TRIANGLE Partnerships for Fair and Effective Labour Migration in ASEAN

Background

Labour migration has long been a feature of the economic and social dynamism of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Disparities in economic development and stability between Member States, fuelled by demographic changes, mean that migration makes a substantial contribution to improved livelihoods and skills development, as well as increased labour market efficiency in the region.

However, due to high costs and complex procedures during recruitment and decent work deficits during employment, many ASEAN migrant workers face human and labour rights challenges. Furthermore, migrant workers are usually excluded from skills training opportunities in countries of destination and similarly struggle to have their skills recognized upon return home. A significant portion of migrant workers are also in irregular situations due to complex and costly legal migration processes, as well as greater labour market demand than admissions allow.

While there are significant flows of skilled and professional workers, most ASEAN migrant workers are employed in low-paid occupations in agriculture, construction, fisheries, manufacturing and services, including domestic work and care, typically arranged under temporary labour migration schemes governed by bilateral agreements.

ILO response

Responding to these challenges, TRIANGLE Partnerships for fair and effective labour migration in ASEAN (TRIANGLE Partnerships) is a five-year regional labour migration programme funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs / Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (FDFA / SDC).

TRIANGLE Partnerships aims to ensure that migrant workers in ASEAN benefit from enhanced livelihoods through improved access to skills development, rights protection, safe pathways and effective regional migration governance.

The programme will operate on three levels under three outcomes, aimed to strengthen the relationship between the ASEAN level agenda, national policy and local implementation:

• Regional (ASEAN): Strengthening ASEAN labour migration governance through improved regional standards, stakeholder collaboration, skills recognition and evince-based policy making.
• National: Supporting inclusive labour migration systems through rights-based laws, policy, practices and institutional capacity.
• Local: Improving migrant workers’ access to services, rights protection, and skills development and recognition throughout all stages of the migration cycle.

Key technical areas of work

Action on regional, national and local levels is overlaid onto the key technical areas of work including fair recruitment and legal pathways; skills mobility, recognition and development; social protection and the portability of social security benefits; labour protection and decent work; and reintegration.

Four cross-cutting strategies will guide the work across all interventions; the gender equality and disability equity strategy, the locally led development strategy, the climate change and disaster-related adaptation and resilience strategy, and the private sector engagement strategy.

Geographical coverage

TRIANGLE Partnerships has a regional scope with a focus on ASEAN and country level programming in eight countries, selected based on their ODA status, large intra-ASEAN migrant flows and capacity building needs, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Timor Leste.

Partners

The main partners include ASEAN institutions with mandate on labour migration and skills development; labour ministries, workers and employers’ organizations, recruitment agency associations and civil society organizations at regional and national levels.

Target groups

The ultimate beneficiaries of TRIANGLE Partnerships are current, potential and returned migrant workers and their families. Over its five-year duration, the programme aims to directly support more than 200,000 migrant workers and other beneficiaries across the region.