Labour migration: global and regional studies

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Sub-title: Workers in Myanmar say management targeted union supporters under pretense layoffs were related to coronavirus
Description: "Hundreds of workers at two factories in Myanmar that produce clothing for Zara and Primark were fired days after forming a union in a move workers say targeted union supporters under the pretense that layoffs were related to the coronavirus. Zara is the main brand of Inditex, the largest clothing retailer in the world. At the Huabo Times factory, days after filing a registration for their union, workers noted management terminated over 100 workers, primarily union members and supporters, and transferred 200 non-union workers from a different factory to replace them four days after the dismissals. At the Rui-Ning factory, 298 union members were fired from the factory in early May 2020. The union registered at Rui-Ning in February 2020. “I see the firing as clearly union-busting under the pretext of the pandemic. The factory fired most of the union members, including myself,” said Kyaw Thu Zaw, a worker at the Rui-Ning factory for about 10 months and president of the union. “They gave the excuse of difficulty in transporting products to Europe, but in reality there was no difficulty as the factory transported a bulk of products to destination countries on 12 May.” He noted regular shifts consisted of 10-hour work days, six days a week, with workers expected to regularly work overtime in order to make enough money to survive. Workers at the factory make around $3 per day..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
2020-06-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The pandemic has laid bare a broken system
Description: "This edited article by Thammachart Kri-aksorn is from Prachatai, an independent news site in Thailand, and is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. The Thai Ministry of Labour has invoked an Emergency Decree to prohibit labor strikes and lockouts during the COVID-19 outbreak. Any labour disputes will be now be transferred to the Labour Relations Committee appointed by Chatumongol Sonakul, the Minister of Labour. The order entered force on May 6. Under normal circumstances, Thai law allows strikes and lockouts for irreconcilable disputes, except in essential infrastructure industries. The government can intervene only when the country is under martial law or an emergency decree, or when the Minister of Labour rules that labor disputes may affect the economy or public order, such as is the case at the moment. The order was issued in an attempt to mitigate surging unemployment resulting from government measures taken to control COVID-19. On May 13 the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare called for business owners to consider labour relations principles before laying off employees, including alternative cost-cutting and improved human resources management..."
Source/publisher: "Global Voices"
2020-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "THE SPECTRE OF HOPE brings together art critic John Berger, author of WAYS OF SEEING, and world-renowned photographer Sebastião. Critic and writer John Berger talks with brazilean photographer Sebastião Salgado on his photographs book Migrations..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Sebastião Salgado and John Berger via YouTube
2018-01-10
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar dispatched over 234,000 MoU workers to Thailand last year, according to the Labour Department. The number of MoU workers has increased though the factories faced the shutdowns due to the market restrictions caused by the violations of human rights in the marine product factories in Thailand. Due to the shutdown of factories, some Myanmar migrant workers become jobless and go home. The number of MoU workers who left for Thailand reached 31,828 in 2014, 52,765 in 2015, 97,998 in 2016, 145,161 in 2017 and over 150,000 in 2018. U Moe Kyaw, head of YaungchiOo Labour Affairs Office said: “There are more than 400 factories and plants in Mae Sot. In addition to the factories, more than 250,000 Myanmar migrant workers are working in construction sites, farming, housemaid services and shops. Thai government has fixed 310 baht for a eight-hour working day in Mae Sot. Myanmar migrant workers from around five factories earn their salaries fully. But Myanmar migrant workers from other factories and work sites get 150-200 baht only. They also face the violations in health and social affairs.”..."
Source/publisher: Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
2020-01-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Myanmar authorities sent 30,841 migrant workers to work in foreign countries in November, according to a release from the Information Ministry on Friday. In November alone, 21,405 workers were sent to Thailand while 8,440 workers to Malaysia and 591 to Japan. Also, 230 workers were sent to South Korea, 83 to Jordan, 61 to Singapore, 24 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and seven to Qatar, respectively. During the period, a total of 24,268 local employments were also offered by the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population and of them, 23,943 workers engaged in private sector. The ministry has been offering local and foreign employment opportunities to local people through online labor exchange management system, with an aim to promote development of the country and help local people increase their incomes..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-12-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The ASEAN Safe Migration Campaign was launched in December 2018 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Building on the 2017 ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers signed in Manila, the campaign seeks to ‘raise public awareness on safe labour migration that benefits all’. While well-intentioned, the campaign is hindered by a simplistic concept of safe migration that falls short of addressing the challenges faced by migrant workers in the region. Significant ambiguity surrounds the concept of ‘safe’ migration. Without a clear understanding of the term, scholars and practitioners are using the term loosely. Safe migration is open to subjective interpretation and its meaning differs across actors. If we neglect to examine what safe migration means in a given context, contradictions will compromise efforts to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers. So, what is safe migration? The most accurate answer is that it depends. The more helpful answer is that the meaning of safe migration is derived from how individual communities present and use the term. While basic aspects of safety such as the preservation of life are clear and undisputed, other associations often depend on how local actors define the concept. In the context of Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Safe Migration Campaign offers a window into understanding how safe migration relates to the region’s seven million migrant workers..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "East Asia Forum" (Australia)
2019-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 46.54 KB (4 pages)
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Description: 76 photographs of Brazilian photographer, Sebastiao Salgado.
