With a market size of 2.3 trillion US dollars, ASEAN has solidified its position as the third-largest economy in Asia and the fifth-largest globally. Large-scale recruitment of migrant labour is integral to economic development and will increase even more as the region’s economies grow and contribute to global value chains (GVCs). Migrant workers are part of the 75 million workers in ASEAN who are employed in GVCs, accounting for more than 25 per cent of total employment in the region.
Philippine Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, who serves as ALMM Chair, discusses two new ASEAN declarations that champion the rights and welfare of migrant workers and their families. He also describes a Philippine-led public campaign to raise awareness on safe and fair migration in the ASEAN region. Secretary Laguesma also shares some of the Philippines’ recent initiatives to assist its migrant workers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the creation of an online platform to track their repatriation, provision of various forms of assistance, and the establishment of a new department for migrant workers.
Women in ASEAN in the Era of Digitalisation: Facing Challenges and Seizing Opportunities
The celebration of Women’s Month this year resonated deeply with the priorities and commitments of ASEAN to forge ahead with gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. In the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to ASEAN, we celebrated Women’s Month by citing that parity has been achieved with 50 per cent of current membership now being women.
The ASEAN region has made progress in many sectors, but challenges remain, especially in the area of girls’ and women’s access to health and education.
Meryana (not her real name) is a 12-year old girl from Noinbila, a small village in South Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. This year, she had to give up on her dream of going to junior high school. Due to economic hardships exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, her parents could only send one of their children to school, Meryana’s older brother, Ronald (not his real name).
The 2022 ASEAN SDG Snapshot Report highlighted ASEAN’s progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the pandemic, the region is likely to fall short on Goal 1 on ending poverty and Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth.