PHILIPP I NE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Surian sa mga Pag-aaral Pangkaunlaran ng Pilipinas
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
Vol. XXV No.3
May - June 2007
ISSN 0115-9097
Understanding international labor migration in East Asia*
Editor's Notes Labor migration is a subject that is very familiar to most Filipinos. Rare now is a Filipino who does not have a kin who is working or permanently migrated abroad. More than any nation in East Asia, the Philippines has the most number of migrant workers with more than 4.75 million (2004 figures) distributed in 190 countries around the world. Every
Chia Siow Yue**
year, about 1 million Filipinos leave to work overseas. Our nearest “rival,� Indonesia (whose population is nearly triple that of the Philippines’), has about 2 million workers abroad. Indeed, labor migration is a global phenomenon and already an accepted way of life in many developing countries. But, as the proponents of the research project on understanding international labor migration in East Asia reveal, the subject has not been given much
T
his is a regional project funded by the East Asian Development Network (EADN), which was established in 1996 with full funding initially by the World Bank and subsequently by the Global Development Network. The EADN provides research funding for individual proposals as well as selective regional projects engaged in cross-country comparative studies. Among the regional projects funded are Social Effects of the Asian Financial Crisis, Income Distribution in East Asia, and International Labor Migration in East Asia.
attention in terms of research, especially in the perspective of economic integration. The project studies, some of which are featured in this issue, examined both the economic and sociological dimensions of labor migration. Closer to home, this assertion is echoed somewhat by the Scalabrini
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What's Inside 5
The phenomenon of semi- to low-skilled temporary migration in East Asia
16 Hong Kong: still a favored destination of Filipino migrant workers
18 International labor migration needs stronger linkage with development policies 19 RP does well in keeping bird flu at bay
The International Labor Migration project was conceived in late 2002. It was recognized that labor migration was becoming a growing phenomenon in East Asia and was one aspect of regional economic integration that did not receive adequate research attention. Much has been researched on regional trade integration and regional investment flows. Much has also been researched on labor migration but not from the perspective of economic integration. The project, by examining both the economic and sociological dimensions, also meets the EADN objective of promoting multidisciplinary research. The project covered altogether seven countries: two from Northeast Asia (Hong Kong and South Korea) and five from Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam). Due to inadequate financial resources and difficulties of identifying country-specific researchers, not all East Asian countries were covered in the study. As originally
An overview of the project presented during the International Conference on East Asian Labor Migration, 9 March 2007, C.P. Romulo Hall, NEDA sa Makati Building. *
Currently Senior Research Fellow of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, and Founding Regional Coordinator of the East Asian Development Network. **
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conceived, there were supposed to be two studies focusing on the sociological dimensions of labor migration, one on Hong Kong and the other on the Philippines. Regrettably, the Philippines' sociological paper was never completed. The final country study was completed only about a year ago, after much delay. Further delays were encountered before we could have this dissemination conference in Manila, organized and hosted by PIDS. Analytical framework The country studies did not follow a common framework because the project would like to get a wide spectrum of experiences. Thus, each country author focused on what he/she saw as the key issues from the country perspective. Nevertheless, a framework for analysis was developed to guide the various country researchers. Amid the growing integration in East Asia through trade, investment, and capital flows, driven by market forces and in the past decade by government initiatives as well, two main research questions are worth investigating. One has to do with where intra-regional labor flows fit into the picture. Do they supplant, complement, or substi-
Table 1. Population, income level, and unemployment level, 2004 Country
Per capita income (US$)
Population (in million)
Unemployment rate (in percent)
Japan
37,180
127.8
Hong Kong
26,810
6.8
6.8
Singapore
24,220
4.3
3.4
South Korea
13,980
48.1
3.5
Taiwan
13,980
22.9
4.4
Malaysia
4,650
25.2
3.5
Thailand
2,540
62.4
2.1
China
1,290
1296.5
1.1
Philippines
1,170
83.0
11.8
Indonesia
1,140
217.6
9.9
550
82.2
5.6
Vietnam Laos
390
5.8
Cambodia
320
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tute for flows in goods and services, and in finance? And what are the prospects and challenges for regional cooperation? Second, what are the determinants of the growing phenomenon of intra-regional migration. What trends and patterns can be discerned? What are the economic and social impacts of labor migration? The conceptual framework to explain labor migration is based on the Todaro-Lewis model of rural-urban migration applied to an international setting. The model states that people and workers migrate from rural to urban areas within a country largely for the economic motive although there are also noneconomic and sociological motives. The economic motive is to get a better job or a better paying job. Sometimes, though, these workers migrate without much information about the labor market in the new destination and hence may remain unemployed for a considerable time, thus falling into the informal sector for economic survival. Extending this model into a crosscountry scenario helps explain why workers migrate from one country to another, that is, in search of employment and better paying employment. Another approach is to look at the push and pull factors of international labor migration. What are the factors that push people outwards? And what are the pull factors that attract people to work in the US, Japan, or Singapore? How important are government immigration and employment policies in the push-pull factors? Some of the push factors pertain to demographics. Rapid population growth in an environment of slow economic growth, investment, and job creation, lead to a labor surplus situation with high unemployment and low wages. If we look at the development, population, income, and unemployment levels of the labor-sending and receiving countries, we can see a certain pattern (Table 1). Sending countries in East Asia are usually those at the bottom of the development ladder with high unemployment rates, namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Viet Nam. In addition, Indonesia, the Philippines, and
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
Viet Nam also have large populations of working and nonworking poor. In contrast, the labor-receiving countries have to import labor because they are short of it. The main receiving countries include Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. Some can be considered as both sending and receiving countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. The pull factors are availability of jobs and better wage levels. For instance, Filipino workers are attracted to work in Japan because not only can they get jobs there but better paying jobs as well. The project also looks at the various types of labor migrants and migration. The worker sometimes falls into the cracks of the informal sector. Many of those who overstay after their visas have expired become illegal migrants. Then, there are also those who entered a country illegally and become undocumented workers. We can make a distinction between temporary labor migration and permanent labor migration. A lot of Filipinos migrate to the US for permanent settlement. That type of migration is not covered in this project, which focuses only on temporary migration for work. In reality, the distinction is not airtight as temporary migrants could eventually become permanent migrants. There is also an important distinction between two types of temporary labor migration. One is migration of the professionals and skilled, or “brains”. The other is the migration of the unskilled and semi-skilled. The distinction is important because government policies toward them are different as they have different effects on sending and receiving countries. It is also important to look at the characteristics of migrant labor. One characteristic in recent decades is the growing number of female labor migrants. For example, in the Philippines, more and more women are moving abroad to seek employment as healthcare workers, entertainment workers, and domestic helpers. Another character-