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Sebastiao Salgado"
2006-12-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Migration has increasingly become a widespread livelihood strategy for people in Myanmar. Today, 25% of Myanmar’s population is a migrant whether they migrate internally and internationally. The underlying drivers for movement are complex and interrelated – including unstable and physically demanding rural livelihoods, lack of stable and viable employment opportunities, chronic poverty and indebtedness, emergence of industrial zones and new industries, unpredictable weather patterns, conflicts in some parts of the country and a desire to support the education of siblings or to pursue personal ambitions. While the social, economic and environmental drivers of migration in Myanmar vary widely, Myanmar migrants share at least one goal: to improve their lives. In search for better lives for themselves and their families, labour migration is the most commonly used form of mobility. IOM Myanmar’s Labour Mobility and Human Development programme’s overall objective is to help labour migrants and their families experience the economic and social benefits of migration and address the unintended or negative consequences of migration. Reflecting the reality that migration for many people is a necessity rather than a choice, we also support diversifying livelihood choices in communities of origin, to make migration beneficial for those who leave and those who stay behind. The Labour Mobility and Human Development Programme works closely with government and non-government partners at local, national and international levels to foster synergies between labour migration and development, and to support safe, informed and gainful labour migration for migrants, their families, communities, and for Myanmar as a whole..."
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2018-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 606.31 KB
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Description: "Migration has increasingly become a widespread livelihood strategy for people in Myanmar. Today, 25% of Myanmar’s population is a migrant whether they migrate internally and internationally. The underlying drivers for movement are complex and interrelated – including unstable and physically demanding rural livelihoods, lack of stable and viable employment opportunities, chronic poverty and indebtedness, emergence of industrial zones and new industries, unpredictable weather patterns, conflicts in some parts of the country and a desire to support the education of siblings or to pursue personal ambitions. While the social, economic and environmental drivers of migration in Myanmar vary widely, Myanmar migrants share at least one goal: to improve their lives. In search for better lives for themselves and their families, labour migration is the most commonly used form of mobility. IOM Myanmar’s Labour Mobility and Human Development programme’s overall objective is to help labour migrants and their families experience the economic and social benefits of migration and address the unintended or negative consequences of migration. Reflecting the reality that migration for many people is a necessity rather than a choice, we also support diversifying livelihood choices in communities of origin, to make migration beneficial for those who leave and those who stay behind. The Labour Mobility and Human Development Programme works closely with government and non-government partners at local, national and international levels to foster synergies between labour migration and development, and to support safe, informed and gainful labour migration for migrants, their families, communities, and for Myanmar as a whole..."
