https://www.scmp.com/rss/330420/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Asia needs millions more long-term care workers to look after its ageing population. Fuelled by increasing life expectancy and falling total fertility rates, the number of people in Asia aged 60 or over will reach 1.3 billion by 2050. For example, in 1960, the average life expectancy in China was just 44. By 2060, it is expected to reach 83. These older people have more complex conditions, leading to a greater need for long-term care. In the past, this meant younger people tended to stay close... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3177277/ageing-asia-needs-immigration-reform-end-care-worker-shortage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3177277/ageing-asia-needs-immigration-reform-end-care-worker-shortage?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 May 2022 01:45:16 +0000 China’s young migrant workers are turning up their noses at humdrum factory jobs – a line of employment that previous generations were content with. Instead, many are opting to join the nation’s army of delivery workers, lured by better pay and more flexible hours. “An internship at a factory can’t teach you anything,” said Liao Yong, a 19-year-old delivery driver in Beijing, where the job can easily bring in 15,000 yuan (US$2,350) a month – or about twice what some factory workers make on the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3175078/chinas-migrant-workers-are-shunning-factory-jobs-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3175078/chinas-migrant-workers-are-shunning-factory-jobs-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Apr 2022 22:00:12 +0000 Malaysia is looking to ease a pandemic-driven labour crunch that has choked its key plantation and manufacturing industries by hastening the hiring of migrant workers. The country is expected to hire nearly 180,000 workers over the next six weeks, according to Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan. A special committee will meet daily from April 15 to speed up the approval process, state news agency Bernama reported on Wednesday, citing Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Zuraida... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3174197/malaysia-speed-hiring-180000-foreign-workers-ease-shortage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3174197/malaysia-speed-hiring-180000-foreign-workers-ease-shortage?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Apr 2022 03:18:09 +0000 When Josephine*, a 54-year-old domestic worker from the Philippines, began to have a sore throat, she feared it was Covid-19. It was at the time when Hong Kong was going through the most serious wave of the pandemic and hospitals were running out of beds. She was right. After testing positive for the virus, she was given “cold, cough and fever” medicine by medical staff who told her to stay home. But instead of sleeping in her bed, Josephine’s employers made her take a mattress to their... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3172875/sick-domestic-workers-left-homeless-and-jobless-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3172875/sick-domestic-workers-left-homeless-and-jobless-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Apr 2022 03:30:16 +0000 China’s first-tier cities are losing their lustre as mass lay-offs and rising costs are increasingly driving people to seek a life in secondary cities such as Chengdu and Hangzhou amid the economic headwinds facing the country. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou used to be the most glamorous cities in China, heavily coveted by young people and college graduates. Yet, the latest data shows that the populations of these cities have either declined or stagnated. In 2021, the number of residents in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3172161/chinas-biggest-cities-losing-appeal-rising-costs-and-job?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3172161/chinas-biggest-cities-losing-appeal-rising-costs-and-job?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Mar 2022 13:30:23 +0000 The Indonesian narrator utters the words, “Taiwan is not as beautiful as profile pictures on Facebook”. That thought is followed by another proclamation. “Sponsors [labour brokers] and PJTKI (Indonesian migrant worker placement companies) always have sweet promises to spread persuasion. Promises sometimes contradict reality [in Taiwan].” The lines were spoken by Tari Sasha, the main character of the 17-minute long animated documentary Homebound. It continues the stories explored in the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3170950/indonesian-migrant-workers-taiwan-face-struggles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3170950/indonesian-migrant-workers-taiwan-face-struggles?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Mar 2022 09:00:18 +0000 Van* had never seen snow or left her home country of Vietnam until she arrived in Romania. She is among hundreds of employees at a turkey meat producing plant in the small town of Codlea, about three hours from the capital Bucharest. “I went far away to work so that my son can have a better life and his life will not be as hard as his mother’s,’’ Van told This Week in Asia, adding that she sends money home from the Eastern European state every month. In 2019, Van, who is from a town in northern... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3170654/vietnamese-migrants-fill-romanias-worker-crunch-face-risk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3170654/vietnamese-migrants-fill-romanias-worker-crunch-face-risk?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Mar 2022 08:00:20 +0000 Karan Aggarwal, 54, is a businessman with commercial interests across India and the Middle East. Over the years he has often considered moving to Dubai or at least buying a second home there. Now, fuelled in part by the coronavirus pandemic, he has finally taken the plunge, relocating to the emirate with his family. The Aggarwals are far from alone. They are part of a new wave of wealthy Indians flocking to Dubai who have been lured by its sparkling clean streets, world-class infrastructure and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3169214/why-affluent-indian-expats-are-following-shah-rukh-khan-and-sania?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3169214/why-affluent-indian-expats-are-following-shah-rukh-khan-and-sania?