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istic is the sectoral and occupational distribution of migrant labor. In some cases, they can be found in the manufacturing sector of the receiving country. In other cases, they go into the agricultural and fisheries sectors. We can also find an increasing number of workers in the construction and services sectors. The focus of governments and nongovernment organizations is to ensure that the unskilled and semi-skilled foreign workers receive adequate social and legal protection from their employers and host countries. Labor migrants who entered the country illegally or overstay their visas and work permits pose a problem for governments of receiving countries. There is also the growing phenomenon of many foreign professional and skilled workers in the region associated with the growth in foreign direct investment. Many of them are intra-corporate transferees, that is, senior employees of multinational corporations (MNCs) deployed to work in various overseas subsidiaries. Some of them are recruited independently by host countries to meet specific skills shortages. Host governments usually regard such “brains” inflows more positively and many of them have the opportunity to become permanent residents and citizens. Labor migration trends and effects If we look at the 2004 figures, they show that the Philippines has about 4.75 million migrant workers distributed in the Middle East, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Migrant workers from Indonesia are approximately 2 million and they can be found in the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Myanmar has 1.1 million in Thailand. Migrant workers from South Korea, totaling about 0.63 million, can mostly be found in Japan. Thailand has about 0.34 million who can be found in the Middle East, Taiwan, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia. Viet Nam has about the same number (0.34 million) found in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia. For China, their migrant workers are much more dispersed. Their 0.53 million migrant workers can be found in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The Middle East attracted a lot of migrant labor
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from East Asia in the 1980s because of the oil boom and East Asia had a lot of surplus labor then. When the oil boom ended, many of the surplus labor relocated to within East Asia itself. Now that we have another Middle East oil boom, we can expect more workers from East Asia going to the Middle East again. Analyzing the economic and social effects of international labor migration is important, although inadequate data make the task of measurement difficult. One of the economic effects for the sending country, especially in the case of the Philippines, is remittances. These have both plusses and minuses. Remittances raise domestic savings and investments and lessen foreign exchange constraints. However, too much dependence on remittances could result in what is called the Dutch disease. (The term “Dutch disease� was coined from the experience of the Netherlands in the 1970s when it was producing and exporting a lot of oil and earning much from oil revenues that it
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inflated the exchange rate and disadvantaged the manufacturing sector’s international competitiveness.) The Philippines could become overly dependent on remittances that it strengthens the peso and disadvantaged manufacturing exports. Too much dependence on exporting labor also leads to policy inertia to create domestic jobs. In terms of social effects, sociologists would normally focus on the impacts at the micro level. What happened to households and families? Migration results in many dysfunctional families. Because of the remittances that come into the households, there is a widening of the income gap between households with remittances and households without remittances. The consumption pattern likewise becomes distorted. It would be ideal if migrant workers can make good use of their earnings from abroad instead of engaging in wasteful consumption and unwise investments. It is the same thing at the country level. What can a country do about remittances? Remittances are a very important source of savings and foreign exchange and should be put into productive use. Meanwhile, what about the effects of labor migration on the receiving countries? They also benefit, as foreign labor relieves the labor shortage. But in some cases, foreign workers are also viewed with resentment by some classes when they are taking away local jobs. Sometimes, migrant workers are also seen as competing with the local population for health services, housing, public transport, and the like. As a result, the supposedly smooth relationship between the migrant community and the host community becomes muddled. It is therefore very important to design appropriate policies and regularly exchange information so that we can have a smooth transition as much as possible.
Dr. Chia Siow Yue (third from left), coordinator of the East Asia Developent Network Project on Labor Migration and East Asia Integration, speaks on how the right mix of development policies among receiving and sending countries in East Asia is crucial to ensure that both sides will continue to benefit from labor migration. Also in the photo are (from left) Dr. Mario B. Lamberte, former president of PIDS, Dr. Yongyuth Chalamwong from the Thailand Development Research Institute Foundation, and Dr. Josef T. Yap, PIDS president.
My personal take is that labor migration is a plus for both sending and receiving countries provided that there is the right policy mix and the right attitudes. One can then maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages. DRN
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The phenomenon of semi- to low-skilled temporary migration in East Asia
K
orea and Malaysia share one thing in common—the influx of semi- to low-skilled temporary workers from Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines who are paid low wages. Meanwhile, Thailand is a natural magnet for economic refugees from neighboring countries. These refugees—many of them with low skills— also eventually find jobs in local industries that employ cheap labor.
This article provides a glimpse on the phenomenon of semi- to low-skilled labor migration in these countries as culled from the country papers prepared by Chin Hee Hahn and Yong-Seok Choi ("The effects of the temporary foreign worker program in Korea: overview and empirical assessment"), Yongyuth Chalamwong ("Cross-border migration into Thailand"), Carunia Mulya Firdausy ("Economic integration and labor flows from Indonesia to East Asia"), Vijayakumari Kanapathy ("High-skilled versus low-skilled labour migration: managing a complex agenda in Malaysia"), and Vu Quoc Huy ("Viet Namese temporary migration for overseas employment").
high wages of Korean workers. The need to train foreign workers for overseas branches arising from the globalization of big Korean production firms also intensified the clamor for foreign unskilled workers.
These papers trace the interrelationship between the stages of economic development, labor market, and demand for migrant workers; the economic, social, and other impacts of labor migration; and the migration policies undertaken by the governments of these countries to manage labor migration.
Despite opposition from labor unions, the importation of foreign workers was approved by the Korean government in 1991 with the introduction of the Industrial and Technical Training Program. Under this program, foreign workers in overseas Korean companies may be trained in Korea for six months up to one year.