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2018-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 606.31 KB
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Creator/author: Ma Khin Thuzar, Thida Win, Aung Thu
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2019-06-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Creator/author: Ma Lwin Lwin Joe, Wai Wai Tun
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2019-06-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: Mr. Akio Nakayama, Chief of Mission, IOM Myanmar, at Nay Pyi Taw CHIME Workshop, March 6, 2019
Creator/author: Mr. Akio Nakayama
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2019-06-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Mr. Benjamin Harkins, Programme Officer, Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT), at Nay Pyi Taw CHIME Workshop, March 6, 2019
Creator/author: Mr. Benjamin Harkins
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2019-06-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Creator/author: Tin Thoung, Nyein Thet Nwe, U Zaw Moe Aung, Zin Nyo Nyo Win
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2019-06-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: Mr. Nay Lwin, Chief of Staff, Myanmar Microfinance Association (MMFA), at Nay Pyi Taw CHIME Workshop, March 6, 2019
Creator/author: Mr. Nay Lwin
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2019-06-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Creator/author: U Htay Mg
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2019-06-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: "Over the past decade, Myanmar has experienced a marked increase in migration, coinciding with a period of rapid economic growth.1 Internal and international migrants already represent 25 per cent of Myanmar’s total population. These migrants are primarily low-skilled and from poor rural households seeking to improve the long-term prospects for themselves and their families. Their migration is driven by interconnected structural and social factors, including rural poverty, lack of viable employment opportunities, earning differences between origin and destination, aspirations for modern work and/ or a modern lifestyle, the desire to break away from chronic indebtedness, and environmental changes and conflict. While migration is a crucial part of development, its ability to reduce poverty at the household level is contingent upon the effective management of the multiple risks and hardships faced by migrant households. Over the long term, the benefits of migration can offset hardships and downward slides into poverty by increasing the earnings of migrants and opening up new opportunities to them and their families. However, there is a need for policymaking to better align with and support the longterm aspirations of migrants and their families. The “Capitalising Human Mobility for Poverty Alleviation and Inclusive Development for Myanmar” (CHIME) study aims to address the knowledge gap on labour migration and its relationship with poverty and development in four areas in Myanmar: Ayeyarwardy Region, Mandalay Region, Rakhine State and Shan State. CHIME employed a mixed-methods design, including a quantitative household survey and qualitative in-depth interviews, collected in two rounds in 2017. The quantitative samples were intended to be representative of rural households in each of the four identified, and the findings are regionally representative for Ayeyarwady and Mandalay regions. The study cannot and does claim to be representative of Rakhine and Shan States due to various limitations to accessing some of the villages.2 The CHIME project was implemented by a consortium composed of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, the University of Sussex, Metta Development Foundation, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Financial support was provided by the Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT). The findings of the study are summarized in the sections that follow..."
Creator/author: Priya Deshingkar, Julie Litchfield, Wen-Ching Ting
Source/publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
2019-01-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 4.39 MB
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Description: "Over the past decade, Myanmar has experienced a marked increase in migration, coinciding with a period of rapid economic growth.1 Internal and international migrants already represent 26 per cent of Myanmar’s total population.2 These migrants primarily work in low-skilled occupations and come from poor rural households. By migrating, they seek to improve long-term prospects for themselves and their families. Their migration is driven by interconnected structural and social factors, including rural poverty, lack of viable employment opportunities, earning differences between origin and destination, aspirations for modern work and/or a modern lifestyle, the desire to break away from chronic indebtedness, and environmental changes and conflict. While migration is a crucial part of development, its ability to reduce poverty at the household level is contingent upon the effective management of the multiple risks and hardships faced by migrant households. Over the long term, the benefits of migration can offset hardships and downward slides into poverty by increasing the earnings of migrants and opening up new opportunities to them and their families. However, there is a need for policymaking to 1 better align with and support the long-term aspirations of migrants and their families and acknowledge the contribution they make to Myanmar’s development. The “Capitalising Human Mobility for Poverty Alleviation and Inclusive Development for Myanmar” (CHIME) study aims to address the knowledge gap on labour migration and its relationship with poverty and development in four areas in Myanmar: Ayeyarwardy Region, Mandalay Region, Rakhine State and Shan State. CHIME employed a mixed-methods design, including a quantitative household survey covering a total of randomly sampled 3,116 households from 172 enumerated areas (EAs)3 and qualitative in-depth interviews of 192 individuals who were purposely sampled from lower-economic strata households, collected in two rounds in 2017. The quantitative samples were intended to be representative of rural households in each of the four identified states/regions, and the findings are regionally representative for Ayeyarwady and Mandalay regions. The study cannot claim to be representative of Rakhine and Shan States due to various limitations to accessing sampled villages..."
Source/publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
2018-05-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 903.46 KB
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Description: "Today, women account for almost half the world’s international migrants.1 Global labour migration trends show that more women are migrating independently for economic reasons and not only as the dependants of men. Migration decisions and strategies are different among men and women and migration affects men and women in different ways – whether they are migrants or not. Women migrants tend to work in different sectors of the labour market from men, often with different levels of job security and wages, and different remittance patterns.2 Given these differences, it is important to consider how gender shapes who migrates, where, when and how, as well as the different impacts of men and women’s migration. This briefing paper presents findings from the CHIME study relating to gender and migration in four regions of Myanmar. It outlines differences and similarities between men and women’s patterns of migration. This is followed by sections on drivers and strategies of migration, remittance amounts and incidence, and the impact of migration on gender roles. Finally, it outlines considerations for future action..."
