Labor
Myanmar state of affairs worsening, ETI warns businesses
In a position statement, the ETI points to a Commission of Inquiry into the decline of workers’ rights in Myanmar established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in March, noting such a move is the ILO’s highest-level investigative procedure which is generally set up when a member state ...
Hannah Abdulla
As road accidents rise, garment workers face a dangerous commute
Early on the morning of 12 February while heading to her shift at the garment factory in Kampong Speu province, Soth Vy was the last of about 40 workers to climb onto the standing platform of the truck that came to her village. She enjoyed ...
ASHLEY HUI YIN TAN
OPINION: Thai agriculture needs reform from ground up
Thailand’s government badly wants the middle-income country to achieve advanced economy status. But it will fail unless it raises agricultural productivity and upskills rural workers for jobs in more productive sectors. This will demand hitherto unseen political commitment. For decades, political leaders have paid lip service ...
Craig Keating
Striking casino workers stand against crackdown
Chhim Sithar knew she would be arrested when she arrived at the site of a protest organised by employees of the NagaWorld casino. Police violently grabbed and arrested the union leader when she attempted to join the demonstration by striking workers in Phnom Penh on 4 ...
JACK BROOK
Sex workers have long been disapproved of in Thailand. Now they are calling for their billion-dollar industry to be recognised
It is hard to imagine, but Pattaya’s near-deserted “Walking Street” used to teem with revellers, as pulsating music filled the air and neon lights flashed until the early hours. Before the pandemic, the coastal city south-east of Bangkok was a buzzing party scene, and was once described by the Lonely Planet travel ...
South-East Asia correspondent Mazoe Ford and Supattra Vimonsuknopparat
Outbreak fears as Mekong Delta struggles with returning migrant workers
With the Mekong Delta laboring under large quarantining burdens as migrants return from the southeast region in the thousands, officials fear outbreaks if the localities’ capabilities are stretched. An Giang Province, for instance, had more than 15,000 migrant workers return on motorbikes over the past three ...
Cuu Long, Ngoc Tai
Thailand Starts Factory Worker Vaccine Drive to Protect Exports
Thailand has launched a pilot program to test, vaccinate and isolate factory workers to limit Covid-related disruptions to its export-driven manufacturing industry, one of the few bright spots in an economy crushed by the virus. The “Factory Sandbox” initiative aims to protect 3 million jobs and ...
Randy Thanthong-Knight
ILO forecasts slow jobs recovery in ASEAN region
Working hours in the ASEAN region are projected to only partially recover in 2021 and 2022 according to new research by the International Labour Organization (ILO). COVID-19 and the ASEAN labour market: Impact and policy response highlights the heavy impact of the pandemic on ASEAN economies ...
KPL
Sex workers fighting for human rights among world’s most ‘at risk activists’
Sex worker activists are among the most at risk defenders of human rights in the world, facing multiple threats and violent attacks, an extensive investigation has found. The research, published today by human rights organisation Front Line Defenders, found that their visibility as sex workers who are advocates ...
Sarah Johnson
Migrant domestic workers 'need jabs'
Labour rights advocates have urged the authorities to vaccinate migrant domestic helpers to protect households against Covid-19. Adisorn Kerdmongkol, a member of the Migrant Network Group (MNG), told an online discussion organised by the House committee on labour on Monday that more than 100,000 migrant workers are ...
PENCHAN CHAROENSUTHIPAN