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By APD writer Carmelo M. Acuña
Discriminatory attitudes and practices against migrant workers have prevailed as public support for them remains limited in destination countries of Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
According to a report by the International Labour Organization and UN Women entitled “Public attitudes towards migrant workers in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand,” that despite the increase in overall migration over the last decade, positive attitude towards migrant workers have declined.
In an ILO statement datelined Bangkok late Wednesday afternoon, it was learned the study surveyed 4,099 nationals in four countries, was a follow-up of an earlier survey made by the ILO nine years ago. The study analyses changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) in relation to women and men migrant workers, and advances recommendations for promoting positive attitudes.
Launched to commemorate the International Migrants Day on Friday, December 18, the study reiterates the need for more interaction and community engagement with migrant workers to counter exclusion, isolation, and discrimination.
Latest estimates revealed some 11.6 million, 5.2 million of whom are women, documented migrant workers in South-East Asia and the Pacific. Migrant workers make crucial contributions to economies and societies of both origin and destination countries. However, despite clear labour market shortages, and the economic gains from labour migration, not all of the public are convinced of the need for migrant workers.
According to the survey respondents, over half in Malaysia and Thailand and over a third in Japan, and a quarter from Singapore said there is a need for migrant workers in their countries. Still when asked if migrant workers are a “drain to the economy,” about a third of respondents from Singapore and Japan, 40 percent in Thailand and nearly half of Malaysian respondents agreed.
A significant number of those interviewed said they thought crime rates increased due to migration. Over half of the respondents in Singapore and Japan, over three quarters from Thailand and a surprising 83 percent of those surveyed in Malaysia agreed that higher crime was linked to inbound migration. New evidence of the causal impact of migration on crime finds that migrant workers in Malaysia reduce both in property and violent crime. The World Bank recently published an increase of 100,000 migrant workers in Malaysia reduces crimes by 9.9 percent, “underscoring that negative attitudes towards migrant workers are not fact-based.”
“There is no proof to say that foreigners commit crimes. Mostly, they come here to work and not to get punished. As (migrants) are lower skilled, local people have bias towards them, so they think that migrant workers committed crimes,” said an NGO staff in Singapore.
A significant number of those surveyed believe that migrant workers threaten their country’s culture and heritage, and many say that migrant workers cannot be trusted.
Latest available figures at the Department of Foreign Affairs revealed there are 1,451,550 migrant workers in Japan (271,807), Malaysia (950,043), Singapore (200,000) and Thailand (29,700) as of December 31,2018.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
