Labor Migration
The Thin Line between Labor Migration and Trafficking
September 14, 2022
Blog Post
Bangladeshis are a vital workforce for this island destination in the Indian Ocean. But for many it’s far from paradise.
GovAsia – More than the Sum of Their Remittances
April 1, 2021
Publication
Welcome to Issue 1.2 of GovAsia. Published four times a year, GovAsia provides a platform for The Asia Foundation and its partners to examine the critical social, economic, and political problems facing citizens and governments across Asia, drawing on the Foundation’s daily engagement with politically rooted development challenges. GovAsia aims to… Read more
Nepalese Labor Migration—A Status Report
June 6, 2018
Blog Post
Like so many citizens in countries facing shrinking economic opportunities at home, many Nepalis have sought employment abroad, and international labor migration has become an accepted avenue for economic growth, both for the individual and for the nation. Nepal’s political and socioeconomic systems are in a period of transition, and the country is… Read more
How Mobile Tech is Making Migration More Secure and Less Costly
May 9, 2018
Blog Post
For millions of Nepali workers who have gone overseas for work in recent years, smartphones have become a crucial tool for navigating the highly complex and risky process of international migration. Yet despite this widespread smartphone usage, there remain serious information gaps between those seeking to migrate and the providers of important ser… Read more
Labor Migration for Employment – A Status Report For Nepal: 2015/2016 & 2016/2017
May 8, 2018
Publication
Launched by the Minister of Labour, Employment, and Social Security, Hon’ble Gokarna Bista, the third Labour Migration for Employment: A Status Report for Nepal report is part of continuous collaborative efforts between the Ministry and three development partners: The Asia Foundation, International Labor Organization, and International Organization… Read more
Labor Migration’s Impact Economically, Socially and Politically in Nepal
Kathmandu, September 7, 2017
Program Snapshot Post
At Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Airport, young men and women snake through the international terminal, waiting their turn to begin what could be the world’s longest commute to work. More than 1,500 people depart the country in this way every day, mostly bound for temporary jobs as construction workers, domestic servants, or low-skill laborers in the Gulf… Read more
Labor Migration: A Gender-Neutral Lens to Human Trafficking
July 12, 2017
Blog Post
The issue of human trafficking took center stage in the global development discourse with the release of the U.S. State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on June 27, 2017. The report assesses the progress made by countries worldwide to combat human trafficking and grades them into three tier ratings. Nepal has once again been… Read more
New Study Examines Labor Migration Impact on Social, Political Dynamics in Nepal
March 22, 2017
Blog Post
Over the past decade, Nepal has seen a ten-fold increase in the number of migrant laborers leaving the country to work abroad, and the majority are youth. This phenomenon has led to the exodus of a significant proportion of the country’s working-age population, with the remittances that they send back home making up nearly a third of the country’s… Read more
Labour Migration and the Remittance Economy
March 13, 2017
Publication
Despite the continual rise in the number of people migrating for foreign employment and the growing body of research on Nepal’s remittance economy, there is a dearth of knowledge on the impact of foreign labour migration on the social and political dynamics at the local level. This study aims to fill that gap by seeking to understand the implicatio… Read more
Cross-Border Labor Migration Surges in Cambodia, Raising Risk of Human Trafficking
December 14, 2016
Blog Post
On Monday, Cambodia celebrated a National Day Against Human Trafficking, drawing attention not only to the challenges the country faces, but also to the strides that it has made in combatting trafficking. Last year, Cambodia implemented the first national action plan against trafficking and in June, the U.S. State Department’s annual Trafficking in… Read more
Labor Migration for Employment – A Status Report For Nepal: 2014/2015
September 21, 2016
Publication
Labor Migration for Employment A Status Report For Nepal: 2014/2015 is a publication by the Ministry of Labor and Employment of the Government of Nepal that was jointly supported by The Asia Foundation in Nepal’s USAID funded Combating Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) program, the International Migration Organization (IOM) and the International Labor… Read more
The Safe Migration App
August 1, 2016
Publication
To help make the process of labor migration safer and more secure, Shuvayatra – a free mobile app – is placing the combined knowledge of experts, advocates, and the global Nepali diaspora in the hands of migrant workers.
Migrant Child Labor in the Thai Seafood Industry
September 23, 2015
Blog Post
Migrant workers from Myanmar fill a critical niche in Thailand’s multi-billion-dollar seafood industry. As Thais increasingly shy away from shrimp and seafood processing jobs that many consider “3D” work – dirty, dangerous, and difficult – migrants are stepping in to fill these positions.
Migrant and Child Labor in Thailand’s Shrimp and Other Seafood Supply Chains: Labor Conditions and the Decision to Study or Work
September 14, 2015
Publication
To address child labor and labor conditions of migrant workers in Thailand’s shrimp and other seafood supply chains, the International Labour Organization and The Asia Foundation present the landmark study: Migrant and Child Labor in Thailand’s Shrimp and Other Seafood Supply Chains: Labor Conditions and the Decision to Study or Work. The study pro… Read more
AEC Skilled-Labor Migration: A Gap between Aspiration and Reality?
August 26, 2015
Blog Post
As ASEAN countries have moved up the technology ladder and the demand for skills has grown, a labor gap has emerged that mirrors the gap between more- and less-developed nations. Higher-income countries such as Thailand, with falling birthrates and greying populations, are suffering from growing labor shortages in sectors such as healthcare and IT, while lower-income countries face burgeoning youth populations and high levels of graduate unemployment.
Report Examines Labor Migration in Nepal
October 1, 2014
Blog Post
In 2013, the number of international migrants worldwide reached 232 million. Over the past decade, Nepal has experienced a surge in migration for foreign employment to destination countries. As more Nepali citizens aspire and depart for foreign jobs, regulators face new challenges in ensuring that the well-being and rights of migrant workers are sa… Read more
Framing Human Trafficking to Address Commoditization of Human Beings
August 13, 2014
Blog Post
The U.S Government’s latest Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report makes some critical observations in relation to how 187 countries are addressing human trafficking, and how this relates to the larger issues of labor migration and its manifestation into forced labor.