🗓️ Published on: 08/21/2025
On 21 August 2025, the Trade Union Confederation of Productive Forces (COSYFOP) submitted a formal communication to the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR). The submission highlights alarming abuses targeting Sub-Saharan African migrant workers in Algeria, including mass arrests exceeding 1,000 individuals, as publicly acknowledged by the Ministry of National Defense on its official Facebook page.
To view the original post on the Ministry of National Defense's Facebook page: Click here.
This initiative follows COSYFOP’s monitoring of a new wave of abuses since late July 2025, marked in particular by coordinated smear campaigns on social media pages linked to security services. These campaigns portray migrants as a source of organized crime, terrorism, and even “occupation,” fueling stigmatization and hostility.
The complaint also documents large-scale raids and mass arrests in major cities, followed by forced deportations to Algeria’s southern borders under inhumane conditions. Women, children, and even asylum seekers were among those affected. The operations extended to workplaces, including construction sites, farms, and informal markets—evidence of a policy that criminalizes work instead of protecting it.
As for the labor inspectorates, their complicity is evident: they have failed to launch any investigations into the situation of migrant workers or to promote the regularization of their status. In some cases, they have even limited their role to reporting migrants directly to the security services.
COSYFOP denounced as scandalous the deafening silence of national human rights institutions—such as the National Human Rights Council and the Algerian Red Crescent—which have failed to take any meaningful action in response to these violations. At the same time, independent associations and trade unionists seeking to stand in solidarity with migrants have faced growing repression.
The complaint was accompanied by COSYFOP’s report on the situation of migrants, published on the Confederation’s website in both French and English. The report contains compelling evidence—including photographs, videos, and official statements—demonstrating the institutional nature of the stigmatization campaign, mass arrests, and forced deportations.
COSYFOP’s Key Demands
COSYFOP urged the Committee of Experts in Geneva to hold the Algerian government accountable for breaching ratified ILO Conventions—particularly Conventions No. 97 on migrant workers, No. 111 on discrimination, and No. 87 on freedom of association—by demanding an end to mass deportations and the security-driven treatment of migrants, the formal recognition of COSYFOP’s Migrant Rights Committee as the legitimate representative of migrant workers, and the strengthening of labor inspection mechanisms to monitor employment conditions and protect migrants from exploitation.
A Historic Step in the Trade Union Struggle
The President of COSYFOP, Mr. Raouf Mellal, stressed that this step falls within the framework of…
“the union’s commitment to defending human dignity and workers’ rights without discrimination,” noting that “migrants in Algeria are living in dire conditions that call for urgent intervention by international monitoring mechanisms.”
This initiative represents an Algerian trade union movement that places the issue of migrants on the agenda of the International Labour Organization's Committee of Experts, thereby strengthening the internationalization of the issue and opening the door to holding Algerian authorities accountable for violating their international obligations.
Swift Response from the Committee of Experts
The Committee of Experts responded swiftly to COSYFOP’s complaint, confirming its receipt in a letter from the International Labour Office dated 21 August 2025. The Committee’s Secretariat indicated that the substance of the complaint had been forwarded to the Algerian government for a prompt reply, and further confirmed that the case will be examined with observations and recommendations to be issued during the Committee’s upcoming session in November.
To read more: Don't miss our supplementary report on COSYFOP Releases a Supplementary Report on Mass Deportation Campaigns.
📬 Did you like this article? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news and important information directly to your inbox.