Suchergebnisse

The human rights imperative that should underpin all humanitarian response was denied to large numbers of people in the tsunami crisis in South & South-East Asia. Adapted from the source document.

The precarious state of migrant workers has become a major area of concern for the contemporary global economy. In Southeast Asian regions in particular, the number of migrant workers has spiked since the 1990s. In the city of Hong Kong, domestic migrant workers, predominantly Filipino and Indonesian women, now make up around a tenth of the total working population. Since the beginning of Southeast Asia's labor diaspora, activists have been fiercely organizing against the rampant exploitation and abuse of migrant workers.

As China urbanizes, more migrants need and expect public services. Many municipalities, however, resist and undermine elements of the central government's urbanization strategy by deflecting demands for benefits instead of accepting or denying them outright. Urban authorities sometimes do so by establishing nearly impossible eligibility requirements or requiring paperwork that outsiders struggle to obtain. At times they also nudge migrants to seek healthcare or education elsewhere by enforcing dormant rules or by shutting down a locally available service provider. Limiting access to public services saves cities a vast amount of money and isolates and disempowers migrants. Phantom services are a consequence of the localization of the household registration system (hukou 户口) and a sign that new axes of inequality and gradations of second-class citizenship have emerged

AbstractDespite a rapid increase of both migrant workers and incidence of HIV infection in Korea, little is known about the relation between the two. This paper examines the vulnerability to HIV infection of migrant workers in Korea, highlighting socio‐cultural, political and economic contexts. Major information sources include articles, government reports, archives in migrant‐support and AIDS‐prevention organizations and in‐depth interviews with government officials, NGO representatives and migrant workers. The study reveals migrant workers in Korea face an environment of discrimination and isolation because of their status as foreigners from less developed countries and with jobs characterised by low pay and status. Encountering stress and loneliness and without family support, migrant workers – especially single males, those undocumented and females in the sex industry – engage in risky sexual behaviours such as commercial and casual sex, leaving them vulnerable to HIV infection. Little knowledge of STD/HIV, few STD/HIV prevention programs and easy access to commercial sex compound migrant workers' vulnerability to HIV infection. The situation is worsening and current government policy, including lack of education, largely contributes to the problem.

Throughout history, migration has been considered an indispensable part of human life. It has occurred due to various reasons, among which searching for new job opportunities has always been a chief one. This happens when workers observe lack of vacancies in their homeland, while there are chances for them in other regions and countries. It impels local workers to move to leave in search of better conditions in their careers, along with having the desire for a better life. However, divergent factors such as demographic change, socio-economic and political crises, and huge wage gaps between developed and developing countries play undeniable roles. Half of these migrants who move across borders for employment are women. Most of these women migrate from Asia especially India, Pakistan and Nepal to developed countries in the world to achieve new opportunities and a better life. The aim of this study is to identify the distribution of international female migrant workers around the world by applying compilation methodology approach, utilizing library documentation method and secondary analysis of qualitative data. The findings indicate that there is a strong connection between gender gap at work and the destination of female migrant workers. Nowadays, Northern, Southern and Western Europe and North America have the least gender gap between women and men at work. These regions are also the main destination of female international migrants. This research also predicts that in the future the destination of these women will be East Asia which is experiencing remarkable gender equality at work.

Transnational labor migration is one of the most visible features of our globalizing world. The International Organization for Migration estimates that there are 214 million migrant workers crossing national borders in the world today. Migration both in and to the Middle East constitutes an important part of this movement of laborers and has deep roots. In the mid-fifteenth century, workers across a broad spectrum of occupations, including stevedores, boatmen, and bakers, trekked from areas in eastern and central Anatolia to the new imperial Ottoman capital, Istanbul, where they lived and worked for months and even years. Workers from outside the Middle East also have been part of the fabric of life in the region for several centuries, the slave trade from sub-Saharan Africa, which long supplied labor for a variety of purposes, being one of the most notable. Migrant workers took on new significance in the twentieth century, especially after the oil price hikes of 1973. Today the nations on the Arabian Peninsula, the destination for most workers, have the highest ratio of migrants to locals in the world.

Issues related to social security protection are discussed from the point of view of the sending country as well as the receiving country. Common problems include equality of treatment between nationals and non-nationals, inadequacy of coverage, and the status of workers with multiple foreign employment. The social security programs of 36 Asia-Pacific countries are compared and recommendations made to increase the protection available to migrant workers in the region. Ratification of ILO conventions and the establishment of bilateral/multilateral agreements are stressed.

This study draws on qualitative interviews with regularised, semi-documented and undocumented migrant workers in seven EU countries, each with a different experience of implementing regularisations as a policy tool to manage undocumented migration. The article examines the relationship between a regularised or documented status and work conditions, including access to employment and social rights. It sheds light on the importance of labour market structures in creating opportunities or otherwise for those with newly acquired legality in the host country. The complex impact of migrant status alongside the importance of a strong industrial relations system to enforce rights at work is revealed.