Korea: Temporary workers as “trainees” Korea experienced rapid economic boom in the late 1980s that resulted in the rise of wages. There were also changes in the labor supply brought about by the demand for foreign workers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that cannot afford the
The program, however, was not successful in meeting the demand for foreign cheap labor of SMEs and was beneficial only to large companies that have foreign subsidies and capital to acquire equipment and technology. Thus, in 1993, the Industrial Trainee System, taken as the expanded application
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of the Industrial and Technical Training Program, was put into fore. This system answered the labor shortage of SMEs particularly in the manufacturing sector and paved the way for the entry of thousands of foreign workers as trainees. The training period was also extended from the original six months to one year and may be extended for another one year. While they are called “trainees,” they are, in reality, “real workers” in Korea but without the legal protection provided to legal employees. With no social insurance and receiving low compensation, issues of forced labor, unjust working hours, and the like hound the lives of these unskilled foreign workers. In 1995, industrial trainees were given industrial accident compensation and health insurance. The coverage of the Labor Standard Act was also extended to unskilled foreign workers. The Act prohibited forced labor and violence and promoted adherence to the mandated working hours. In the same year, industrial trainees were also included in the Minimum Wage Law. Two years later, the Employment Training System was introduced, which allowed workers with specific qualifications and who have finished two years of training to work for one more year with a legal employee status under the E8 visa. Holders of this type of visa made up almost half of the employee visa holders in 2002. The Yearbook of Migration Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice of Korea showed that the textile manufacturing industry gets the bulk of industrial trainees each year. The E1 to E7 (employee) visa, on the other hand, is given to foreigners in the category of professional and technical workers. Holders of the E1 to E7 visa only comprise a small number. They usually come from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. Trainee visa holders are usually from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
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The majority of foreign workers in Korea are overstayers. They have reached 73 percent of the total foreign workers in 2002 and are partly one of the main reasons why the Employment Training System was introduced. Most of the male overstayers work in the manufacturing and construction sectors while most of the female overstayers are employed in the hotel and restaurant industry as well as in manufacturing. How do these migrant semi-skilled workers affect the local workforce? According to Chin Hee Hahn and Yong-Seok Choi in the study, “The effects of temporary foreign workers program in Korea: overview and empirical assessment,” male semi-skilled craft workers, assemblers, and machine operators are the most negatively affected by the influx of foreign industrial trainees. Meanwhile, male and female low-skilled Korean workers showed relative gains in employment share in industries where industrial trainees are many in number. However, the gains have not been strong enough to attain complementarity between the lowskilled Korean workers and the foreign trainees. As to the decrease in wages of low-skilled Korean workers, the study did not arrive at any strong evidence to confirm such scenario. Nonetheless, it did not discount the possibility that it could exist. With the continuing success of the Korean economy, it cannot be denied that foreign workers play an important role. Relevant policies should be put in place to ensure that temporary workers will not create any adverse effect on the Korean economy, particularly on the local workers. Such policies should also nurture the complementarities between the two groups. Concrete policies that will address the problem of the growing number of overstayers, without hampering the sustainability of temporary workers, should likewise be given attention. Malaysia: Where temporary workers outnumber outgoing immigrants While many of the highly professional and skilled Malaysians have opted to pursue their dreams abroad, their number is not
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yet a cause for alarm. Recent years have witnessed the favorable results of the country’s “brain gain” campaign. Nevertheless, it is clear that having a stable economy is crucial to entice more Malaysians to come back and apply their acquired knowledge and skills in their home country.
wave of temporary labor migration. From 500,000 work permit holders in 1993, the figure rose to 1.5 million in 1997. However, official estimates of irregular workers placed their total to nearly a million, bringing to 2.5 million the total number of migrant workers in Malaysia.
Malaysia, for its part, has attracted a huge number of migrant workers because it offers better work opportunities and pays higher salaries. In the paper, “High-skilled versus lowskilled labour migration: managing a complex agenda in Malaysia,” Vijayakumari Kanapathy noted that these are the pull factors that attract migrant workers into Malaysia in contrast to the push factors of aggravating unemployment, low wages, and worsening economic condition in their home countries. Sociocultural factors also play a big role in the surge of foreign workers from neighboring countries. One such example is Indonesia, which has a long history of sociocultural ties with Malaysia. This link encourages the continuing arrival of migrant workers and their families.
The 1997 Asian crisis, though, put a brief halt to this labor migration. Not only was the entry of migrant workers banned in Malaysia but many foreign workers were also retrenched and repatriated to their home countries.
Twenty-two percent of the total Malaysian labor force is comprised of 2.5 million temporary migrant workers. About 98 percent of them are low-skilled workers earning less than RM2,500 per month while 50 percent are considered irregular (or illegal) workers.
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When the recovery period began, another wave of temporary labor migration followed albeit in a much slower pace. By 2000, registered workers numbered 800,000, from 1.5 million in 1997. Revised immigration laws (which include amnesty and implementation of stricter penalties on both employee and employer) also decreased the number of irregular workers. There has also been a new trend in Malaysia to source migrant workers from different countries. Greater emphasis is also now given to skills training of migrant workers. Partly due to the inaction of the government, many irregular temporary workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand are able to enter Malaysia and even bring their families. The weak understand-
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2006/03/551485/
Semi- to low-skilled contract workers are issued visit passes for temporary employment and are subject to a strict set of criteria in order to regulate their entry, residence, and employment. They are also not allowed to bring their dependents to Malaysia. Labor shortages in the agriculture sector opened the door to the first wave of foreign workers’ migration into Malaysia back in the 1970s. More batches arrived in the latter part of the decade when the construction sector suffered serious labor shortages due to the emigration of many Malaysian construction workers to newly industrialized countries offering higher wages. The economic boom in Malaysia from the period 1986 to 1998 ushered the second
Greater emphasis is now given to skills training of migrant workers in Malaysia.
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http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes
To control their growing numbers, temporary migrant workers are persuaded to register without the threat of deportation. Enhanced surveillance on unauthorized entry and employment, as well as imposition of harsh penalties on both the irregular migrants and their employers, were also put in place.
