The Kathmandu Post, Nepal, 27 March 2021 - Only a small number of Nepali migrant workers who were stranded in various parts of the world due to the Covid-19 lockdowns availed of the government’s pandemic repatriation programme, data of the Foreign Employment Board show.
Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka, 26 March 2021 - In a fresh attempt to expedite repatriation of Sri Lankan migrant workers awaiting to return to the country, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has selected 10 private sector hotels and guest houses as quarantine centres to provide quarantine facilities for additional 571 migrant workers, the Labour Ministry announced yesterday.
Malay Mail, Malaysia, 26 March 2021 - The Immigration Department of Malaysia has said that its basis and procedure for bringing in foreign workers in Malaysia is clear and concise.
Colombo Page, Sri Lanka, 26 March 2021 - The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) says that the government has set up a system involving private hotels and resorts to provide free quarantine facilities to Sri Lankan migrant workers, who are returning home from the Middle East and abroad due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Channel News Asia, Singapore, 26 March 2021 - The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) unveiled on Friday (Mar 26) a one-stop centre in Punggol for new migrant workers to complete their stay-home notice, get the necessary medical examination as well as the support to settle in.
The Straits Times, Singapore, 26 March 2021 - A pilot scheme to centralise the onboarding process for migrant workers will likely become a permanent fixture here, said Second Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng on Friday (March 26). This is because it helps Singapore better prepare for a future "Disease X" while lowering costs for employers.
Daily News, Sri Lanka, 25 March 2021 - The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) will cover all expenses related to quarantine facilities, other medical, and food and transport facilities of migrant workers returning home due to the COVID-19 situation.
Lifestyle Asia, India, 24 March 2021 - It’s been a year since the lockdown in India. While it left the entire population gobsmacked, it affected the underprivileged more than anyone else. India witnessed an exodus of migrant workers that were out of jobs and forced to leave the cities for their hometowns without proper transport arrangement. On its first anniversary, journalist-turned-director Vinod Kapri releases a gut-wrenching documentary on the real story behind the scenes of this mass exodus.
India Spend, India, 24 March 2021 - A day before the lockdown was announced on March 24, 2020, the government told parliament that "it is not feasible to keep record/data of migrant labour workforce" because migrant workers tend to move often in search of employment. But over the next 68 days of the lockdown, as an unprecedented migrant worker crisis unfurled in India, it became clear that reliable data were critical to developing an effective migrant worker policy.
The Indian Express, India, 24 March 2021 - Today marks the first anniversary of the day the central government announced an ill-planned national lockdown. India is home to nearly 500 million informal sector workers with practically non-existent social security and the unilateral decision pushed them into perilous circumstances, triggering their great exodus from cities.
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand, 24 March 2021 - A migrant workers' association says it's concerned about the welfare of the 10 Chinese men who were found working unlawfully and now face deportation.
The Straits Times, Singapore, 24 March 2021 - Plans to relax the restrictions on the movements of migrant workers will be implemented progressively, when more of them have been vaccinated and infection rates remain under control, said the multi-ministry task force co-chair Lawrence Wong on Wednesday (March 24).
Inquirer.net, Philippines, 24 March 2021 - Some 300 Filipino household service workers still remain in Syria 10 years after a deployment ban was imposed by the Philippine government, senators learned on Tuesday.
Free Malaysia Today, Malaysia, 24 March 2021 - The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) has urged Putrajaya to consider hiring new migrant workers as Malaysians have no interest in working in plantations despite being offered good wages.
Khmer Times, Cambodia, 24 March 2021 - The Ministry of Labour will launch a new job website – WORKNET – on employment services and labour market information in Cambodia on April 8, to help Cambodians find jobs during the pandemic.
