Local workers abroad

The Cambodian government has selected six agencies to facilitate sending domestic workers to Hong Kong – with one saying they will begin sending maids by the end of the year – though rights groups yesterday warned of potential exploitation and abuses. ...

The Ministry of Labour yesterday released data to show how many illegal migrant workers residing in Thailand have taken the first step to register with authorities there in order to gain all their proper paperwork. ...

The National Election Committee has said current laws forbid out-of-country registration and voting, following a meeting yesterday to discuss involving migrant workers in next year’s national election. ...

National Election Committee (NEC) Chairman Sik Bun Hok yesterday attempted to quell criticism of the electoral body for failing to register migrant voters, insisting that the law did not empower the body to allow overseas voting or registration, and instead passing the buck to political ...

More than 70,000 undocumented Cambodians have registered in new centres in Thailand in their first week of operation, though experts yesterday warned the designated two-week window will be too short for all migrants to register. . ...

The Ministry of Labour yesterday confirmed there had been a slight delay to the planned 100-day campaign to provide illegal migrant workers in Thailand with proper documents to remain working in the country legally. ...

The National Election Committee will on Thursday hold a meeting to discuss the registration of migrant workers to vote in the upcoming 2018 national election. ...

Cambodians who leave the country for work overseas still often lack effective access to the country’s justice system when they have problems with recruitment agencies, despite some recent improvements, a new report from the International Labour Organization says.​ ...

NGOs in Cambodia and Malaysia are working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to repatriate six of the 30 Cambodians who sought shelter at the country’s embassy after the Malaysian government started mass arrests of undocumented migrant workers on July 1. ...

The Labour Ministry yesterday released a detailed schedule for illegal migrant workers who remain in Thailand to aid them in gathering legal documentation over the next few months. ...

Cambodia lacks effective mechanisms to protect its citizens working both as legal and undocumented migrants abroad, where such workers also face insufficient protection from the countries that receive them, according to two new reports published last week. ...

Labour Minister Ith Samheng visited migrant workers in Thailand over the weekend, urging them to make use of centres that Thai authorities are opening to provide them with legal documents to remain in the country. ...

NGOs on Wednesday renewed a push for the National Election Committee to let Cambodians working abroad register to vote, as an opposition lawmaker also challenged the committee to back up its claim that current laws would need to be amended to make it happen. ...

Amid crackdowns on undocumented migrants in Malaysia and Thailand, demand for passports among Cambodian migrants has seen large spikes in recent weeks, with many making the costly journey to Phnom Penh to get their paperwork in order. ...

An official at the Cambodian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said on Monday that with more Cambodians seeking support and refuge amid a labor crackdown by Malaysian authorities, the embassy’s budget was not enough to pay to bring them home. ...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assisted the repatriation of more than 450 Cambodian workers in the first six months of the year, according to figures released Saturday. ...

The Foreign Affairs Ministry says the Malaysian government has taken notice of Thailand’s recent crackdown on illegal foreign workers and begun one of its own, wrangling 79 illegal Cambodian migrant workers in two weeks. ...

The Cambodian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has seen an influx of nationals seeking help securing work documents—along with food and shelter—amid a crackdown on unregistered workers in the country, an embassy official said on Thursday. ...

On a narrow side street on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Tuesday, cars and tuk-tuks crept slowly along as hordes of pedestrians and motorbikes blocked their paths. Food carts and steady streams of customers lined the road. ...

Minister of Labour Ith Samheng yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with his Japanese counterparts to make it easier for Cambodian trainees to find work in Japan. ...

Cambodian workers on Saturday protested against the closing of unofficial border checkpoints in Banteay Meanchey, while hundreds of undocumented workers continued to return from Thailand through the official checkpoint in Poipet. ...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially instructed the Cambodian Embassy in Malaysia to investigate agencies that ask for exorbitant passport renewal fees for workers there, according to a statement released on Friday, though some sources said corruption in the Passport Department itself is part ...

The Thai government has agreed to set up stations across Thailand where Cambodian illegal migrant workers can register for documents that will allow them to stay and work in the country, Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng said at a news conference on Thursday. ...

Cambodian workers continue to fear arrest and deportation amid an ongoing crackdown on undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia, with local media reporting that 2,000 migrants have been arrested since the beginning of the month as of yesterday.   ...