Logout
Welcome
Edit News Article
Title
*
Select Subject
Working Conditions
Wages
Construction workers
Bonded labourers
Welfare schemes
Social security
Unorganised sector workers
Minority communities
Id cards for migrant workers
Trafficking
Slum dwellers
Seasonal workers
Contract system of labour
Employment
Child labour
Children of migrant workers
Trade union
Migrants Crisis
Demonetisation
None
Description
One of the many signs of growing economic integration in Southeast Asia is a surge in labor migration. While not as high as migration flows elsewhere in the world, the number of people in the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who have moved within the region to work in another ASEAN country has trebled in the past 20 years to 7 million, including some undocumented migrants. ASEAN countries, which signaled their desire for deeper integration with the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, should improve their policies to manage migration so that labor mobility benefits both the migrants and the rest of their populations. Migrants as well as the countries that receive and send them have benefited from this integration of labor markets. Migrants can use their skills more fully and earn much more. Receiving countries, such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, are able to alleviate labor shortages. Sending countries, such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, gain from remittances that help lift families and communities out of poverty. This movement across borders has also brought challenges. Estimates suggest as much as 50-60% of all migrants in Malaysia and Thailand lack proper documentation. While such informal migration exposes migrants to abuse, it dominates the region's major migration corridors, including those between Thailand and Cambodia; Laos and Myanmar; and Indonesia and Malaysia. Recent research by the World Bank, published in its "Migrating to Opportunity" report, confirms that the benefits of intra-ASEAN migration could be even greater. There are missed opportunities that reduce these benefits -- both to migrants, especially the unskilled, and to the affected countries. Overly complex and uncoordinated policies as well as ineffective institutions are at the root of the problems. The systems that countries use in managing migration need to take account of the forces that determine how and why people move across borders in search of better economic prospects. Migration within ASEAN, which has an overall population of 630 million, is driven largely by economic factors. Average wages in Singapore are at least five times those of any other ASEAN country. A Cambodian worker can earn three times more in Thailand. The pace of aging also varies significantly across the region. The median age in Singapore, the "oldest" ASEAN country, is nearly twice that of Laos, the region's "youngest" country. As these gaps in wages and demographic structures persist, people will continue to move across borders within ASEAN. The benefits from labor mobility are large. Migrant workers contribute to higher growth in receiving countries such as Malaysia and Thailand by providing needed labor. In Malaysia, the entry of 10 migrant workers into a state leads to the employment of five additional Malaysian workers. Because they cost less, migrant workers help reduce production costs, thereby increasing output and creating more jobs for local workers with complementary skills. Unskilled migrant workers also likely have only a slight impact on the wages of the local population. In Thailand and Malaysia, for example, high-skilled local workers are likely to earn slightly more due to the presence of foreign workers, while wages of their low-skilled counterparts will be reduced slightly by the migration of foreign workers. The impact on growth rates can be more significant. Estimates for Malaysia show that a 10% increase in low-skilled immigrant workers increases gross domestic product by about 1.1%. Without migrant workers, a recent estimate shows that Thailand's GDP would decline by 0.75%.
Keywords
Growing, economic integration, labor migration, migration, undocumented migrants, policies, labor mobility, populations, Malaysia, shortages.
Upload Image
(only .gif or .jpeg files or .x-png files. Max upload size is 20MB)
Source
Display in both Policy and News
No
Yes
Enter Video url/Embed Code :
Url
Embedded Code
External Link URL
Status
Active
Inactive
Show On Home Page
Yes
No