Source/publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
2017-01-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.11 MB
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Description: "Agriculture accounts for 26 per cent of Myanmar’s GDP and employs almost half of the country’s workforce.1 It is the primary source of livelihood for most people living in rural areas.2 Migration for work is also common in Myanmar and growing even more so: the country’s rapid growth in recent years has coincided with a marked increase in both internal and international migration. Migration is tightly linked to agricultural work: many migrants move from rural to urban areas and from agriculture to other employment sectors. This trend is coinciding with a general transition in Myanmar’s economy away from agriculture and towards industry and services. This briefing paper draws on findings from the CHIME research project to look at how agricultural work drives migration, and how migration affects the agricultural sector. It identifies opportunities for policymakers to help make agriculture and migration promote sustainable, equitable development..."
Source/publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
2017-01-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.16 MB
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Description: "With almost half of the labour force working in agriculture,1 Myanmar remains a predominately rural country. However, the proportion of the population living in urban areas is increasing each year and is expected to do so at ever-faster rates of change.2 In 2014, at the time of the last census, 70 per cent of Myanmar’s enumerated population were residing in rural areas and 30 per cent in urban areas.3 Yangon is Myanmar’s most urbanised region and accounts for about 35 per cent of the country’s urban population.4 In 2014, there were 5.2 million people living in the former capital but it is projected that Yangon will become a 10 million person megacity by 2040.5 Although in part a question of natural increase, migration is an important contributor to urbanisation in Myanmar as rural populations seek new lives and livelihoods in cities. This mirrors global trends toward the redistribution of population from rural to urban areas..."
Source/publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
2018-01-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.36 MB
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Description: "Prepared by Patrick Taran, President, website: www.globalmigrationpolicy.org email: [email protected] This paper does not necessarily reflect collective views of GMPA or of its member Associates."..."This address reviews the bigger picture, outlining what?s going down and why. The world of migration is being transformed; migration is transforming the world. Those who defend a rights and social protection centred approach need to fully assess reality to know what to do, and do it right.... In broad terms, migration is key to sustaining the world of work in the Twenty-First Century. Migration today is fundamentally about internationalized labour and skills mobility in a globalized world. As Ban Ki Moon (Secretary General of the United Nations) said, we?re in the age of mobility. 90% of all migration ?of all migrants-- is bound up in employment outcomes, in economic activity, meaning people who are either working or dependent on those who are. Migration is about people, and in a world dominated by a capitalist mode of economic relations, governing migration is inevitably about protection of people, about decent work for all, about social protection and ultimately about justice in our societies, for all people whether they are working or not. Migration today is key to the viability of labour markets worldwide. It is key to obtaining return on capital in a globalized capitalist economy. It is key to development yes, but especially, the viability, indeed the very survival of the developed economies depends on migration..."
Creator/author: Patrick Taran
Source/publisher: Global Migration Policy Associates
2014-10-30
Date of entry/update: 2017-07-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 283.92 KB
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Description: Executive Summary: "This report outlines patterns of migrant smuggling in Asia and presents evidence-based knowledge to guide policy and strengthen international cooperation. Developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, it is part of a series of knowledge products considering acute and far-reaching issues confronting governments and communities in South-East Asia, as part of an ongoing analytical and capacity-strengthening process. Migrant smuggling occurs against the backdrop of regional integration within Asia, which has created a rapid increase in the cross-border movement of people and goods. Countries often have a multifaceted relationship to the migration phenomenon, simultaneously serving as a source, transit and destination for regular and irregular migration. Although most migrant smuggling in the region takes place within Asia, smuggled migrants are also reaching destinations in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. The majority of smuggled migrants are young male adults but there are also a significant number of young women and children. While a range of factors motivate migration, such as family reunification or escaping (political) persecution, the majority of migrants are in pursuit of better economic opportunities. Smugglers are used when accessing legal channels for migration proves unsuccessful or remains difficult. Regular labour migration channels are typically inadequate, and therefore informal, unlicensed, and also licensed recruitment agencies exploit these shortcomings and fill in the gaps. In South-East Asia, labour opportunities are the primary driver for irregular migration, with male smuggled migrants taking on positions in manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries and construction. Female migration is also on the rise and often leads to work in domestic service, hospitality, entertainment or the sex industry. Irregular migrants are typically young and willing (and able) to face the risks associated with what can be a difficult journey. They can adapt to what sometimes are harsh work and living conditions in the destination country. However, families and unaccompanied minors are also migrating irregularly, which risks even more dramatic consequences. Smuggling is often a complex process with real dangers for the lives, health and safety of migrants. In addition to being far away from their home communities and in the destination country illegally, smuggled migrants find it difficult to assert their rights. They are more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and trafficking as well as susceptible to involvement in criminal activities. Despite the lack of comprehensive research or documentation, an estimated 40,000 irregular migrants have died worldwide since 2000. Smugglers of migrants are driven by profit and the complexity and level of organization of a journey depends on the intended destination and the amount a migrant is willing or able to pay. Smuggling networks have been reported to manage complex operations covering source, transit and destination countries. The majority of operations in Asia, however, take place on an ad hoc and less sophisticated basis. Active in a variety of roles, smugglers are involved as recruiters, transporters, accommodation providers, facilitators, enforcers, organizers and financiers. They can adapt quickly to changing circumstances and comprise a range of diverse backgrounds, nationalities and age groups. In many cases, the smugglers were once smuggled migrants..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
2015-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 8.07 MB 1.48 MB
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Description: "...The report covers migration dynamics in East and South-East Asia and is a collaborative effort by all the organizations that participate in the Regional Thematic Working Group, which is co-chaired by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the aim of which is to explore the complex inter-linkages between international migration and the process of economic, demographic and social development within the region. As such, it aspires to be a tool both for migration policy formulation in a comprehensive manner similar to, and consistent with the formulation of other development objectives, and for fostering understanding of social and cultural interaction. It is also hoped that the findings of this report will support public dialogue that will, in the long term, lead to a process of developing coherent and coordinated migration policies. The report suggests key areas in which there is scope for greater regional and subregional cooperation in improving the management of migration as well as for the enhancement of its positive impacts on the source and host countries and the migrants themselves..."
