Qayyimah Contributes to the National Preparatory Meeting for the 16th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour 2023
On the 14th of October 2023, Volunteer Research Associate, Qayyimah Al-Zelzy represented the Global Awareness and Impact Alliance (GAIA) at the National Preparatory Meeting for the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Forum on Migrant Labour (AFML). The event was held at the Youth Centre in Bandar Seri Begawan and co-organised by the Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers, Project Women Brunei and Youth Against Slavery (YAS) Brunei. Representatives from government agencies, embassies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were invited to discuss recommendations and review good practices regarding key issues migrant workers face in Southeast Asia.
Based on the 16th AFML theme, ‘Enhancing the Effectiveness of Legal Pathways for Labour Migration in ASEAN’, the meeting sought to explore ways and means to improve labour migration programmes and create inclusive and responsive legal migration pathways for the labour market across ASEAN.
Prior to that, participants discussed activities and policies set forth by the 15th AFML. In particular, representatives from local government agencies highlighted Brunei’s new minimum wage policy that came into effect in July 2023. Per the policy, full-time workers in the banking, finance, and ICT sectors will receive a minimum monthly wage of $500, while part-time workers are to earn at least $2.62 per hour. The policy aligns with the 15th AFML’s theme, ‘Resumption of Labour Migration and Regional Cooperation,’ which aims to recover ASEAN economies from the COVID-19 pandemic through various actions and cooperation.
Participants then broke out into two groups to come up with ways to improve ASEAN’s labour migration programmes and enhance legal migration pathways before presenting their ideas to the rest of the group. Notably, Qayyimah led her group’s presentation by discussing how each stakeholder can help improve labour migration programmes. Qayyimah's group proposed the establishment of a regional database containing the skill sets of workers and labourers from Southeast Asia. In addition, Qayyimah suggested the creation of a national database that could effectively match the demands of local and overseas government agencies and employers' organisations when seeking skilled workers and labourers.
GAIA’s participation in the National Preparatory Meeting was highly beneficial and eye-opening as it emphasised the significance of cross-sector collaboration and combining different resources, knowledge and expertise in developing practical and sustainable policies. Additionally, the collective review of past activities and current challenges enabled all stakeholders to evaluate policy alternatives and consider evidence-based approaches to improve existing policies on ASEAN migrant workers.
The meeting ended with a consolidated draft of the Brunei recommendations for the 16th AFML that was subsequently held between the 25th and the 26th of October 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia. All participants extended their appreciation to the co-organisers for the opportunity to take part in shaping a better future for migrant workers across Southeast Asia.