Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute (MI) organized the expert meeting on Mekong Institutes Labor Migration and Care Program on 11 July 2011 at MI Training Center located in Khon Kaen, Thailand.  

The one-day meeting aims to provide space for the experts to validate and prioritize the needs of labor migration management and skill standardization and recognition in the GMS, as well as to elaborate on a join plan of actions for the next three years.   

The experts raised some questions for MI to clarify on how, who, and whose that the need assessment has been conducted with and implied to. The key word actors is significant to be indicated in order to design an effective framework and cooperation.

There is no objection in terms of MIs focused areas: labor migration management and skill standardization and recognition. However, the experts questioned on how MI is going to run the program on skill standardization and recognition. Furthermore, the experts recommended the linkage and integration of MIs labor migration framework with the existing ASEAN framework on migrant workers, ASEAN Integrated Economic 2015-2020, ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, and international labor standards.

After the group discussion on action plan based on three MIs modalities; research, training and policy consultation, the meeting came up with the recommendations on what, how, and with whom to run the training and consultation program. Regarding the research, experts pointed out there are many researches on this issue already but what MI has capacity to do is to digest researches by merging with existing international frameworks and labor standards. Then create a handbook in simple local languages to facilitate the consultation meetings or trainings for better implication and implementation of the labor migration policies among the GMS which considering as a main gap of migration management.