COVID-19 and women migrant workers in ASEAN

This brief explores the multi-dimensional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women migrant workers in and from the ASEAN region. While women migrant workers in the ASEAN region strive to protect their livelihoods and their health, COVID-19 has presented them with a health crisis, compounded by detrimental impacts on freedom from violence and harassment, employment, income, social protection, access to services, and access to justice. This brief outlines the critical programmatic and policy responses needed. ILO-UN Women Safe and Fair Programme, as part of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, is committed to ensuring women migrant workers’ rights are protected and they receive support when and where they need it.

Experiences of ASEAN migrant workers during COVID-19: Rights at work, migration and quarantine during the pandemic, and re-migration plans

The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting labour migration throughout the ASEAN region and globally. In 2019 there were an estimated 10 million international migrants in ASEAN, of whom nearly 50 per cent were women. The ILO undertook a rapid assessment survey, interviewing ASEAN migrant workers from end-March to end-April 2020 about how COVID-19 has impacted them. This brief summarizes the responses of the 309 women and men migrant workers who participated in the survey.

Regional operational guidelines on fair and ethical recruitment in ASEAN. Improving regulation and enforcement: A resource for regulators

The regional operational guidelines provide guidance to government regulators on fair recruitment practices, licensing private recruitment agencies, monitoring recruitment processes, and acting on complaints related to the recruitment process. Developed within the framework of the ILO general principles and operational guidelines for fair recruitment, these regional operational guidelines are relevant to both countries of origin and destination.

Labour migration plays an important role in fostering economic and social development in the ASEAN region. Fair and ethical recruitment can protect migrant workers from experiencing labour rights’ violations, including trafficking and forced labour. However, recruitment is often an imperfect process, characterized by fraudulent and exploitative practices. These imperfections have been particularly damaging to the interest of workers seeking jobs across national borders.

The new ILO regional operational guidelines on fair and ethical recruitment provide guidance on licensing of private recruitment agencies, the monitoring of recruitment processes, effective inspection and enforcement mechanisms, and acting on complaints. The regional operational guidelines have been developed as a practical resource for regulators in the ASEAN region and are intended to apply to both countries of origin, and destination, depending on the context.