Crackdown of illegal migrants has resulted to thousands of arrest in Malaysia.
ing by the government of the migration dynamics of low-skilled workers and its lack of experience in handling their entry and employment also helped perpetuate this cycle of unauthorized migration. Time-consuming procedures and higher transaction costs are what illegal migrants usually give as reasons for circumventing the legal process. Many are enticed to follow the same route because despite their illegal status, they have the flexibility to change jobs and the opportunity to work in a secondary market that prefers cheaper workers for shorter periods (but) minus the benefits. On the downside, irregular migrants are more susceptible to exploitation, live in poor conditions that may expose them to highly contagious diseases, and can be easily tempted to engage in criminal acts when left unemployed. Current estimates of irregular migrants in Malaysia stood at 1.2 million in 2004; 700,000 of them are Indonesians. Their “positive” effect is felt in their contribution to the growth of the Malaysian economy and in assuaging the imbalances in the labor market. Recent crackdown of these overstaying workers created serious negative effects on key industries and promoted the fear that the economic slowdown may aggravate. While there was a plan to legalize illegal migrants, this did not materialize.
The amnesty program, however, did not end the problem and only increased the number of illegal workers. It was also regarded by many as a weakness on the part of the Malaysian government. Thus, further amendments to the immigration laws were enacted, such as the increase of the penalty for employers, from RM5,000 to RM10,000, when found guilty of hiring irregular migrants and imprisonment of one to five years when convicted. Proving to be still ineffective, further revisions were passed in August 2002 by including a fine of RM10,000 or imprisonment of irregular workers for not more than five years or both, and caning of not more than six strokes. Females, however, are exempted from caning. Building owners or tenants and project owners are also imposed fines and imprisonment when found guilty. “Hire first and fire last” is the main policy applied to all Malaysian nationals with respect to the hiring of low-skilled temporary migrant workers. There should also first be proof, by virtue of advertising the position, that no Malaysian local(s) can take on the vacancy. In the event of retrenchment, temporary migrant workers should also be the first ones to go. Malaysia has also fostered several bilateral agreements with Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and the Philippines to ensure the orderly recruitment and repatriation of workers should the need arise. With the Philippines, it is for the importation of domestic helpers while plantation and construction workers are to be sourced from Thailand and Bangladesh. Work permits crucial to be given legal work status in Malaysia are issued with a corresponding timeframe primarily to send the message to employers that foreign workers are just a temporary solution to the labor shortage.
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Time-consuming procedures and higher transaction costs are what illegal migrants usually give as reasons for circumventing the legal process. Many are enticed to follow the same route because despite their illegal status, they have the flexibility to change jobs and the opportunity to work in a secondary market that prefers cheaper workers for shorter periods. For temporary workers, the permit is valid for one year and renewable yearly for a maximum of three years. For skilled workers, it can be extended for an additional two years. Employers can also request for extension of more than five years if they can provide a justification six months prior to the expiration of the permit that their workers are skilled. However, only the manufacturing, services, construction, plantation, and domestic sectors can renew their workers. There is also a limitation on the nationality of the workers that may be rehired by these sectors. For example, workers from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Vietnam are eligible for rehiring except in the domestic sector. Those from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan can be rehired but not in the plantation and domestic sectors. Workers from India can be rehired only for the domestic and plantation sectors. Those from the Philippines and Indonesia can be rehired in all five sectors.
rights with local workers. The Policy on Recruitment of Foreign Workers explicitly covered employer’s responsibility in terms of housing and health, and payment of recruitment and repatriation costs. Wages, benefits, and terms of condition should be transparent to foreign workers. Employers are also mandated to contribute to the Social Security Scheme while employees may or may not participate in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). Back in 1998, an employer’s contribution of RM5 per worker to the EPF was mandated. While this was abolished in 2001 owing to administrative problems, employers for their part are required to provide accommodation to their employees. Still, even if there are laws to protect the rights of foreign workers, their weak enforcement and the migrants’ lack of knowledge of their rights result in the nonpayment of wages, substandard housing, excessive working hours, and other similar violations.
To further discourage reliance on foreign workers, an employment levy, which varies by sector and skills, is also to be paid by the employer, employee, or both. Temporary workers are also obliged to pay other fees thereby increasing the cost of foreign labor.
Contract workers benefit Malaysia economically in terms of assuaging labor shortage and contributing to the continued growth of the economy. Even for companies that operate in highly competitive markets, contract workers are preferable because they give greater employment and wage flexibility.
The government, depending on the situation, may implement a total ban on foreign workers. This, however, seems unwise during high-growth periods when workers are badly needed. Doing away with foreign labor is also far from reality as temporary workers are the ones handling the 3D jobs (dirty, difficult, and dangerous), which most Malaysian nationals are not inclined to pursue. With the ratification of the ILO Convention in 1997, temporary workers are given equal
However, as there are insufficient data on contract workers, casual observations that mostly tackle the negative side of labor migration are often highlighted. Examples are that contract workers have depressed the wages in certain sectors; their low wages have trapped Malaysia in a low-skill low-wage equilibrium; they are benefiting from public health benefits without paying for them; they are a source of contagious diseases and
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Despite the touted negative effects of temporary labor migrants on the local labor force in Malaysia such as depressing the wages in certain sectors, doing away with them seems unwise. In labor-intensive industries, jobs are usually carried out by foreign workers. They also handle the 3D (dirty, difficult, and dangerous) jobs, which many locals are not inclined to pursue. are engaged in criminal activities; and they compete with the locals in settlement areas, thereby encouraging the growth of squatter settlements. On the prevailing issue of labor displacement among local workers, the study showed that in less labor-intensive industries, jobs are taken care of by the locals while jobs in labor-intensive industries are carried out by foreign workers. The 3-D jobs, which many employers have often complained as jobs where they have a hard time recruiting local workers, are also handled by foreign workers. In general, the temporary migrant worker program in Malaysia has been more successful than generally acknowledged. With the continuous growth of the economy, it is expected that foreign workers will keep on coming. In this regard, a wider regional framework is necessary to facilitate the orderly movement of people and ensure the protection of migrant workers’ rights. Thailand: Destination for cross-border migration In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, Thailand experienced rapid economic growth due to the success of its manufacturing sector aided by the surge of foreign direct investments from Japan, Europe, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States. This, however, slowed down in 1996 due to the decline in the growth of exports and private investments. A year later, the Thai economy suffered a financial crisis that left a serious impact on the economy. It brought massive unemployment and worsened the poverty situation, especially in the rural areas. The financial, construction, and real estate sectors were the hardest hit by the crisis.
