The adverse implications of the increasing need for foreign labor in developed Asian nations was a key theme at a Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific's migration network meeting held recently in Vietnam. Attendees of the migration network meeting discussed the increasingly open immigration regulations that have been put in place in Japan, Taiwan and Korea to address local worker shortages.
Nations such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia are among the countries supplying migrant workers.
Attendees at the Ho Chi Minh City meeting heard how migration for labor has become a profitable industry where worker security and safety often come after profits.
As pointed out at the meeting, an increased demand requires a need to put in place mechanisms that can curb the exploitation of migrant workers.
The meeting looked at ways that the network could react to migratory flows as they evolved and develop ways to best assist the needs of the most vulnerable.