Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
During the first six months of this year, 101,365 Sri Lankans migrated to other
countries for employment, down from 111,481 over the same period in 2005, Sri
Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) director Athauda Jayawardena was
quoted as saying in the Daily News.
<p>"The crisis in the Middle East had affected the number of departures during
this period," he said, adding that he was optimistic that the number would
increase by the end of the year.</p>
<p>SLBFE research manager M. Desapriya was quoted as saying that in the first
half of the year, nearly 87,000 flew to the Middle East countries while many
went to countries like South Korea and Malaysia as factory workers.</p>
<p>He said there was good demand for skilled labourers in the construction industry
in Qatar.</p>
<p>While Lebanon was an attractive destination in the first few months of the
year, it was a no-go zone in the latter months with some 6,000 workers returning
due to the crisis, he said.</p>
<p>The Daily News said total remittances sent by migrant workers in the first
half of the year was 122 billion rupees (US$1.2 billion).– BERNAMA
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