The Malaysian Reserve, Malaysia, 25 April 2022 - MALAYSIA could experience more shortage of domestic helpers if there is no willpower to improve wages and job treatment of foreign workers in the country, experts said.
Free Malaysia Today, Malaysia, 25 April 2022 - The government has turned to the US Embassy and the International Labour Organization to help resolve the issue of forced labour.
Panay News, Philippines, 25 April 2022 - BECAUSE overseas migration reveals itself as a multi-faceted phenomenon, other agencies then got involved: Departments of Agriculture, Education, Science and Technology, Trade and Industry, Health, and their bureaus and attached agencies. Even the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) came into the fray and mandated provincial, municipal and city local government units (LGUs) in May 2020 to set up “DILG OFW desks”. Come the mid-2010s, finally the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) explicitly devoted a separate chapter for overseas Filipinos in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
Pattaya Mail, Thailand, 25 April 2022 - Amid relaxed travel restrictions, labor export firms and relevant agencies have attended a discussion hosted by the Ministry of Labor to ensure that Thai workers gain the most benefits from working abroad.
Nepal’s labour migration can be divided into internal migration, migration to India and migration to countries other than India. The migration to countries other than India is referred as “foreign employment”. Labour migration for employment has been a common livelihood strategy for many Nepali people living in both rural and urban areas of the country. The remittances generated from the employment have become a major contributing factor to Nepal’s economy, which was equivalent to NPR 961.05 billion in the last fiscal year (FY 2020/21), ending mid-July, an increase of 10 per cent year to year. The remittance amount is equivalent to 22.5 per cent of Nepal's current gross domestic product of NPR 4.26 trillion evaluated at current market prices. Remittances have been contributing to the improvements in the living standards of Nepalese people where one in three Nepali households receives remittances. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted migrant workers in terms of loss of jobs and economic opportunities both in Nepal and in destination countries. Contrary to the general impression that remittances have been negatively impacted by the COVID 19 crisis, remittance flows proved to be resilient.
Globally, access to COVID-19 vaccines has been uneven. More than one year since vaccines became widely available in high-income Western countries, many lower-income countries have struggled with supply and have notably low rates of vaccination. With each new wave and each new variant, this gap has widened. As of April 2022, approximately 65 percent of the world’s population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine; among low-income countries the rate averaged 15 percent. In fact, as of February 2022, more booster shots had been administered in wealthy countries than total doses in low-income countries.
With migration data in the global spotlight thanks to processes such as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and others, this report aims to provide a comprehensive picture of how migration data systems work in practice at the national level. IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre carried out an international comparative study to understand better how countries are meeting a range of different migration data challenges, focusing on six case study countries. The objective of the study is to explore how far countries have been making progress in improving migration data and to understand the practical challenges facing national statistical offices and other stakeholders, the impact of frameworks such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Migration, and more.
The ILO launched a campaign based on behavioural science, in a bid to influence the market in Hong Kong towards greater demand for fair recruitment practices. This report presents the results of the randomised control trial that was designed and used to identify the most effective message frame to trigger the behaviour of employers of domestic workers in Hong Kong (China) and influence their choice of private recruitment agencies when hiring foreign domestic workers.
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