Source/publisher: International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
2008-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 3.73 MB
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Description: Contents: Foreword... Executive summary ... Introduction... 1 - Objective .... 2 - Methodology.... Part 1 - Myanmar?s cross-border trade.... 1 - Impact of sanctions on cross-border trade.... 2 - Local perceptions of cross-border trade.... 3 - The context of informal/illegal cross-border trade .... 4 - Illegal versus illicit products.... 5 - Costs and benefits of informal cross-border trade.... 6 - Case studies related to cross-border trade and its effects...... Part 2 - Cross-border mobility and human smuggling from Myanmar: 1 - Illegal border crossings... 2 - Causes and effects of cross-border mobility.... 3 - Costs and benefits of mobility .... Conclusion.....Executive summary: "Myanmar, the second biggest country in terms of area in mainland South East Asia, borders five neighboring countries: China, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, and Lao PDR. Myanmar?s longest borders are with China (approximately 1,357 miles) and Thailand (approximately 1,314 miles), and it shares coastal waters with Malaysia and Singapore. Being a member of at least nine Asia and Pacific inter-governmental organizations that include the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Upper Mekong Commercial Navigation, the Asia Pacific Fishery Commission, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT), and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar is actively involved in various economic cooperation programs. However, the pace of Myanmar?s economic development still lags behind that of other members in these organizations. In addition, informal activities and informal moment of goods and people have been quite significant due to many factors. Although various policy measures have been developed to mitigate these informal activities, there has not been any study regarding the sources of these informal activities, their costs and benefits, impacts and consequences of the existence and nonexistence of these activities, or how these activities could be mitigated without having significant negative economic and social impacts on the local people and the economy as the whole. Without knowing causes and effects, costs and benefits, and factors behind informal activities, it is not simple to come up with restrictive policies to control them. In some cases, restrictive policies have caused severe adverse social and economic impacts on the community. Hence, it is very important that proper research is conducted in order to identify multidimensional issues that could effectively be addressed by multidimensional policies through close cooperation among the stakeholders. This paper attempts to identify factors behind causes and effects of informal flows in goods and persons across the borders between Myanmar and its neighboring countries, especially China and Thailand, and to address related issues and possible policy implications."