Thailand has been the main refuge of people in neighboring countries who are fleeing from civil unrest, political conflicts, natural disasters, and poverty. Labor-intensive industries attempting to achieve competitiveness drew large pools of cheap labor from these illegal migrants. Their numbers increased even more in the years after the 1997 crisis as a result of the rise in labor demand with economic recovery and of the failure of law enforcement especially in the border areas. The regularization of illegal migrants in the late 1990s further increased the number of migrant workers in Thailand. While ethnic Chinese was the biggest group of immigrants in Thailand during the 19th and 20th centuries, the Burmese now makes up the largest percentage of immigrants, followed by Cambodians, Laotians, Chinese, Bangladeshis, and other migrant groups. Based on estimates of the Thailand National Security Council, many of these migrants— estimated at 525,000 in 1994 and one million in 2003—are residing illegally. Jobs in farming, fishing, construction, textile, and ready-made garment factories mostly employ these low-skilled, low-wage workers from the Thai and Myanmar borders. Many illegal migrants also work in fisheries and related industries like seafood processing, freezing seafood, de-heading shrimp, and drying seafood. Others work in the agriculture sector, harvesting rice, tapping rubber, picking fruits and corn, and cutting sugarcane. Thousands of Burmese women are also employed as housemaids in many Thai provinces and especially in Bangkok. In short, these low-skilled, low-wage workers are tapped mostly for 3D (dirty, difficult, and dangerous) types of job.
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http://www.savekarenpeople.org/news/20061006_02%5B1%5D.jpg
But while this is the case, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) asserts that the continued hiring of illegal migrants at a low cost ensures the country’s competitive edge in labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. It is estimated that for every 100,000 foreign workers hired, the Thai economy will increase by 0.64 percent or 2.06 million baht. However, there are also indications that they could have the effect of depressing local wages. Based on TDRI estimates, low-skilled workers could lower local wages by 0.27 percent and slightly worsen the income distribution of the local Thai workers. Employing migrant workers in the agricultural sector can also limit the work opportunities for the hundreds of thousands of unemployed Thais. As the study cited, some of these unemployed local workers are also willing to accept jobs in fruit and rubber plantations, livestock raising, fishery, and related industries, which most undocumented migrants can easily fill up. Competition for jobs was reported in Mae Sot in the Tak province as well as in Ranong and Samut Sakhon provinces. Illegal migrants are also said to contribute to the growth of slums, poor sanitation, and use and trafficking of narcotics. They exhibit high birth rates due to their unsafe sexual practices and the lack of outreach family planning services, resulting in unwanted pregnancies and the high incidence of abortion. Sexually transmitted diseases are also prevalent among migrants. In 2002, out of 15,695 patients, 3.9 percent of them were suffering from HIV/AIDS. Illegal migrants often live together in slums and do not undergo regular health check-ups, resulting in the spread of many contagious diseases and the risk of exposure of nearby communities. Out of 15,696 illegal migrant patients in 2002, 37.4 percent of them had diarrhea, 20 percent suffered from tuberculosis, 6.4 percent had hemorrhagic fever, and 1.8 percent had elephantiasis. Malaria is also prevalent in the Thai-Cambodian and Thai-Myanmar borders.
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Myanmar accounts for one of the biggest groups of migrant workers in Thailand, many of them illegal workers.
Stateless children, or those born by illegal migrant parents, is also a big issue in Thailand. These children do not have legal papers to travel and to access health care and education services. It is highly probable that later in life, they could also end up as illegal workers like their parents. To manage and control foreign workers in the Thai soil, the regularization of illegal workers was pursued along with other policies beginning in 1992. One such policy is allowing migrant workers to work in only four provinces along the major Thai-Myanmar border. 1996 was a landmark year for illegal workers because this was when an amnesty program was implemented. A total of 300,000 illegal workers—which comprised 50 percent of the total at that time—showed up for registration. Majority (87%) were Burmese; a few were Cambodians (9%) and Lao people (4%). These foreign workers registered for seven kinds of jobs in 43 Thai provinces. In 1998, the government allowed migrant workers to be employed in 47 kinds of jobs in 54 provinces. This elicited a good response, with 40 percent of the illegal migrants coming into the registration.
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A short-term policy from 1999 to 2001 allowed 106,684 workers to be employed in 18 kinds of jobs in 34 provinces such as in the fishery and agriculture sector and as workers in construction and other manual occupation. In 2001, amnesty was again offered to all illegal migrants from Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. The process called for employers to bring their illegal workers and apply for work permits valid for six months. This resulted in the registration of 562, 249 illegal workers. If they want to extend the registration of their workers after their work permits have expired, their workers would have to pass a health check before they can apply for a six-month extension of their permits. After six months, only 430,074 applied for renewal. It is possible that some of the registered workers did not pass the health check, some may have returned home, or some employers opted to hire other workers.
http://www.luaviet.org/viet/VN_commune.htm
To allow more time for more conclusive research about the real needs of foreign workers and to come up with a better plan on how to manage illegal migrants, the Thai government extended the work permits of previously registered workers for another year.
The reality of working abroad is still a long and hard battle for many Vietnamese.
