Ms. Ha Thi Minh Duc, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation ( Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs ) emphasized that migrant workers will be the key to solving the problem of human resource shortage due to population aging...
On November 8, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs hosted the 17th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labor (AFML). The national workshop aimed to exchange and discuss the preparation for the 17th AFML, which will be held in Laos on November 13-14 with the theme “Care work and labor migration in ASEAN”.
The national workshop was attended by relevant units of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; ILO Office in Vietnam; Government agencies in charge of labor; employers' organizations; workers' representatives; international organizations in Vietnam; experts and press agencies.
In addition, the Workshop was connected online with the participation of international organizations in the region and the ASEAN Secretariat.
ASEAN faces aging population
At the workshop, Ms. Ha Thi Minh Duc, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that according to statistics, the proportion of elderly people in ASEAN is expected to increase to 15.49% by 2030 and all ASEAN member countries will join the aging population or old population group by 2050.
This will lead to problems such as labor shortages and increased demand for care work.
Emphasizing lessons from regional partner countries such as Japan and South Korea, Ms. Duc affirmed that, in addition to raising the retirement age and attracting the elderly back to the labor market, migrant workers will also be a key to solving the problems brought about by population aging and increasing demand for care work.
To prepare well for Vietnam's participation in the 17th AFML taking place next week, the Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation suggested that delegates attending the Workshop actively discuss, especially contribute opinions, and develop national recommendations to be incorporated into Vietnam's speech at the upcoming AFML 17.
At the Workshop, delegates shared about national activities in implementing the recommendations of the 16th AFML Forum taking place in 2023 with the theme "Care work and labor migration in ASEAN".
At the same time, update the situation of domestic labor and labor working abroad, general assessment of enterprises as well as orientation on labor protection in the future, reducing recruitment fees that workers have to pay.
The care economy is a growing sector
According to Ms. Anna Engblom - Principal Technical Adviser of the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, the care sector currently employs 285 million workers worldwide, accounting for 11.5% of total global employment.
“The care economy is critical to sustainable economic growth and decent work. Asia and the Pacific is the world’s fastest-aging region. By 2050, the number of long-term care workers in Asia and the Pacific is expected to double to 90 million,” said Anna Engblom.
With 2.2 million migrant workers, domestic workers are the largest group of migrant care workers in the ASEAN region. They account for 19% of the total 11.7 million migrant workers in the ASEAN region. 83% of them are women.
According to the ILO, domestic workers are among the least protected care workers with low wages due to the lack of public care services; long working hours, poor working conditions…
How to attract ASEAN migrant care workers to stay in the region? Ms Anna Engblom said that ASEAN countries can do more to attract and retain care workers in their care sectors.
For example: formalising the care sector, including domestic work and community volunteering; improving wages, social security and working conditions to attract migrant workers into care work; facilitating easy permit renewal;
Provide migrant care workers with effective access to skills development and recognition; prevent and address violence and discrimination against migrant care workers.
According to ILO Office Representative - Ms. Anna Engblom, Vietnam's general recommendation based on the delegates' discussion and agreement will be sent to the 17th AFML in Laos on November 13-14 for consideration.
In particular, to prepare for the 17th AFML, the Workshop had a discussion group session focusing on two main contents.
The first content is to meet the need for care through labor migration: Focusing on assessing the situation and population structure of ASEAN member countries, the issue of population aging of developed countries in the region to identify the challenges and opportunities that the increased need for care work will bring.
The second content is to strengthen the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant care workers, discussing the role of migrant workers in addressing labor shortages caused by changes in demographic structure as well as effective measures for care workers to be able to work abroad effectively and bring benefits to the community.
Finally, based on the discussion results, the delegates agreed to make a general recommendation of Vietnam to submit to the 17th AFML for consideration.
The ASEAN Forum on Migrant Workers (AFML) is an annual event organized by the ASEAN host country within the framework of the ASEAN Committee to implement the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers. The recommendations and solutions to promote migrant workers' rights proposed at the Forum will form the basis for developing and implementing national and regional activities. |
Source: https://dansinh.dantri.com.vn/nhan-luc/lao-dong-di-cu-chia-khoa-giai-quyet-thieu-hut-nhan-luc-do-gia-hoa-dan-so-20241108144610893.htm
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