Protect migrant workers too

THE South-East Asian region is home to major labour-sending countries (Indonesia, the Philip­pines, Myanmar) as well as labour-receiving countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, which also receive large numbers of labour migrants from Nepal, Bangladesh, India).

In Malaysia, about one in four employed persons are migrants. In Singapore, foreigners account for about 40% of the island’s total workforce (2012), while in Thailand (2010), there were 2.46 million low-skilled migrants from three neighbouring countries (Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia).