Nearly a third of domestic workers in Malaysia in forced labor conditions - UN agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Nearly a third of migrant workers employed in domestic households in Malaysia are working under forced labor conditions, according to a survey released by the United Nations' labor agency on Thursday. The International Labour Organization (ILO) identified conditions such as excessive working hours, unpaid overtime, low wages, restricted movement, and being unable to quit among its indicators of forced labor. The survey, based on interviews with 1,201 domestic workers in Southeast Asia, found 29% of those in Malaysia faced such conditions, compared to 7% and 4% in its neighbors Singapore and Thailand, respectively. Malaysia and Singapore did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the survey findings. Wannarat Srisuksai, a spokesperson for Thailand's labor ministry, told Reuters the treatment of domestic workers in the country has improved following laws introduced in 2012 to protect the group. In all three countries, the domestic workers surveyed on average worked hours "well in excess" of those legislated for other workers, and none earned the minimum wage, the ILO said. "Domestic work is one of the most important tasks in our society, and yet provided with the least protection. This can no longer be accepted," said Anna Engblom, chief technical adviser at the ILO program, which conducted the study. The ILO urged Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand to ratify UN conventions on domestic workers and forced labor, to recognize the skilled nature of domestic work, and ensure migration pathways that did not tie the workers to their employers. Households in Asia often employ domestic workers - usually women from developing nations such as Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines - to carry out housekeeping tasks including cooking, cleaning, childcare, and gardening. Malaysia has faced criticism in recent years following multiple incidents of Indonesian domestic workers being abused in Malaysian households, while several of its companies have been accused of exploiting migrant laborers. Indonesians make up about 80% of domestic workers in Malaysia, according to the ILO. Last year, Malaysia and Indonesia signed an agreement to improve protections for domestic workers. -- Reuters

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more