Creator/author: Winston Set Aung
Source/publisher: Irasec (Carnet de l?Irasec / Occasional Paper S?rie Observatoire / Observatory Series No 04)
2011-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Abstract: "This paper focuses on the recent emergence of regional production networks and border industrial zones, the labor migrations they are generating, and their consequences for ?surplus populations? in the Greater Mekong Subregion (mainland Southeast Asia). In this region the textile and garment industry is employing increasing numbers of workers in border areas on flexible and highly precarious work ?contracts?. To understand these emergent labor formations we focus on three scales of analysis through a case study from the Thailand–Burma border. We focus on initiatives led by the Asia Development Bank, accompanying subregional political groupings which aim to facilitate capital flows and trade by reducing transaction time and cost, and a case study of labor recruitment and employment practices in one border town. In examining these three scales, we question the value of characterizing such trans-national, state-led, authoritarian, and racialized labor formations as neoliberal." Keywords: precarious labor,migration, Greater Mekong Subregion, Mae Sot, border industrial zones, racialization, textile and garment industry
Creator/author: Dennis Arnold, John Pickles
Source/publisher: Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA;
2011-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2011-11-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 167.24 KB
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Description: International Organization for Migration; International Labour Organization, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Development Fund for Women, United Nations Population Fund, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, World Health Organization, United Nations Children?s Fund, World Bank, United Nations Country Team in Thailand...Foreword: Transborder migration is a well-known phenomenon in Thailand. Over the past 30 years, Thailand has promoted and administered the export of its labour as well as hosted hundreds of thousands of nationals from neighbouring countries, who have fled their homelands due to war, internal conflict or national instability. Although the number of people seeking refuge has varied during different periods, Thailand has accommodated these displaced people on a humanitarian basis. In addition, the Royal Thai Government has regularly given refuge and assisted in times of crisis. The government has erected temporary shelter along the border to house them and provided security personnel. Repatriation and resettlement has been on-going. However, with conflict and instability persistent in certain areas, some of the displaced people have been unable to return home and today as many as 130,000 remain in the country. While many of its neighbours have had to deal with internal difficulties, over the past 20 years Thailand has seen remarkable progress in human development. Thailand has demonstrated its success in meeting most, if not all, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and has moved on to set more ambitious targets of MDG ?Plus” that go well beyond the internationally agreed MDGs. Thailand reached the international MDG poverty target of halving the proportion of people living in poverty between 1990 and 2015, and will achieve these goals well in advance of 2015. This economic success and development enjoyed by Thailand has attracted thousands of migrants from neighbouring countries looking for a better standard of living. Furthermore, it has shaped migration flows in the region. While 500,000 Thais are reported to be working overseas, it is estimated that there are more than two million migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar, Lao People?s Democratic Republic and Cambodia in Thailand, out of which 501,590 hold a valid work permit. In recent years, international migration is a topic of discussion high on the agenda of governments, the United Nations, international organisations and non-governmental organisations, due to its links to a broad range of economic, social and demographic issues. The United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPAF) 2007-2011 has embraced migration-related issues in its main areas of cooperation to promote the reduction of disparity and sustainable human development. The United Nations Thematic Working Group on International Migration, active since 2004, aims to implement migration-related joint activities in Thailand. Raising the profile of and facilitate better understanding on migration issues will improve the living and working conditions of migrants in Thailand in line with the UNPAF 2007-2011. The member agencies have been cooperating to create a better understanding and developing a common approach of the migration phenomena in Thailand by strengthening coordination mechanisms and information sharing among concerned United Nations agencies, in close cooperation with several Ministries of the Royal Thai Government. The Report is the result of joint collaboration among the members. The second edition (2009 report) has been prepared to review and analyze recent international migration trends and issues in Thailand. This edition is an update of the country?s migration situation report published in 2005. Many ministries and offices of the Royal Thai Government have also cooperated closely in the preparation of this report. It is our hope that this 2009 Report will provide valuable, up-to-date information that can be used in policy recommendations on international migration. Furthermore, it is anticipated that this report will be of value to the Royal Thai Government, the United Nations, international organisations and non-governmental organisations in the formulation of policies and implementation of programmes that affect the lives of displaced people, migrant workers and their children and that pave the way for effective migration management.
Creator/author: Rosalia Sciortino, Sureeporn Punpuing
Source/publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM) et al
2009-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 18.6 MB
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Description: "...Responding to chronic labour shortages in the oil rich Arab states in the 1970s and 1980s, some Asian states have been among the first to develop an active overseas employment or labour migration policy that seeks to provide protection to its nationals working abroad, relieve domestic unemployment and augment foreign exchange earnings. This volume looks at recent trends in labour migration in Asia, the issues and challenges faced by migrants and countries of origin, and policy responses by the state.The report contains articles by labour migration specialists at the ILO, IOM and the APMRN (Asia Pacific Migration Research Network) and includes a compendium of labour migration polices and practices in nine major Asian labour sending states... Table of Contents : Preface * Part I - International Labour Migration in Asia: Trends, Characteristics, Policy and Interstate Cooperation * Protection of Migrant Workers in Asia: Issues and Policies * Capacity building and Interstate Cooperation to Protect Migrant Workers and Facilitate Orderly Labour Migration * Part II - Compendium of Labour Migration Policies and Practices in Major Asian Labour Sending Countries..."