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Mar 2022 07:00:10 +0000 Singapore plans to introduce a points-based visa system for some of its highest-paid foreign workers, including scores for how the applicant’s nationality contributes to the diversity of their firm, in addition to education, skills and pay. The programme unveiled Friday in parliament by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng is among the biggest visa changes ever for a nation that relies heavily on overseas labour across all sectors. It’s similar to moves by other developed economies like the UK in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3169326/singapores-new-rules-expat-visas-nationality-among?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3169326/singapores-new-rules-expat-visas-nationality-among?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Mar 2022 15:06:20 +0000 China’s decades-long urbanisation push may have reached a bottleneck, after the movement of rural residents to large cities rose by less than 1 percentage point last year for the first time in 25 years. And the downward trend looks to continue this year, experts say, as various local governments have lowered their economic growth targets, making it difficult to generate enough jobs to further support migrant workers working and living cities. The nation’s urbanisation rate of permanent residents... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168678/chinas-urbanisation-push-could-be-bottleneck-slowest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168678/chinas-urbanisation-push-could-be-bottleneck-slowest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Feb 2022 10:30:19 +0000 Consumption over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in China failed to get anywhere near pre-pandemic levels, and some analysts warn that the downtrend could signal a worsening economy. During the holiday period that ended on Sunday, Chinese tourists took 251 million trips and contributed 289.2 billion yuan (US$45.4 billion) in tourism revenue – 26.1 per cent and 43.7 per cent less than the respective totals during the holiday in 2019, and 2 per cent and 3.9 per cent below the holiday last... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166126/chinas-weak-consumption-over-lunar-new-year-may-signal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166126/chinas-weak-consumption-over-lunar-new-year-may-signal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 10:33:56 +0000 In the past couple of months, a 31-year-old migrant worker has gained notoriety in China for teaching himself English and immersing himself in philosophical studies while doing blue-collar work for more than a decade. When he was not toiling away in garment factories, warehouses and printing houses, Chen Zhi translated a version of American academic Richard Polt’s Heidegger: An Introduction – considered one of the most authoritative explorations of German philosopher Martin Heidegger’s work –... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3165371/chinas-migrant-workers-challenging-status-quo-chasing-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3165371/chinas-migrant-workers-challenging-status-quo-chasing-their?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Jan 2022 08:00:23 +0000 In the last two years, some of Malaysia’s biggest export earners from the glove making and palm oil industries have seen their goods banned by the US government over allegations of forced labour. The A-listers sanctioned by Washington include Sime Darby and FGV Holdings, among the world’s biggest palm oil producers, with other buyers reportedly blocking them from their own supply chains as well. Top Glove, the world’s largest medical glove maker was banned by the US in July 2020 over... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3163999/malaysias-track-record-labour-rights-under-scrutiny-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3163999/malaysias-track-record-labour-rights-under-scrutiny-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jan 2022 00:30:17 +0000 Singapore residents bemoaning expensive home prices now have something else to worry about: rising rents. Rents have jumped to a six-year high, and analysts anticipate further increases as demand outweighs supply. That’s adding to costs for residents of the financial hub, especially expatriates, at a time when inflationary pressures are building. The Covid-19 pandemic can be blamed for much of the gains: a shortage of migrant workers has contributed to construction delays, forcing people to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3161218/singapore-rents-hit-six-year-high-inflation-fuels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3161218/singapore-rents-hit-six-year-high-inflation-fuels?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Dec 2021 02:07:52 +0000 Rescuers rushing to a highway accident found a horrific scene of death and injury after a freight truck jammed with as many as 200 migrants tipped over and crashed into the base of a steel pedestrian bridge in southern Mexico on Thursday. The migrants inside the cargo trailer were flipped, tossed and crushed into a pile that mingled the living and the dead. By early Friday, the death toll stood at 54, and authorities said at least 54 people had been injured. It was one of the worst single-day... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3159190/dozens-migrants-heading-us-killed-horror-truck-crash-mexico?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3159190/dozens-migrants-heading-us-killed-horror-truck-crash-mexico?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Dec 2021 07:19:01 +0000 A woman in China was detained for ‘borrowing the police’ to investigate if her husband having an affair. The woman called the police on her husband and lied that he had hired a sex worker. When police officers arrived at the hotel in Shaoxing, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, they found the man, surnamed Wang, was the only person in the room, and there were no traces that a woman had been there, according to 163.com. Officers took the couple to the police station for further investigation... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3157515/quirky-china-woman-borrows-police-see-if?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3157515/quirky-china-woman-borrows-police-see-if?