Brexit farm workers scheme found fuelling risk of slavery in UK
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Migrant farm workers in Britain are being trapped and mistreated by employers in conditions ripe for modern slavery, campaigners said on Tuesday, urging the government to review a scheme designed to avoid agricultural labour shortages post-Brexit. Seasonal labourers in Scotland have been pressured to sign zero-hour contracts, made to live and […]
“How will they survive?”: Myanmar coup cuts lifeline for migrants’ families
BEH LIH YI and NANCHANOK WONGSAMUTH, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on the impact of Myanmar’s military coup on the pipeline of money migrant workers send home to help their families…
Ethiopia’s migrants turn to sex work as pandemic sends them home
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaThomson Reuters Foundation As an Ethiopian working as a maid in Dubai, life was far from easy for Yemisrach. But when the coronavirus pandemic struck, forcing her to return home and take up sex work, things got a whole lot worse. Hiding her bruised face behind dark glasses, Yemisrach said she had been […]
No papers, no jab: Lebanon’s migrants face barriers to COVID-19 vaccination
Beirut, LebanonThomson Reuters Foundation An Ethiopian who has lived in Lebanon for more than two decades, Jamal, aged 70, speaks Arabic with a near-native tongue. But like many migrants, he had no idea that he was entitled to a COVID-19 vaccination under the nation’s inoculation drive, and that due to his age, he should be […]
Stung by COVID-19, Indian businesses rethink worker benefits
Mumbai, India Thomson Reuters Foundation As Kerala’s industrial heartland cranks back to life post-lockdown, orders are returning to its printing presses, workshops and chemical plants. But to bosses’ dismay, many workers are in no hurry to come back from their villages. “There is a strong reluctance among the workers to return,” said Rajesh Gopalakrishnan, head […]
Wow!: How India’s non-profit buses are a lifeline to jobs for villagers
ROLI SRIVASTAVA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how non-profit bus lines are helping workers get back to their jobs…
Big brands, small firms offer pandemic aid to Thailand’s migrant workers
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Global brands and small firms are providing aid to migrant workers in Thailand after a jump in coronavirus cases, a move backed by activist groups on Thursday who urged businesses to help pay for testing and access healthcare. In Samut Sakhon, a province south of Bangkok where an outbreak began at […]
Migrant workers suffer as coronavirus cases surge in Thailand
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Migrant workers in Thailand are struggling to find work and survive after coronavirus cases in the South-East Asian nation reached record highs and employers imposed new restrictions, according to human rights groups. In Samut Sakhon, a province south of Bangkok where the current outbreak began at a seafood market late last […]
Asian migrant workers locked up, dumped as coronavirus curbs ease
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Migrant workers in Asia are being locked up and abandoned by employers even as countries ease coronavirus curbs, say human rights groups, which are calling for better housing and changes to visa laws. The warning came after more than a dozen workers from Myanmar were dumped by the roadside in Thailand […]
COVID-19 will likely widen yawning migrant pay gap – UN
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Migrants earn up to 42 per cent less than national workers in high-income countries, with the COVID-19 pandemic likely to exacerbate the pay gap and women worse affected than men, UN labour experts said on Monday. The pay discrepancy has widened markedly in many countries in the last five years, notably […]