Source/publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
2003-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Summary: "Migration for work has become a way of life for thousands of poorly educated, largely unskilled villagers in Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. They leave home for a variety of reasons most often related to family difficulties, lack of land for agriculture and a general lack of employment opportunities in their region. Migrants of all ages often travel without legal travel documents, sometimes dependent on paid brokers, to find work in Thailand that may involve dirty, dangerous or poor living and working conditions without access to health care. Among their numbers are children as young as 10 and adolescents, and single females, who are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. While some migrants return home with money to pay for a new house or shop or consumer goods, others return only to find they are still faced with economic hardships that lead them to migrate again. Reliable information is generally unavailable to villagers in advance of their departure and they leave home without adequate understanding of travel requirements, employment opportunities and the risks of traveling and living abroad. Few migrants knew of any organization they could contact for information, advice or advocacy abroad. While there have been some gains in passport use and awareness of the risks, migration for work in the five countries surveyed remains a dangerous way of life."
Source/publisher: Social Environment Research Consultants (SERC)
2010-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-05-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 191.51 KB
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Description: "Migration not infrequently gets a bad press. Negative stereotypes portraying migrants as ‘stealing our jobs? or ‘scrounging off the taxpayer? abound in sections of the media and public opinion, especially in times of recession. For others, the word ‘migrant? may evoke images of people at their most vulnerable. This year?s Human Development Report, Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development, challenges such stereotypes. It seeks to broaden and rebalance perceptions of migration to reflect a more complex and highly variable reality. This report breaks new ground in applying a human development approach to the study of migration. It discusses who migrants are, where they come from and go to, and why they move. It looks at the multiple impacts of migration for all who are affected by it—not just those who move, but also those who stay. In so doing, the report?s findings cast new light on some common misconceptions. For example, migration from developing to developed countries accounts for only a minor fraction of human movement. Migration from one developing economy to another is much more common. Most migrants do not go abroad at all, but instead move within their own country. Next, the majority of migrants, far from being victims, tend to be successful, both before they leave their original home and on arrival in their new one. Outcomes in all aspects of human development, not only income but also education and health, are for the most part positive— some immensely so, with people from the poorest places gaining the most. Reviewing an extensive literature, the report finds that fears about migrants taking the jobs or lowering the wages of local people, placing an unwelcome burden on local services, or costing the taxpayer money, are generally exaggerated. When migrants? skills complement those of local people, both groups benefit. Societies as a whole may also benefit in many ways—ranging from rising levels of technical innovation to increasingly diverse cuisine to which migrants contribute. The report suggests that the policy response to migration can be wanting. Many governments institute increasingly repressive entry regimes, turn a blind eye to health and safety violations by employers, or fail to take a lead in educating the public on the benefits of immigration. By examining policies with a view to expanding people?s freedoms rather than controlling or restricting human movement, this report proposes a bold set of reforms. It argues that, when tailored to country-specific contexts, these changes can amplify human mobility?s already substantial contributions to human development. The principal reforms proposed centre around six areas, each of which has important and complementary contributions to make to human development: opening up existing entry channels so that more workers can emigrate; ensuring basic rights for migrants; lowering the transaction costs of migration; finding solutions that benefit both destination communities and the migrants they receive; making it easier for people to move within their own countries; and mainstreaming migration into national development strategies. The report argues that while many of these reforms are more feasible than at first thought, they nonetheless require political courage. There may also be limits to governments? ability to make swift policy changes while the recession persists..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
2009-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Executive Summary: "The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), with a population of 260 million, comprises Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Yunnan province in China. Despite marked disparities in economic development between its members, the sub-region is extremely dynamic with annual growth rates averaging above 6 percent in recent years. In the past, economic integration of the GMS countries was hindered by political factors, civil unrest, and sometimes open conflict. However, recently there has been growing momentum to seek new ways to cooperate and enhance economic growth. Labor migration is one of the areas where the benefits to formal cooperation are largest, yet the institutional, political, and technical obstacles to such cooperation are daunting. Migration has been occurring in the GMS for centuries, largely in an informal and unregulated fashion. In recent years, however, cross-border labor migration within the sub-region has increased sharply. The combination of demographic transition and upgrading of the skills of its workforce has left Thailand facing a labor shortage of unskilled labor, which migrants from neighboring countries have been more than willing to fill. Indeed, Thailand?s much higher incomes, fast growth, and more favorable social and political climate act as a magnet for people in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar trying to escape poverty. For many poor households in the sub-region, migration offers an avenue, sometimes the only one, towards jobs and higher incomes, albeit often at a high risk to the migrants themselves. For Thailand, migrants represent an important reservoir of cheap and flexible labor, and a boost to its competitiveness in certain sectors. Recent research indicates that more than 2 million migrants have moved between GMS countries in the last few years due to economic reasons. Thailand alone estimates to have 1.5 to 2 million regular and irregular migrants from the GMS currently living in the country and is also home to about 150,000 refugees. Uneven patterns of development, slowing population growth in Thailand combined with high fertility rates in its neighbors and growing economic integration will ensure that labor mobility in the GMS continues to grow in coming decades. Much of this migration, however, will remain irregular unless greater efforts are made to regulate and manage migration flows. The sending countries generally lack the capacity to properly manage the mass export of labor and to protect the rights of their migrant-nationals abroad. Receiving countries have fairly weak migration policy frameworks, which often have been implemented hastily as an ‘after-the-fact? response to the arrival of large numbers of migrants. The lack of a legal framework to regulate migration puts migrant workers at a higher risk of abuse, and strengthens the prevalence of smuggling rings, who are also the main actors in human trafficking, be it for sexual exploitation or slave-labor. Absence of an adequate legal and policy framework thus contributes to increasing the costs (and risks) of migration, and to reducing its benefits. GMS governments in both sending and receiving countries face an urgent need to adopt policies that can help manage the increased flows in an efficient yet humane and equitable way."
