Wednesday, 29 August 2012
By Rann Reuy
Phnom Penh Post
Cambodians
working in South Korea this year are expected to remit up to US$80
million to the Kingdom as up to 40 per cent more Cambodian labour heads
to the East Asian nation compared to last year.
The Ministry of
Labour and Vocational Training expects at least 7,000 Cambodians to
migrate to South Korea this year in what is being called a safer and
more lucrative destination for overseas workers.
Of the five
ASEAN states with permission to send labourers to Korea, Cambodia now
ranks No 1, according to the Ministry’s Chief of Overseas Manpower Heng
Sour.
He noted that remitted money goes to better the lives of relatives at home.
“We
see this money they send home is used to build houses and buy new daily
utilities and appliances,” he said, adding that there are now about
13,000 Cambodians working in South Korea.
Korea has earned a
solid reputation for higher pay without the hazards associated with
working in Malaysia, where rights groups have reported the abuse of
maids, many of whom are believed to be under-age.
Cambodia first
sent workers to South Korea in 2002 through private companies until 2007
when both governments signed a memorandum of understanding on labour
exports.
Rin Saro, a Korean monk who runs a Buddhist centre in
Seoul for meeting and sharing information about workers’ issues, said
yesterday that Cambodian migrants mainly worked in heavy industry,
agriculture and fishing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at reuy.rann@phnompenhpost.com
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