Southeast Asia’s migrant labour dilemma

Instead of curbing citizens’ freedom to work abroad, countries should improve labour standards.

Covid-19 has disrupted labour markets around the world, causing a global manpower shortage . Lockdowns in the early months of the pandemic triggered an exodus of millions of rural migrant workers from booming megacities like New Delhi and Dhaka. In the Global North, the United Kingdom has experienced the largest decline in its foreign-born labour force since World War II. Countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also have been affected: Vietnam ’s labour shortage recently worsened after the easing of travel restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City led to a large outflow of migrant workers.