Indonesia Presses ASEAN for Mandatory Safety Net as Migrant Crisis Risks Mount
Indonesia has urged ASEAN nations to create a mandatory safety net for the region's 7 million migrant workers to better handle cross-border crises. The proposal includes automated emergency systems and standardized protocols for workers in high-risk sectors like fishing.
Why it matters
Improving protections for migrant workers is a critical human rights and labor issue in Southeast Asia, where informal labor is common.
**BANGKOK **- Indonesia has called on Southeast Asian nations to establish coordinated crisis mechanisms to protect the region's estimated 7 million intra-ASEAN migrant workers during cross-border emergencies.
Addressing the 29th ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting in Bangkok on Wednesday, Aug.. 26, Indonesian Manpower Minister Yassierli warned that existing bilateral frameworks regularly fracture during acute shocks, leaving vulnerable laborers without consular access, emergency shelters, or safe evacuation channels.
Indonesia’s proposal establishes three strategic priorities: deploying early-stage emergency systems that trigger automatically at the onset of a crisis, synchronizing cross-sectoral coordination across foreign affairs, immigration, and disaster management agencies, and guaranteeing post-crisis assistance through structured rehabilitation once workers return to their home countries.
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