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A one-time registration was permitted in an unlimited number of provinces for workers in the fishing and related sectors, small factories, crop cultivation and animal husbandry, and for housemaids. The results, however, were unsatisfactory as only 363,100 came to apply for work permits. The Thai government also forged bilateral agreements with Laos and Myanmar. A memorandum of understanding with Cambodia is also underway. The goal of these agreements is to find a common solution to the increasing number of illegal migrants coming from these countries. While the Thai government has made it clear that its future will not depend on cheap labor, this cross-border migration will continue unless positive changes occur in the economic and political conditions in its neighboring countries. The vast, undeveloped forest terrain border also makes patrolling difficult for the Thais, giving more chances to illegal migrants to enter. Added to this, the country has to contend with the opposing views of the Thai businesses and government. Viet Nam: Where most overseas workers come from middle-income households Thousands of Vietnamese leave their country for the promise of a better life abroad. Temporary overseas employment, or labor export, is a positive and supported phenomenon in Vietnam and considered by the government as a good source of foreign exchange reserves and a tool for poverty reduction and technology acquisition. This has been the highlight of the paper, “Viet Namese temporary migration for overseas employment,” by Vu Quoc Huy. The phenomenon of labor migration in Viet Nam actually started in the 1980s with the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries as the destination of many Vietnamese semi-skilled and unskilled migrant workers. These countries are traditionally Viet Nam’s major partners in the economic and labor sectors. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Viet Nam’s international relationship with the rest of the
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
world changed, specifically in the migrant labor sector. Today, one of the major destinations of Vietnamese temporary workers is Taiwan where 45,000 Vietnamese workers have been deployed between 1999 and 2002. Thirty percent of these workers are women, many of whom are employed as domestic and household workers. Malaysia is also becoming a preferred destination of Vietnamese workers because of its high demand for unskilled workers. From the second half of 2002 to the end of 2003, 60,000 workers were in various industrial centers in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, and Melaka. Many are also working in the manufacturing, textile and garment, and construction sectors. Another preferred destination is Laos as labor contracts are officially supplied to local Vietnamese companies, mostly in the construction sector. In 2003, Vietnamese temporary workers in Laos totaled 48,000. The “trainee” programs of Japan and Korea are two of the largest sources of Vietnamese foreign workers in these countries. In Japan, these trainees are allowed to work for two years in factories and are paid a so-called “trainee allowance.” They will be entitled to a paid employment status only after their second year. Vietnamese trainee workers in Japan and Korea undergo a strict selection process that includes professional orientation test and language training course. In Japan, only 2,000 workers are selected yearly, making Vietnamese workers only about 2.3 percent of the total number of overseas workers in Japan. Meanwhile, about 17,500 Vietnamese trainee workers are working in Korea—close to filling up the 18,770 quota set by the Korean government. While the government opened employment opportunities through direct corporate contracts, this turned out to be very limiting since it allowed only 500 trainees to work in the Construction Association of Korea.
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Remittances from temporary migrant workers are a significant source of earnings for the Vietnamese economy. In fact, their total is almost equal the combined foreign direct investments and official development assistance that enter the country. On a personal level, these remittances have helped people provide a decent life to their families and cope with economic risks and shocks. In a survey conducted in a commune in Ho Chi Minh City to get the views of 100 respondents on temporary overseas employment, most of them consider working abroad as a great opportunity for improving their living standards. However, they noted that to be able to work abroad is a long uphill battle for poor and low-income households. Only six percent of the total overseas workers are from poor and low-income households. Those from middle- to high-income families expectedly have greater access to resources. They can readily finance their temporary overseas employment by selling their assets. Financial incapacity thus far is the greatest hindrance among poor households to work abroad. Lack of education and skills and health issues also compound the chances of poor families in Viet Nam. Due to these factors, temporary overseas employment in Viet Nam is still limited. Brain drain and labor shortage are therefore not yet an issue in Viet Nam. The survey results show that the high cost of temporary overseas employment is prohibitive for people who only have VND32.6 million or USD2,100 per capita income. The average cost of going to Japan vary from VND 17 million to VND 35 million or from USD1,100 to USD2,200, respectively, while in Korea, the cost is VND 32.6 million or USD2,100. For 70 percent of the respondents, the most common way for them to acquire this huge amount of money is to borrow from their relatives while for less than one third of the respondents, it is to avail of bank loans. Many low-income households, however, are unable to avail of loans because of techni-
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http://www.opendemocracy.net/content/articles/3797/images/Untitled.jpg
had no job that same year according to the Indonesian Department of Manpower and Transmigration. Similar to other developing countries in the region, the continuing surge of semi-skilled and unskilled labor migrants from Indonesia into East Asia has been influenced by the sluggish growth of the economy, lack of employment, and poverty. Indonesia’s labor policy also contributes to the increase of labor migrants.
In the past years, more and more Indonesian women are joining the migrant labor force as domestic helpers.
cal and administrative difficulties and the presence of outstanding loans. Still, some successful applicants were able to benefit from the order of the Vietnamese government to approve loans of VND20 million or USD1,350. While the impact of temporary overseas employment is positive, the study noted that it has not resulted in significant improvements in the living standards of the workers and their families. It only has a shortterm impact on income. For one thing, most overseas workers were not able to take advantage of their acquired skills and went back to farming. The big question, therefore, is how to translate the gains from this temporary labor migration into a sustainable livelihood after they return to their home country. Indonesia’s increasing temporary overseas workers Since 1998, the Indonesian economy has been growing at only less than five percent, making the yearly 2.5 million entrants to the labor force difficult for the country to accommodate. In 2003, the underemployed or those who work less than 35 hours a week reached 40 million. Some 11 million people
There were about 2.5 million Indonesian labor migrants abroad in 1999. This does not include the undocumented overseas workers. In 2001, the government sent some 217,555 workers abroad and another 238,324 in 2002. The period, January to June 2003, also saw 62,655 Indonesian workers leaving the country to work overseas. Recent estimates of illegal Indonesian overseas workers placed the total at 3.5 million in 2004. Malaysia accounts for the most number of Indonesian migrant workers in plantation areas. Others are employed as domestic maids, construction workers, manufacturing, marine, and service sector workers, all of which are considered 3D (dirty, dangerous, and demanding) types of job. There are also migrant workers in the Middle East, many of whom are females working in Saudi Arabia as domestic helpers with a contract of two to three years. On average, labor migrants pay Rp2.5 million or US$290 to Rp5 million or US$550 for their overseas fees. This amount covers the cost of transportation and accommodation to the local recruitment agency, accommodation and food while waiting the approval of their papers, training and education, employment agency or broker fees, and working permit and passport fees, taxes, and other costs. Some jobs require higher fees such as the construction, fishery, and service sectors. In Malaysia, an applicant needs at least RM1,800 to get a job in these sectors. Jobs in real estate require only RM500. Job search through unregistered agents also commands higher fees.
