Informal migration for labor

Labour officials sent off 14 maids to Hong Kong yesterday in celebration of a pilot program that hopes to funnel up to 1,000 maids to the Asian financial hub despite concerns from rights groups. ...

About 60 Cambodian trainees will be recruited to study and work in Inuyama town in Japan by the Inuyama Chamber of Commerce in Japan, a decision made after the minister of labour met with the chairman of the chamber yesterday. ...

The Labour Ministry announced on Friday that the Thai government agreed to extend the deadline for Cambodian officials to complete registration and work permit delivery to Cambodian migrant workers by six months. ...

Out of four Southeast Asian countries, migrant workers from Cambodia have the worst experiences, with eight in 10 experiencing labour rights abuses while abroad and more than two-thirds reporting mental or physical health problems upon return, according to a study released by ILO and IOM ...

A memorandum of understanding meant to beef up protections for Cambodian maids in Malaysia is still on hold after Malaysia’s human resources minister said he was not aware of the agreement, according to Malaysian media. ...

Cambodian maids who work in Malaysia will be given smartphones, bank accounts and counselling under a new agreement signed by the two countries yesterday, an employment agency representative said – measures intended to prevent the kind of widespread abuses that resulted in a ban on ...

South Korea wants to host more migrant workers and increase agricultural imports from Cambodia, including mangoes, a meeting between the outgoing ambassador and National Assembly president Heng Samrin revealed yesterday. ...

With cross-border flows of migrant workers rapidly increasing since the founding of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, industry insiders claim that this change has had both positive and negative effects on the Kingdom by reducing the levels of unemployment while highlighting the need ...

The government is negotiating with other countries to ensure the safety of migrant workers and that they receive worker benefits while toiling abroad, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday. ...

The government has relaxed regulations for migrant workers to obtain legal documents in Thailand, in a bid to encourage more workers to legitimise their presence in the country. ...

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on Tuesday to reports that Cambodia plans to revoke documents from thousands of ethnic Vietnamese, urging the Kingdom to respect legal rights during the process. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday announced he has formed an assessment group – with representation from the ministry’s identification and immigration departments as well as the Ministry of Labour – to study the issues affecting Cambodian migrant workers and provide recommendations to fix them. ...

Cambodian workers in Thailand will be able to collect legal documents to legitimise their presence in the country this week. The Committee for Legalising Cambodian Workers Residing and Working in Thailand will begin issuing both travel documents and Overseas Cambodian Workers Cards under the ongoing 100-day ...

More than 500 dead Cambodians were repatriated from Thailand in the first six months of 2017, according to an Interior Ministry official. Chou Bun Eng, secretary of state at the ministry, said yesterday the 500 bodies were repatriated through three checkpoints in Banteay Meanchey province. ...

The Immigration Department yesterday confirmed that foreigners requesting long-term business visa extensions in the country are now required to submit a work permit proving their place of employment. ...

// // // // An Immigration Department official yesterday confirmed that foreigners requesting a long-term extension of their business visas would need to produce a work permit, with implementation of the rule starting September 4.    ...

Eighteen Cambodian migrant workers were repatriated from Malaysia this week after being cheated by brokers to work abroad illegally, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said yesterday. ...

Immigration police arrested 22 Vietnamese nationals illegally living and working in Phnom Penh yesterday, an Interior Ministry official said. ...

The government plans to crackdown on immigrants holding illegal or irregular paperwork to live, work and vote in the country, according to a sub-decree obtained yesterday. ...

The National Election Committee (NEC) yesterday told United Nations Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith that election monitoring coalition the “Situation Room” will have to register with the Interior Ministry if it wants to deploy observers for next year’s elections – despite there being no such requirement ...

More than 30 workers who entered Thailand illegally to find jobs were arrested on Monday in Sa Kaeo province’s Aranyaprathet district and sent to the district police station for questioning.   ...

The National Election Committee said it will aim to register around 1.4 million of the nearly 2 million eligible voters it was unable to get on voter rolls last year, though the body’s chairman, Sik Bun Hok, refused to address yesterday whether the process would ...

Police in Pailin province yesterday arrested two suspects accused of brokering illegal passage for migrant workers into Thailand. ...

Opposition CNRP lawmakers have suggested amendments to a law which would let Cambodian migrant workers register and vote abroad. The amendments were sent to National Assembly President Heng Samrin on Friday. ...