Recent Trends in Asian Labor Migration.

7/27/2019 Recent Trends in Asian Labor Migration.

1/13


2/13

Recent Trends in Labor Migration

The current contract labour migration systems inAsia began to evolve in the 1960s around the oil-producing countries of West Asia.

Recent flows of all asian workers leaving foremployment in other countries had stabilized at 1.1million workers a year.

Migration to the middle east of workers from asiasteadily decline from 1984.


3/13

In the 1980s rapid economic growth and decliningfertility have led to considerable demand for migrantlabour in Asia Japan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong,

Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and oil-richBrunei.

In the 1990s, labour migration within Asia continued togrow with only a relatively minor hiccup resulting fromthe Asian financial crises. A key development in recentyears has been the increasing feminization of migration.

Recent Trends in Labor Migration


4/13

A recent study coordinated by the Scalabrini MigrationCenter (SMC) in Manila states:

High levels of irregular or unauthorized migration have accompaniedthe rise of intra-regional migration in South-East Asia.

The concerns were rekindled during the economic crisis of 1997,which prompted Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore to tighten theirpolicies against irregular migration. This meant tighter bordercontrols, more punitive sanctions against immigration violators,and in the case of Malaysia and Thailand, undertaking massiverepatriation of irregular migrants.

Malaysia and Thailand were confronted with a situation of highunemployment simultaneous with labor shortage in the sectors wheremigrants worked


5/13

In the Philippines, policies and measures were also put inplace to prevent irregular migration, specifically the illegalrecruitment of migrant workers.

By themselves, preventive approaches taken bycountries of origin, and border control and sanctionsundertaken by countries of destination proved to belimited in curbing irregular migration.


6/13

Important Development Affecting Labor Migration

Demographic trends

The Increase labor migration flows between the developing countries and the NIEs.

The growth of labor forces for most of the developing countries of the region.

Economic trends

It is economic growth, political developments and cultural ties that will determinethe migration flows among the countries.

The growing interdependence among the economics of the Asian-Pacific basin islikely to emerge as the most important economic determinant of future migrationflows in this region.

Some countries reached higher states of development have led to a progressiveshifting of the locus of production.


7/13

In the middle east, gulf crisis is the most important variable influencing labormigration.

The volume of labor migration from asia to the gulf countries are stabilized. Immigration Policies

There are recent changes in immigration policies and laws of major countries inimmigration especially for unskilled and uneducated.

In the U.S. They don't allow increased numbers, but aim at the high level manpowerwho can bring in capital and managerial expertise.

In Europe, common border among EEC countries will probably be unfeasible because ofthe huge number of europeans seeking a better life

In Japan, they failed to grip the shortages of labor being experienced in it'sconstruction, transport, and services sectors are limited. They have heavy penalties havebeen imposed on employers of illegal.


8/13

Table 1. AverageLabor Force Growth

Rate1980-1990 1990-2000 2000-2010

Japan and NIEsJapan

SingaporeSouth Korea

Taiwan

0.91.62.83.5

0.40.61.81.7

0.40.31.10.7

China 2.4 1.2 0.9

Southeast AsiaIndonesiaMalaysia

PhilippinesThailand

2.73.22.8

2.5

2.42.92.8

1.8

1.72.62.6

1.0South Asia

BangladeshIndiaNepal

Pakistan

3.52.22.43.9

3.62.12.73.7

3.32.02.54.3


9/13

Policy Issues

Protection of migrant workers in recruitment and employment

Various forms of illegal recruitment, contract substitutions, delayed payment ornon-payment of wages, and harsh working and living conditions are stillexperienced, especially by women.

Women are often employed in unprotected work sites and gender-baseddiscrimination, especially gender-based violence, is rife.

The Philippine Government exerts continuous pressure on labour receivingcountries to sign the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of AllMigrant Workers and Their Families. Unfortunately, many have still not doneso. The Philippines also develops model employment contracts for differentcountries and different occupations that include basic standards andrequirements. Rodriguez (2002: 23-24)


10/13

Protecting women migrant workers

The major problems identified are:

-Womens live-in domestic work continues to be seen as an extension of household work andtherefore not properly valued or included under Employment Acts (Piper et al., 2002).

This leads to a lack of protection regarding working and living conditions.

In the case of sex work, the discussion needs to recognize the diverse, complex and contradictoryprocesses at work. Gross economic inequalities result in different degrees of choice and/or

constraints, and the tendency to use either a victimization or an agency perspective often

masks the complexity of the conditions under which women work.

Human rights advocacy and policy making in this area needs to payattention to the specific contexts in which migration for sex work occurs.


11/13

Women are often faced with both direct (as above for domestics) and indirect(structural) discrimination and this requires attention at the global level. Theissue of sex and race discrimination towards women from developing or laboursending countries in Asia is endemic.

In 1995, Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina domestic helper in Singapore, was hangedafter killing another Filipina maid and a Singaporean child.47 PhilippinePresident Fidel Ramos was unable to win additional time to investigate the case,prompting the enactment of Republic Act 8042, the so-called Filipino migrant

workers' Magna Carta, which obliges the government to take steps to protectmigrants abroad.


12/13

References:

Article/s:

Recent Trends in Asian Labor Migration: A Review of MajorIssues by Manalo L. Abella (ILO).

E-Books

Philip Martin: Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region: Trends,factors, impacts. 2009.

ILO: Labour Migration in Asia Trends, challenges and policyresponses in countries of origin.


13/13

Thank You!

Recent Trends in Asian Labor Migration.

Documents

Transcript of Recent Trends in Asian Labor Migration.