Look At Migrant Workers Too, NGOs Tells Asean Leaders

February 17, 2009

BANGKOK, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- Asean Leaders have been asked to look at the plight of about 20 million migrant workers in the region in the wake of the global economic slowdown, and not just devote time and resources to help big corporations and financial institutions to weather the crisis.

Debbie Stothard, media coordinator for the Asean Peoples' Forum, (APF), said the slowdown would have major implications for more than 45 million migrants in Asia, up to 20 million of whom are "intra-regional" workers in Southeast Asia and East Asia.

"Most Asean countries, if not all, have their citizens working in another Asean member country or other regions. We had seen huge problem faced by such workers during the 1997 financial crisis in the region," she said in an interview, ahead of the APF and Fourth Asean Civil Society Conference to be held here from Friday, a week before the 14th Asean Summit in Hua Hin.

Stothard, who is also the coordinator of Altsean-Burma (the Alternative Asean Network on Burma), said thousands of workers, both with work permits and illegals, were expected to lose their jobs in the coming months and this could put more pressure on the host and country of origin of these workers.

She said Malaysia had already announced that it would deport about 100,000 Indonesian migrants while Thailand viewed such migrants as a threat to security and was planning a major crackdown.

"The reality is that countries like Malaysia and Thailand have their own workers working in neighbouring countries, as well as being home to other migrants. Even if they don't care for foreign workers, they have to think about their own citizens who are likely to lose their jobs and return home," she said.

Stothard said the implications would be severe as migrant workers were sending millions of dollars to their families at home, which was a big portion of some country's foreign revenue, especially the Philippines.

Unfortunately, she said, not many governments were paying attention to the plight of these workers and instead were pumping in billions under stimulus packages to help banks and auto industries.

"This is a short-sighted view. One element of the economy which is non-negotiable is the people...you can run a business without technology or big money but not without humans," she said, adding that the planned Asean Economic Community and a borderless region would not become reality if migrant workers were not taken into consideration.

Stothard said that in some countries like Malaysia and Singapore, migrants were doing jobs shunned by locals, such as working as maids, and they contributed indirectly to the economy. -- BERNAMA