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International Labour Organization

International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labour standards. It is the only ‘tripartite’ United Nations agency bringing together representatives of governments, employers and workers to shape policies and programmes.
Cambodian migrant workers cross the border at Ban Laem Border checkpoint in Chanthaburi province, Thailand, in July last year to return to their home amid the deadly border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. Photo: Reuters
Thailand

How Cambodian worker exodus exposes Thailand’s fragile labour model

An estimated 780,000 Cambodian workers have left Thailand since last year’s border conflicts, affecting a wide range of industries.

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Asean

AI threatens nearly a quarter of Southeast Asia’s workforce but not all is lost

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Middle East

Outside In | How Trump’s war on Iran is jeopardising Asia’s remittance lifeline

China jobs

AI ‘collusion’ could force wages down, warns ILO economist

Young people’s unemployment woes ‘mostly related to the current economic slowdown, more than to specific AI’, says Ekkehard Ernst.

Humanoid robots at the pilot testing and validation platform at the Beijing Innovation Centre of Humanoid Robotics on March 20. Photo: AFP
North Korea

How North Korea makes US$500 million yearly – at its own people’s expense

The report details the ‘brutal’ conditions North Korean workers endure in Russia that reveal a pattern of ‘control, coercion and abuse’.

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Trade

Outside In | Try as it might, the US alone can’t reverse the tide of globalisation

Accounting for a significant share of world trade, Europe and Asia are far more decisive players in the fast-changing globalised economy.

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Indonesia

The bitter choice for Indonesian sailors abandoned off Africa

The crew must decide: return home to their families empty-handed or stay on their ship to hopefully get months of unpaid wages.

Crew members of the tuna longliner fishing vessel at the Porto Grande port in Mindelo. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

Malaysia plans new insurance scheme for Singapore cross-border workers

The scheme will cover the nearly 400,000 Malaysian commuters who cross the causeway daily for work, minister says.

Donald Trump

Trump pulls US out of dozens of international organisations, UN agencies

Many are groups and treaties the US president’s team has categorised as catering to diversity and ‘woke’ initiatives, such as climate talks.

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Sustainability

Opinion | Why Shein doesn’t have to be the model for the fashion industry

Although the fast fashion label had a bumper 2025 while familiar brands faced collapse, the industry should not conclude that speed and scale are everything.

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Police secure the area as people queue to enter a department store, during the opening of Shein’s first physical outlet in Paris, France, on November 5, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Human rights

Ageing Asia needs domestic helpers, but can it keep them safe?

While the region cries out for care, top source nations the Philippines and Indonesia have tightened controls to curb exploitation and abuse.

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Filipino domestic workers gather on a street in Hong Kong. Indonesia and the Philippines have provided millions of helpers to the rest of Asia over the decades. Photo: Dickson Lee
India

In India, tycoon’s call to adopt ‘996’ work culture in China spurs debate

India’s parliament is debating a new law to allow staff the ‘right to disconnect’ from workplace communications after their official hours.

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Malaysia

Malaysia promises millions of gig workers a safety net, but critics see holes

A new law would mandate written contracts and dispute resolution, but labour groups argue it still leaves workers at the mercy of algorithms.

South Korea

‘Workplaces of death’: South Korean president’s childhood fuels crackdown

Lee Jae-myung, who crushed his finger and arm working as a child, has vowed to lower the country’s industrial accident rate.

Rescuers work near a tower that collapsed at a decommissioned power plant in Ulsan, South Korea, on November 7. Photo: Newsis/AP
Pakistan

‘Modern slavery’: child labour still common in Pakistan

One in four households in the country employs a child as a domestic worker, mostly girls aged 10 to 14.

Amina (left), a household helper, sits beside her mother during an interview in Karachi. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Indonesian fishermen sue Bumble Bee Seafoods in landmark forced labour case

The human-trafficking case highlights the exploitation within the seafood industry, emphasising the need for corporate accountability and systemic reform.

Indonesia

Over 1 in 5 young Indonesians are out of work. Fixing that won’t be easy

Southeast Asia’s largest economy has the world’s fourth-largest workforce, but it’s outshone by its neighbours like Malaysia and Thailand.

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Fame and celebrity

Meet Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the Trump pick Democrats, surprisingly, like

The mother of 2 advanced her political career with a little help from her Teamster father; she was also a partner in her doctor husband’s anaesthesiology business.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer was a surprising pick by US President Donald Trump for labour secretary. Photos: TNS; @lchavezderemer/Instagram
India

‘More dangerous than Covid’: outrage over call for 7-day work week in India

The comments betray a traditional mindset that equates productivity with long hours of work and are ‘removed from reality’, experts say.

China jobs

China’s controversial jobless rate needs to be reformed, scholar urges

After a revamp of the youth-unemployment rate sparked concerns over data transparency, calls have come for comprehensive metrics to convey economic reality.

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Australia

Inside the hidden world of modern slavery in Australia’s diplomatic heart

Recent court rulings reveal harrowing stories of abuse and neglect at the hands of envoys operating under diplomatic immunity in Canberra.

Canberra. Shocking cases of modern slavery have emerged within Australia’s capital. Photo: Shutterstock
South Korea

Why will Filipino helpers earn more in South Korea than Hong Kong, Singapore?

Foreign domestic workers will enjoy high wages under a government pilot project – raising affordability concerns among Korean families seeking care.

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A group of 100 Filipino women arrive in Seoul on August 6 to take part in South Korea’s first-ever pilot project for domestic workers from the country. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE
Australia

Sri Lanka defends envoy in Australia fined for ‘modern slavery’ of maid

The Federal Court of Australia found that Himalee Arunatilaka had breached the Fair Work Act, and was ordered to pay more than US$360,000 in back wages to her former housekeeper.

United Nations

Education, social welfare essential for Asia to grow rich, cope with ageing: UN

The UN report said that growth in productivity has slowed, hurting incomes and undermining the purchasing power of the region’s 2 billion workers.

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Crime

Criminals reap US$236 billion in yearly profits from forced labour: UN agency

This is up by 37 per cent, or US$64 billion, compared with its last estimate published a decade ago in 2011, the International Labour Organization says.

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Workers and supporters attend a demonstration to mark International Women’s Day in Bangkok, calling for better employment conditions and a good quality of life, equal rights for female labour. Photo: EPA-EFE
South Korea

South Korea doctors ask ILO to intervene as strike shows no signs of ending

The issue isn’t likely to be settled soon as President Yoon’s party has large public backing for the plan to increase medical school places, senior doctors say.

Doctors in Seoul chant slogans during a rally on March 3 to protest against government plans to increase medical school admissions. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

EU reaches deal on forced labour ban, with China’s Xinjiang in its sights

Provisional agreement would target sectors and regions profiting from state-imposed forced labour based on database drawn up by European Commission.

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Artificial intelligence

How AI development has fostered a digital ‘sweatshop’ in poor countries

The development of artificial intelligence has created opportunities for educated workers in the Philippines and other developing countries. But they are poorly paid and lack training.

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