Source/publisher: World Bank?
2006-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-01-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 916.73 KB
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Description: RECOMMENDATIONS: "1. International migration policies should be aligned with other economic and social development policies. The Government should consider producing a policy document on international migration and incorporating its recommendations... 2. Because of the broad range of migration issues that Thailand is facing, the Kingdom would benefit from a national comprehensive migration management system, with an appropriate coordination mechanism, that would deal with all types of migration (asylum seekers, regular migrants and irregular migrants) in an integrated manner... 3. The Thai Government should re-establish a border screening mechanism such as the Provincial Admissions Boards in order to provide a means to determine which persons crossing the border from Myanmar are legitimate asylum seekers and deserve the protection of the border camps or the protection afforded those fleeing political persecution. The Government should broaden the concept of persons deserving asylum from those ?fleeing fighting” to the definition of a refugee spelled out in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees... 4. Thailand would benefit from developing and implementing a strategy that would give Thai overseas workers a higher level of comparative advantage by targeting more technical occupations... 5. The process of registering for a work permit in Thailand should be simplified and made less expensive through cooperation among the ministries concerned. The Thai Government should articulate the rights and obligations of migrant workers and their dependents. Sanctions should also be applied to employers and others who withhold original registration documents or work permits. The Ministry of Interior should allow for on-going or renewed registration periods for migrants coupled with adequate publicity campaigns... 6. The Ministry of Labour should carry out a programme of pro-active random inspection of workplaces to ensure that they are complying with labour regulations and standards, including the timely payment of mandated wages... 7. The Ministry of Labour and the police should be more pro-active in investigating workplaces thought to have trafficked persons and those subjecting workers to abuse and exploitation. When enforcing laws against trafficking, forced labour and slavery-like conditions, care should be taken to protect the victims of such practices... 8. HIV/AIDS information and prevention programmes should target such mobile and difficult-to-reach populations as migrant sex workers, seafarers and other migrant workers. More cross-border intervention programmes should be implemented. 9. More comprehensive and higher quality research is required in many areas of international migration affecting Thailand in order to strengthen policy formulation and programme implementation. More research is required on:  The number and characteristics of Thai nationals overseas;  The number and characteristics of the unregistered migrant population in Thailand;  The situation of children of migrants and migrant children in Thailand without their parents;  The volume and types of trafficking to Thailand;  The incidence and prevalence of HIV/AIDS among migrants;  Effective intervention programmes for migrants in vulnerable situations."
Creator/author: Jerrold W. Huguet, Sureeporn Punpuing
Source/publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
2005-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-09-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 953.21 KB
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Description: Introduction; ; Notes on terminology;; Popular myths about migrant workers; Labour Migration: Causes and Origins; Reasons for migration; Why do workers migrate? Why do labour-sending countries promote labour migration? What are the economic and structura factors causing migration? Options for countries facing labour shortages; Labour Migration from Asia: Flows and Trends; Migration statistics and data; Migration patterns and trends; Recent trends in Asian labour migration; Most Vulnerable Categories of Migrant Workers in Asia; Women workers: domestic workers and entertainers; Trafficked persons; Irregular migrants; Migrant Workers ? Scapegoats of the Asian Economic Crisis? Protecting ‘the Least Protected?: Some Issues; Protection of migrant workers and international instruments; Protection of migrant workers against abuses and malpractices remains a high priority; Dilemma of labour-sending countries: Promotion of labour emigration and protection of national workers abroad; What role can trade unions play in the protection of migrant workers? Policy Implications and Options.
Creator/author: Piyasiri Wickramasekera
Source/publisher: International Labour Office
2002-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-05-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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