Abstract
This chapter explores three questions: what global institutions regulate the international migration of low‐skilled workers (ILO and UN Conventions, regional and bilateral agreements), what processes have shaped and influenced the development of international institutions governing low‐skilled migration (post‐war development in Europe for 1949 ILO, oil shock and recruitment halt for 1975, UN in 1990), and what rationale would there be for multilateral regulation in this area of international migration (rights to protect low‐skilled migrants; efficiency with more movement, assuming full employment). In each case it argues that the global governance of low‐skilled labour migration has been characterized by a ‘rights vs numbers’ trade‐off.