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While the impact of temporary overseas employment is positive, the (Vietnamese) study noted that it has not resulted in significant improvements in the lives of the workers and their families. Most overseas workers were not able to take advantage of their acquired skills and went back to farming. The big question, therefore, is how to translate the gains from temporary labor migration into a sustainable livelihood after the migrant workers return to their home country. A small survey of 100 labor migrants conducted in the study, “Economic integration and labor flows from Indonesia to East Asia,” by Carunia Mulya Firdausy, showed that local village sponsors play a big role for people who are applying for overseas jobs. It is them who look for prospective applicants in the different villages and bring them to the inner sponsor who works for the agency in the city. The inner sponsor then brings these applicants to the recruitment agency. Aside from providing financial help to potential migrant workers, local village sponsors also serve as source of information on employment opportunities, cost of overseas fees, administrative matters, and recruitment agencies. At the national level, the labor migration of many Indonesians have helped to increase their economy’s foreign exchange earnings and decrease the unemployment problems. It is estimated that in 2004, remittances from labor migrants contributed about US$3.145 billion to the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Sixty percent of the survey respondents said that they remit their salaries to their families in Indonesia. Remittances average from Rp.5 million or US$550 to Rp.15 million or US$1,550. Labor migrants are also able to find jobs that pay many times higher—as much as 20 times more in Singapore and 10 times more in Malaysia and Korea—than what they would normally get in Indonesia.
Yet, it is not an easy life for many labor migrants. They are prone to discrimination, exploitation, and abuse as they are not usually covered by labor and social legislation. Compounding this issue is the paucity of relevant laws in the sending country that address labor migration. Indonesia has only two laws. One covers the general processes of domestic and international migration. The other allows labor migration under the supervision of the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Manpower, Transmigration and Cooperative Units No. KM 135/PHB and Kep-59/1977. The ILO convention on the protection of the rights of migrant workers and their family members is yet to be ratified. The study recommends the formation of a Foreign Employment Board by the Indonesian government together with the governments of the receiving countries. This board will formulate policies in relation to recruitment, training, placement, and labor monitoring. Related to this is the need to have a memorandum of understanding between Indonesia and the receiving countries to ensure that the rights of labor migrants will be protected. Ensuring that Indonesian labor attaches are present in the receiving countries is a must to provide assistance and monitor the situation of migrant workers. They also need to be insured to avoid problems when accidents or illnesses occur. The insurance can be paid by the migrants or by their employers through wage reduction, or by the Indonesian government from the remittances received from workers abroad. CSM
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Hong Kong: still a favored destination of Filipino migrant workers
F
ilipino women are said to be good homemakers. In the old days, they would devote all their time to their families, putting as top priority their husbands, children, and homes. This was when life was much simpler and a father’s earning was still enough to live a decent, comfortable life. Today, it is common to see families with both parents working either locally or abroad where they can find better work and higher pay. And many of those who are leaving are women. Since the 1980s, Filipino women have found work in Hong Kong as domestic helpers. They live up to their reputation as good homemakers but this time around, taking care of their employers’ children and/or doing the household chores. Inflation and the high cost of living in the 1980s have pushed Hong Kong women to help augment the family income—essentially the very same reason that also led Filipino women to enter the workforce. Added to this, as noted by Won Siu-lun, Marketa Moore, and James K. Chin in their paper, "Hong Kong: a migration crossroad be-
tween China and Southeast Asia," the patriarchal family system in Hong Kong proved to be cumbersome for working women, especially for the mothers, as they were also expected to attend to their children’s needs. Thus, to ease up their burden at home and at work, doors were opened to foreign domestic helpers through the Hong Kong Supplementary Labor Scheme. Filipinos comprise the biggest group of domestic helpers in Hong Kong, followed by Indonesians and Thais (Figure 1). Up to this day, Hong Kong remains as the most favored destination in Southeast Asia of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Others are Singapore, which also employs domestic helpers; Japan, the destination of many Filipino entertainers; and Taiwan, where many factory workers and domestic helpers from the Philippines also work. With a salary of HK$3,270 equivalent to P22,890, Filipino domestic workers earn thrice the minimum wage mandated in the Philippines. They are the most organized group of domestic helpers in Hong Kong,
Figure 1. Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, 1994-2004
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Many of those who are leaving the country to work abroad are women. In Hong Kong, they comprise the biggest group of domestic helpers.
complete with community groups and social networks. Thus, they are able to represent themselves on important work issues.
transport, and even in banks that disallow Filipino domestic helpers to open bank accounts, as reported in a Hong Kong newspaper.
According to Tereso Tullao Jr., Michael Angelo Cortez, and Edward See, in their paper, "Economic impacts of international migration: a case study on the Philippines," the Filipinos’ higher educational qualifications and better English fluency give them the edge over the Indonesians and Thais. However, these two groups are slowly inching their way up against the Filipino domestic helpers because employers now prefer the more docile Indonesians and Thais who are also willing to accept lower wages. Although they have lower education than their Filipino counterpart, they are also younger, and, in the case of the Indonesian domestic helpers, have undergone a six-month household and Cantonese training prior to their employment in Hong Kong.
Aside from this large group of Filipino domestic helpers, meanwhile, there are also Filipino professionals like lawyers, doctors, dentists, teachers, managers, and executives who are working in Hong Kong, although comprising only a small percentage. They are not, however, subject to quotas and are eligible to apply for work and resident permits. This is in stark contrast to the restrictive scheme applied exclusively to domestic helpers who are not allowed to stay in Hong Kong after their contracts are over. They cannot be permanent residents and are not allowed to bring their dependents. They are also bound to work for only a single employer and cannot look for another while their contracts are ongoing.
