Migrant Labour, Immigrants And Jobs..

The cheap labour model that has driven the economies of most of South East Asia,China and other nations may be running out of breath.Twelve people jumped off buildings at a certain factory's facilities in Shenzen ( two survived however) exposing problems related to ill treatment, mismanagement of staff,military style training and a no nonsense corporate culture. Production line workers,including pregnant women were forced to stand for eight hours on their jobs while not having time to cmunicate with friends and support nests.Withholding of wages , locking away of personal document etc etc. are some of the abuses.Pay cuts and longer working hours are held out to these so as to reming them that their jobs are at the mercy of the Boss.

Nine million Filipinos work abroad as migrant workers.Another four million , mostly from India, work in the Gulf region.The recent global meltdown has driven sixty million people below the poverty line worldwide.Twenty million migrant workers have lost their jobs in China alone. It is estimated that about eighty million migrant workers have crossed borders in search of jobs between China and South East Asia alone.

One looming question over all this is what will happen if these millions lose their jobs,expelled or thrown out of work in another economic crunch? What about again about their remittances to their home countries which have become a big source of income for countries such as the Phillipines and Bangladesh besides propping up their families and households?A gnawing fear is, if and when another downsizing slits the throats of economies will these workers have jobs to hang on to ? Can they just stay afloat in the labour markets of their host countries? Will they be allowed to stay on , or will they turn to crime or become powder kegs of social unrest?

The story of both immigrants and migrant labour is :freedoms.Financial and personal freedoms.It's easy to feel snug and comfortable for the others who are citizens .But anyday ,anyone of us can be caught up like an antelope in a net as economies are battered.. Here's one preventive step, a preemptive strike if you care to call it.

To your future,

The e-business option

If You're A Small Business Owner..

Cally Rao