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Nov 2021 01:00:25 +0000 The Chinese Question – The Gold Rushes and Global Politics by Mae Ngai, pub. W.W. Norton Columbia University history professor Mae Ngai is on a mission to free the Chinese from slavery. In particular she wants to liberate most 19th century Chinese emigrants from the label “coolies”. While 300,000 or so may have set out as indentured labourers, such as those recruited or kidnapped for plantation work on assorted Caribbean islands, even more who went to the settler colonies of the United States... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3146697/coolies-then-still-coolies-now-professor-seeking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3146697/coolies-then-still-coolies-now-professor-seeking?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Aug 2021 12:45:19 +0000 Today is International Domestic Workers’ Day. The International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted ILO Convention 189 on decent work for domestic workers in 2011, and June 16 marks the 10th anniversary of this convention. It is an opportune time for us to show our gratitude to the foreign domestic workers for their immense contribution towards the well-being and prosperity of Hong Kong. The more than 370,000 migrant domestic workers here contribute to Hong Kong directly and indirectly.  An... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3137306/more-gratitude-hong-kongs-foreign-domestic-workers-are-due-respect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3137306/more-gratitude-hong-kongs-foreign-domestic-workers-are-due-respect?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jun 2021 00:30:00 +0000 Thach Di Thi Phuong Thuy and her husband have their eyes glued to a smartphone screen in their tiny studio apartment in an industrial township near Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. They are on a video call with their son Sarum, 11, who is keen to show them the cashew nuts he helped his grandmother peel that day. Sarum lives with his brother Saruon, 13, about 180km away in the Mekong Delta, where they are being raised by the extended families of Thuy and her husband Thach Saret, who are both ethnic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3129803/china-migrant-workers-southeast-asia-are-leaving-behind-generation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3129803/china-migrant-workers-southeast-asia-are-leaving-behind-generation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Apr 2021 01:30:11 +0000 America calls itself the land of opportunity. China says it will take care of its own. Regardless of the truth behind these ideas, they are fundamental to understanding the mythologies of their respective governments. One of the core documents the Chinese government uses to “take care of everyone” is a social security card that is far more powerful than its American counterpart. While a social security number in the US is a de facto national identification system, the Chinese version is... https://www.scmp.com/society/5-china-lacks-card-access-basic-social-services/article/3122613?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/5-china-lacks-card-access-basic-social-services/article/3122613?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Feb 2021 10:01:54 +0000 The coronavirus pandemic has thrown tens of millions out of work in China, piling pressure on the country’s patchy social welfare network and creating a major policy challenge for Beijing. While the Chinese government has vowed to handle the sharp rise in unemployment, some economists have warned that the structural changes in the economy that helped absorb waves of unemployed in the past are no longer present to help in the current situation. A failure to revive the services sector and private... https://www.scmp.com/society/poor-social-safety-net-china-prepared-handle-job-crisis/article/3083971?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/poor-social-safety-net-china-prepared-handle-job-crisis/article/3083971?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2020 11:03:41 +0000 Provincial governments in China’s east coast manufacturing hubs have begun arranging buses, trains and flights to bring migrant workers back to factories as the country desperately tries to restart production halted by the coronavirus outbreak. Local authorities have been urged by President Xi Jinping to kick-start economic activity after an extended Lunar New Year holiday, but many businesses are finding one key component missing – workers. At least two-thirds of China’s nearly 300 million... https://www.scmp.com/health/china-wants-start-working-it-has-no-employees/article/3051524?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/health/china-wants-start-working-it-has-no-employees/article/3051524?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2020 10:24:56 +0000 China’s factories were the backbone of the country’s economic resurgence in the last four decades. But as the Chinese economy slows and the nation seeks to move away from the production line, more and more China’s young migrant workers are ditching the factories to find easier jobs with “more freedom” in the growing services sector. One of them, Li Tao, who earns a living as a food courier in Guangzhou, said working in China’s massive courier business it was a better option than factory... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-factories-struggle-find-staff-young-migrant-workers-switch-delivery-jobs/article/3000958?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-factories-struggle-find-staff-young-migrant-workers-switch-delivery-jobs/article/3000958?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Feb 2019 09:29:23 +0000 Lei Yan shows us her vegetables, pokes at some bees, and takes us around her urban farm in Chongqing. She is one of the many migrants laborers who moved from the rural countryside of China to the megacity that’s home over 30 million people to be a factory worker. In between the work grind and city life, she’s found solace in a patch of green land where she’s able to grow her own food and upkeep her farming skills. https://www.scmp.com/videos/little-farmer-big-city/article/3000125?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/little-farmer-big-city/article/3000125?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Sep 2018 04:48:32 +0000