Word: protecting
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...After the public outcry over Hajar's case, in late June Indonesia temporarily blocked its domestic workers from going to Malaysia to work until the two countries hammer out additional protections to a 2006 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on migrant workers. Indonesia's proposed amendments - including acknowledging workers' rights to wage increases and a day off each week - aim to protect domestic workers better by providing opportunities to build support amongst friends and ensure proper payment. This is not the first time where tensions have boiled between the two neighboring states over migrant abuse, but this time, they hope...
...flow of migrant workers between Indonesia and Malaysia is considered one of the world's largest and busiest labor hubs. If passed, these provisions will help protect the roughly 3,000 workers Indonesia sends to Malaysia every month. The vast majority of these work as maids and domestic workers and remit billions home every year, earning them their nickname of "foreign exchange heroines...
...Indonesia's actions are only the latest amongst migrant-sending countries seeking ways to protect their people when they go overseas, a shift from a time when financial considerations trumped all. However, some experts say privately that Indonesia's move may be a temporary gesture to please constituents during an election year. "There's greater attention being paid and more reporting and willingness of police and governments to take action in these cases," says Alan Boulton, Director of the International Labor Organization's Jakarta office. "NGOs have been able to bring attention [to] abuse cases...
...sending countries develop economically, they "now feel they have a moral obligation to protect their workers," says Christopher Lowenstein-Lom of the International Organization for Migration (ILO) in Bangkok. The Philippines - one of the world's largest migrant-sending countries - has set up worker-resource centers in destination countries to help distressed workers find help while they're overseas. Thailand, both a source and sending country for migrant labor, also offers consular services for its workers overseas, many who have suffered at the hands of human traffickers...
...Human-rights and local migrant groups sharply criticized Indonesia's 2006 MOU with Malaysia for failing to include widespread human-rights protections, including a clear minimum wage, a weekly holiday or stringent monitoring mechanisms for labor agencies - often the source of abuse and fraud. Labor and migrant-rights groups hope this summer's revisions will beef up mechanisms to better protect migrant workers. Next summer, domestic workers will also feature high on the agenda at the annual International Labor Conference in Geneva where participants will try to develop international labor rights for domestic workers...