With few local jobs, more Cambodians focused on migration (Feature)

By Robert Carmichael Aug 11, 2010, 6:02 GMT

Phnom Penh ­ Cambodians have changed their approach to labour migration, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM). These days an increasing number are using it as a way to improve their livelihoods rather than as a short-term coping strategy.

The IOM says this finding, contained in a new report, means the clock is ticking for Phnom Penh to change its current view of migration as a convenient way to absorb the 300,000 people a year entering the stagnant local job market.

'If a government relies too heavily on migration, using it as a safety valve for unemployment or hoping remittances will serve as a substitute for public investment, it is likely merely to compound problems in the future,' the report warned.

A quarter of Cambodians are migrants, but most are internal and do not leave the country. International migrants are typically young men who cross illegally to Thailand and Malaysia and work in the dangerous fishing industry.

The IOM report looked at how migrants send home their earnings, how that money is spent and how much it benefits local communities.

It said that 248,000 Cambodians working in Thailand send home 353 million to 560 million dollars annually, using informal methods that eat up 15-25 per cent of the sum sent.

One key finding was that more than 90 per cent of those surveyed in the report - for which 210 migrants in Thailand and 300 households in Cambodia were questioned - said what they most want is a cheaper and safer way to remit the average 119 dollars they earn monthly.

Dr Bruno Maltoni, the IOM's project coordinator in Cambodia and the report's co-author, said the results show cheaper, safer money transfer channels are needed - provided that the workers trust them.

'It's true that informal channels are more expensive, but they work,' he said. 'So you have to put that in place and convince the people that it is better.'

This is made harder by the fact that 90 per cent of those interviewed crossed into Thailand illegally, making them more vulnerable. Most told researchers that they left Cambodia because there are no jobs at home, or because they want to earn money.

Another key point is that experiences from other nations have shown that remittances are wasted in those countries due to mismanagement, inefficiency and corruption.

All of these ills also plague Cambodia. The IOM warns that remittances could even worsen matters because the cash sent home allows governments to delay needed reforms.

'This means establishing good governance and a transparent legal system, fighting corruption, building domestic infrastructures, investing in social capital through education and health, and building a stable and supportive business environment,' it continued.

Maltoni said Cambodia is still in the early stages of managing labour migration, which means it can act now to reap the benefits. And he believes the government is serious about improving matters.

'My suggestion is for Cambodia to put together a solid database (on migration), because right now we don't know very much - the information we have is very spotty,' Maltoni said. 'It's not just government, but civil society as well, and if you don't know the issues, you cannot develop effective policies.'

Maltoni said part of the battle requires drawing a difference between remittances from migrant workers and those from Cambodians who left years ago and now comprise the diaspora in countries like the United States, France and Australia.

Remittances from the diaspora are based on blood ties and solidarity and generally sent through formal banking systems. Migrant remittances are instead 'a kind of insurance' for those at home and the migrants themselves, and sent informally.

The IOM found that most cash sent home goes to the migrant's own household, and a large chunk is spent on daily needs, health issues and debts. Some went towards educating other family members, but little was channeled to productive ventures.

'There appears to be little money going into business investment, let alone community infrastructure,' the report noted.

Maltoni said there is scope for governments to ensure that greater benefits go to local communities. In Mexico, for instance, the government matches every dollar remitted to local communities and earmarks it for community development.

But the IOM cautioned that migration's standard benefit - the potential for migrants to bring home skills learned abroad - is unlikely to happen in Cambodia because most of those abroad work in unskilled roles on fishing boats, at construction sites and in factories.