Rakyat Post - 8 January 2015 - Illegal land clearing taking place in Cameron Highlands not too long ago. These contributed to the flooding and landslides last year. Illegal immigrants have been blamed for such activities, leading to a major crackdown.
Myanmar Times - 9 January 2015 - Another year has brought further delay to a region-wide agreement on the migrant workers question.
The Phnom Penh Post - 5 January 2015 - After going missing for seven years, a Cambodian fisherman who claims he was trafficked to a trawler in Indonesia called his father begging for help last month.
Myanmar Times - 2 January 2015 - In a bid to offer better protection to its citizens working abroad, the government is to carry out a census of all Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand by the end of March 2015, the deputy labour minister has announced.
Mizzima - 24 December 2014 -Thailand’s cabinet has issued a ministerial regulation to reduce the migrant permit fee to only 500 Thai baht, down from the current rate of 2,000 baht, reports The Nation.
ILO Newsroom - 22 December 2014 - Although there are more than 52 million domestic workers world-wide, including more than 21 million in Asia Pacific, only a small minority are covered by general labour laws. This lack of protection leaves them vulnerable to – sometimes terrible – abuse and exploitation. Journalist Karen Emmons has been working with the photographer Steve McCurry on a documentary project, “No one should work this way,” to record and expose some of the abuses faced by Asian migrant domestic workers.
Malay Mail Online - 19 December 2014 - An Indonesian agency is planning to repatriate an estimated 1.8 million of its citizens who are believed to be working illegally in several countries abroad, with a majority of them in Malaysia.
PICUM - 18 December 2014 - On the occasion of International Migrants’ Day, migrants’ rights advocates from across Europe urge media, policymakers and others who have a key role in influencing public views on migration to stop using ‘illegal migrant’ and adopt accurate and neutral terms in reference to undocumented migrants.
World Bank Blog - 18 December 2014 - Roughly 27 million young people leave their country of birth to find employment abroad. Does this trend suggest that migration may be a solution to the worrying situation whereby 60% of young people in developing regions that are either unemployed, not studying, or engaged in irregular employment?
The Malaysian Insider - 19 December 2014 - Contrary to public perception, foreigners are not actually involved in the majority of crimes in the country, said the Malaysian Employers Federation.
The Cambodia Daily - 19 December 2014 - The Labor Ministry on Thursday launched a new three-year policy for improving the lot of Cambodia’s more than 700,000 migrant workers that includes plans to step up monitoring of the country’s often-abusive recruitment agencies and add labor attachés to more embassies.
East Asia Forum - 19 December 2014 - By the end of 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is expected to establish a single market and production base in the region. With an ASEAN overall workforce of more than 300 million people, the AEC will have strong implications in terms of labour migration and human resource development.
First Post (India) - 18 December 2014 - Filming Sok Hwee's and Senthil's story of friendship reminded me to see migrant workers as people. Not migrants, not workers, not an economic necessity or worse. It reminded me to be grateful for my own friendship with Mahes.
18 December 2014 – Far too many migrants still live and work in precarious and unjust conditions, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has said today in a message to mark International Migrants Day.
Myanmar Times - 19 December 2014 - A local employment agency is still sending Myanmar women to Hong Kong as domestic workers despite a government ban, labour activists say. Labour Rights Clinic says it has reported the case to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).