Zosia Fraser, a leading member of the Polish community in the Highlands, said the Scottish Government should do more to support migrant families who were encouraged to the country by the previous administration.

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The date marks the 22nd anniversary of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1990.

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Here in Europe, ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families has been disappointing.

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The Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong estimated that 10 million workers, or 61% of the province's migrant-labor pool, would head home to see their families for the New Year Holiday, with a return rate of around 90%, leaving a labor shortfall of up to 1.2 million workers after the holiday.

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And for many of China's poorest families, including the children of millions of migrant labourers, finding any school at all can be a problem.

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The formal and informal channels by which migrant workers remit cash back to families and friends are directly lifting millions from abject conditions.

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Every year, millions of China's 250 million migrant workers leave their factories and travel across the country to visit their families at home.

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Mr Clarke said the EU should increase co-operation in areas such as re-uniting migrant families.

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