Training Program on
Enhancing Labor Migration Management in the
Greater Mekong Subregion
Copyright© International Organization for
Migration 2012
MODULE 5: Importance of Cross-border Migration for
the GMS Cooperation and Integration and AEC
5a. Interdependent
of Mekong
Countries
5b. Harmonizing
national labor
migration polices
and international
mechanism and
regulations,
especially in the
AEC context
5c. Labour
Migration
Contribution to
Regional
Development: Case
Studies
5d. ASEAN
Economic
Community and its
implications
Copyright© International Organization for
Migration 2012
5e. Harmonization
of skill standard
and Mutual
Recognition
Arrangement
5b. Harmonizing national labor migration
polices and international mechanism and
regulations, especially in the AEC context
Copyright© International Organization for
Migration 2012
Learning Objectives 5b
Understand general information of
liberalization of free movement of
highly skilled
Learn critical gaps to implement
labour mobility in the concept of the
AEC.
Copyright© International Organization for
Migration 2012
The ASEAN Community
Establishment of
ASEAN Community
in 2015
Free movement of
goods, services,
investment, skilled
labour, and the
freer flow of
capital
Initial focus is on
the mobility of
professional
service providers
5
ASEAN is Committed to Mobility
• Harmonizing and
standardizing labour markets
• Promoting mutual
recognition of professional
credentials, talents, and
skills development.
• Strengthening research
capabilities of AMS to:
– promote skills and job
placements
– develop labour market
information networks
• Easing visa requirements
for ASEAN nationals
6
Development Cooperation Seminar
In 2010, Thai Ministry of Labour and the UN Country Team hosted Towards
and Beyond ASEAN 2015: Labour Mobility and its Implications for Thailand
Brought together a range of stakeholders, including government ministries,
international organizations, academia and professional associations
Highlighted challenges and ways forward
Delivered a range of recommendations to inform Thai policy makers
Provided impetus for further action on preparing for increased mobility of
skilled labour.
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7
Development Cooperation Seminar
Recommendations
emphasized the
need to:
• Engage all relevant stakeholders including line ministries,
professional associations and civil society, to work together
to strategize for labour mobility
• Establish and maintain clear modes of communication and
cooperation between key stakeholders
• Enhance skills and standards among skilled workers to meet
international/regional standards and upgrade Thailand’s
human resource development strategy to increase the
competitiveness of the Thai workforce in ASEAN.
• Collect and disseminate information on labour supply and
demand in Thailand
8
SLOM Forum on Increased Mobility of
Skilled Labour
The forum aims to:
Provide a platform for Senior Labour and Economic Officials
to exchange views on required priority actions to support
labour mobility
Deliver practical and realistic recommendations
Complement existing ongoing programmes/initiatives e.g.
ALM Workplan 2010-2015.
Deliver recommendations to the SLOM and share with other
relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies
9
Challenges to Progress
Ensuring the mutual recognition of qualifications, for
example by implementing Mutual Recognition Agreements
Prevalence of domestic legislation not conducive to
increased labour mobility
Lack of information sharing among key stakeholders
Development of a regional labour market
10
Mutual Recognition Agreements
Eight MRAs have been
concluded
However, AADCP II Free Flow
of Skilled Labour Study notes:
• MRAs have not greatly increased
mobility of skilled labour
• No common core competencies
have been identified
• Limited harmonisation of
standards has occurred
11
Domestic Labour Laws
Diverse immigration and employment
regulations in the region create barriers
to regional interaction including:
Protection of domestic labour markets
Non-recognition of qualifications
Complex and onerous application
processes for visas
12
Information sharing
Limited opportunities for
multi-stakeholder dialogue
and information sharing
between key stakeholders.
An efficient labour market
requires reliable and easily
accessible information on
labour market conditions.
13
Development of regional labour market
Producing and disseminating
information on employment
opportunities and skills required
Providing opportunities to acquire
the necessary skills and
qualifications within regional
frameworks
Minimization of negative effects
(e.g. brain drain, reliance on
import of workers)
14
Thank you!
Claudia Natali
International Organization for Migration
IOM Thailand
[email protected]