1 | GovAsia 1.2 | March 2021

The COVID-19 and exploitation.16 The pandemic drew pandemic cast a light on precarious the attention of media and working conditions in destination policymakers to the plight of migrant countries, restricted workers’ rights, workers. [...] Before the economy, Asia’s poorest countries the pandemic, Asian countries were faced the challenge of introducing an among the largest remittance receivers enormous number of returning migrant in the world, many relying on the workers into already strained contribution of remittances for communities. [...] means of survival.’28 This becomes even more common as the pandemic Policies and services for the return and continues and the increased burden of resettlement of migrant workers are unpaid care work has fallen often inadequate and poorly disproportionately to women.29 As a communicated to workers during result, the barriers to women’s migration cycles.32 The United Nations employment have grown,. [...] In August 2020, the As the pandemic lingers in 2021, and Mekong Migration Network reported the earlier surge of population that the government of Savannakhet, movements slows to a trickle, the Lao PDR’s southern province, question of longer-term support for developed a policy to help claim returned migrants still remains, unemployment benefits for Lao emerging as a pressing issue for migrant worke. [...] A sudden basis in search of employment; the spike in COVID-19 cases in Thailand in Nepali government is unable to mid-January 2021 forced thousands incentivize them to stay.55 With no end more migrant Cambodian workers to to the pandemic until a combination of return home, initiating another round of vaccine rates and herd immunity are public discourse about migrant reached, the trends will likely.