Nevertheless, despite the fierce competition from Indonesia and Thailand and the HK$400 levy introduced on October 1, 2003 that was considered unjust by many in a country where most employees do not pay taxes, Filipinos still comprise the largest group of domestic helpers in Hong Kong. This is also despite the increasing acts of social discrimination against them, ranging from unfair treatment in shops and public
Remittances sent by OFWs to the Philippines are, by far, the strongest positive impact of labor migration on the Philippine economy along with the financial gains they bring to every family that receives them. But as Tullao and his group have asserted, it cannot be denied that labor migration has serious consequences and thus should be tackled in terms of managing the migration phenomenon more than promoting it. CSM
2007
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2007
International labor migration needs stronger linkage with development policies
D
evelopment policies should be more closely linked with migration policies if the Philippines wants to attain sustained economic progress and make the transition from labor exporting to labor importing country. This was emphasized by Ms. Maruja Asis, Director of Research and Publications of the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC), a nongovernment organization (NGO) dealing with migrant labor research, during the International Conference on East Asian Labor Migration held on March 9, 2007 at the Romulo Hall, NEDA sa Makati Bldg., Makati City. In assessing the state of Philippine international migration, Ms. Asis said that international migration has become a huge phenomenon in the country with almost one million Filipinos leaving the country every year to join the over eight million of their countrymen already in 190 countries situated in different parts of the globe as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Indeed, migration has become a way of life for many Filipino families such that a “culture of migration” has developed and permeates in Philippine society. Even children’s aspira-
Everyday, thousands of Filipinos leave the country to work abroad.
tions for themselves in the future are influenced by migration. In a 2004 article for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism titled “Safety Net for All Time,” Ms. Asis wrote of a nationwide survey done by the SMC in 2003 of over 1,600 children aged eight to ten, which revealed that 47 percent (and 60 percent among children of migrant workers) said they would like to work abroad someday. Ms. Asis identified a number of key factors that she said explain why there has been sustained migration for almost four decades in the country. First is the persistence of immigration because of financial difficulties. “Economic difficulties are still crucial in people’s decisions as to why they migrate abroad,” she said. Economic indicators had not been promising since the 1970s when the first wave of OFWs were deployed. High population growth and the country’s young population add another dimension to the pressure to migrate. The second is the institutionalization of migration. Ms. Asis revealed that the Philippines has one of the most well-developed bureaucracies and extensive institutional structures that deal with the various aspects of labor migration as well as permanent migration. For OFWs, there is the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The Commission on Filipinos Overseas takes care of the concerns and interests of permanent settlers. The Philippines also has one of the most developed legal frameworks in terms of governing the various aspects of labor migration. The landmark 1995 Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act was the first law in Asia that provides protection for OFWs.
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
The third and last factor that contributes to continued large-scale labor migration, as stated earlier, is the development of a culture of migration. Ms. Asis explained that Filipinos have come to accept working abroad as something that is no longer extraordinary. “In the Philippines, if people ask you where you would like to work and you say you would like to work here, people would wonder why because the expectation is that you would like to work overseas like other Filipinos.” Furthermore, not only are individuals deciding to work abroad but various institutions have joined the bandwagon with the mushrooming of many colleges and schools offering programs in nursing, caregiving, information technology, and others. Yet, no matter how extensive the phenomenon of migration in the country is, Ms. Asis pointed out that there is a major gap in development policies in that they do not include international migration into account. In fact, she revealed that “up until this point, except for remittances, there is not much interface between migration policies and development policies.” The failure of development reflects the continued pressure to migrate. Ms. Asis shared the success stories of other Asian countries that initially were labor exporters but because of sound economic poli-
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cies eventually made the transition to labor importing countries. Specifically, Taiwan suffered brain drain but is now experiencing brain gain as many of its best and brightest have returned to their country. South Korea went from country of origin to country of destination while China succeeded in attracting its overseas citizens to return and invest in their country. Instructively, she pointed out that these countries did not rely on labor deployment and remittances alone to sustain development processes. They also established development-related policies and fostered environments that were conducive to R&D and investments. In her conclusion, Ms. Asis reiterated the need for closer linkages between migration and development policies. In the case of the Philippines, she said that the role of civil society must be recognized as partners in supporting development. Besides the enactment of the dual citizenship law and absentee voting law, reaching out to and engaging the participation of overseas Filipinos in decisions concerning the country should also be cultivated. Finally, she said that it is important to establish strong relationships with countries of destination. “We are moving towards an interdependent world and we need that kind of relationship,” Ms. Asis concluded. BFG
RP does well in keeping bird flu at bay If there is one thing that the Philippines can be proud of in the health arena, it is the fact that it remains one of the few countries in Asia that is free from the Avian influenza or bird flu. This has been the result of intensive control and preventive measures—encompassing surveillance, preparedness and response, public awareness, laboratory diagnosis, and data collection— that the government and various private sector groups have actively pursued. Regular surveillance and monitoring are being undertaken in some 20 areas identified as hotspots due to the presence of transient migratory birds and the high concen-
tration of domestic duck/chicken population. These areas include Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Palawan (near Quezon and Narra towns), Pampanga (Candaba Swamp), Ilocos Norte (Pagudpud), Cagayan (Aparri), Cebu (Olonggo Island), Negros Occidental (Himamaylan), Isabela (Magat Dam), Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte (Lake Mainit), Surigao del Sur, Panay Island (Roxas), Capiz, Sorsogon (Bulan and Matnog), General Santos City, Mindoro Oriental (Naujan), and Cotabato (Liguasan Marsh). Source: Bird Flu Updates, January 2007 Special Edition. Bureau of Animal Industry, Philippines. DRN
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Migration Center in one of the articles in this issue.
some common experiences, there are differences
The Center, through Director Maruja Asis, stressed
in the way each country grapples with the reality of
that there is a gap in the developmental policies
sending talent and skills overseas while benefiting
and migration policies in the country in that it does
from remittances and investments in return. Apart
not take into account international migration. In fact,
from economic considerations, the social effects
it was revealed that the only interface between
of labor migration also take a toll on societies both
developmental and migration policies is
in the sending and receiving countries. Cultural
remittances. Thus, what is needed is a closer look
tensions arise with migrants having to leave their
at how to link policies that would maximize the
families and live in a country whose own people
benefits of labor migration and enable the
might harbor growing resentment with foreign
Philippines to “graduate” to becoming a labor
workers who are seen as taking away jobs and
importing country.
competing with them for health, housing, public transport, and other services.
It is interesting to look at the many aspects of this phenomenon that is labor migration. Specifically,
As globalization continues to break down migration
Professor Chia Siow Yue, research project leader,
barriers and shrinks the global workplace, the right
indicated the various approaches that the project
mix of policy and attitude of countries of origin and
used in the studies that looked into the causes and
destination should come into play in order to make
effects of labor migration in seven countries in East
the most of the advantages and lessen the
Asia. While the labor exporting countries share
disadvantages of labor migration.
DRN