitment agencies are allowed to operate. It will also help rid the industry of unscrupulous recruiters and companies that do not respect workers’ rights.