Article contributed by Vilashini Vijayan, Executive Officer, Bar Council Migrants, Refugees and Immigration Affairs Committee; with photos by Satha Selvan Subramaniam, Senior Administrative Assistant, Bar Council
As part of an International Labour Organization (“ILO”) and Bar Council Malaysia collaboration, a consultation on the topic of “Role of Labour Attachés and Consular Officers in Addressing Forced Labour” was held with labour attachés for migrant–sending countries on 25 Apr 2018. All labour attachés of labour–sending countries were invited to the event, and the attachés from the following countries attended the consultation: Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The consultation was chaired by M Ramachelvam, Chairperson of the Bar Council Migrants, Refugees and Immigration Affairs Committee.
The consultation was aimed at strengthening national and global efforts to eliminate forced labour by tackling root causes and enhancing labour migration policies and practices. The consultation dealt with the following topics:
(1) Indicators of forced labour in relation to migrant workers;(2) Roles of labour attachés and consular officers in addressing forced labour and issued faced by migrant workers;(3) Recommendations from previous consultations with labour attachés and consular officers; and(4) Knowledge sharing among the labour attachés and consular officers on the existing plans and actions by various governments in addressing migrant labour issues.