Diginex, a blockchain technology and financial services company, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – the United Nations Migration Agency – today announced the launch of a blockchain tool developed to prevent the exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong SAR, China.
The tool called IRIS-SAFER, which is an acronym for the International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS) – Self-Assessment for Ethical Recruitment (SAFER), is initially being designed for use by representatives from the approximately 1,500 Hong Kong-based migrant domestic worker recruitment agencies as well as select associated agencies in worker-sending countries.
Agencies invited to use the tool – to assess their current level of adherence to global ethical recruitment principles as set forth by the IRIS Standard – will do so as a part of their participation in broader training on ethical recruitment.
The use of blockchain technology – essentially a set of immutable, secure, data records – will strengthen data management and enforce data integrity, which allows for a higher level of transparency and visibility.
There are almost 390,000 migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong1, nearly 1 in 10 of all workers in the city. Almost all (98%) of these domestic workers are women. According to a recent survey, more than half (56%) of domestic migrant workers were charged illegal fees by recruitment agencies.
“We are delighted to partner with the IOM on this impactful project. Using the UN’s IRIS standards as the benchmark for reputable agencies, we are confident that the tool can help to strike out these unethical practises. In Hong Kong, foreign domestic workers are some of the most economically vulnerable people in our society and pay approximately HKD $700,000,000 each year in placement/recruitment fees. Being headquartered in Hong Kong, we believe it is vital to support the communities in which we operate, so this partnership and project is close to our hearts.”
– Mr. Mark Blick, Head of Government Solutions at Diginex
As the leading inter-governmental organization on migration, the IOM is focused on searching for practical solutions and tools that assist industry associations, governments, migrants and their communities with migration-related issues.
“Ethical recruitment practices are essential to improve the protection of workers, employers and recruitment intermediaries. We are excited to have identified an opportunity by which IOM can support migrant worker recruitment agencies to differentiate themselves as good actors. Through the use of IRIS-SAFER, agencies will first learn what are global ethical recruitment standards, then be able to demonstrate their progress and, ultimately, prove their commitment. With this project, we are drawing from IOM’s global work, through the IRIS initiative, and tailoring it to the specific experience of recruiting migrant domestic workers to Hong Kong SAR, China to ensure that in future no migrant domestic worker is made vulnerable to exploitation due to unethical recruitment.”
– Mr. Giuseppe Crocetti, Chief of Mission, IOM China
Following the successful rollout of this tool in Hong Kong SAR and select countries of origin for migrant domestic workers, Diginex and IOM plan to roll out IRIS-SAFER to recruitment agencies in other jurisdictions globally. This launch follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Diginex and IOM to create IRIS-SAFER earlier this year.