A rock and a hard place: Migrant workers in Singapore. Millions of migrant labourers around the world are trapped in limbo and have had to cut off the flow of money they send home. — Reuters
THE Covid-19 pandemic is exposing deep flaws in the economic model that both encourages and exploits migrant labour. Too many rich countries are dependent on low-cost workers, and too many poor communities are over-reliant on the money sent home for food, shelter and education.
Remittances to low- and middle-income countries will drop by a fifth this year to US$445bil (RM1.9tril), according to a recent World Bank report. That’s the worst slide in decades and a sharp turnaround from last year’s increase to a record US$554bil (RM2.3tril), which exceeded foreign direct investment in these destinations.
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