According to estimates, there are around 4-6 million migrant workers in Malaysia, both documented and undocumented combined. There are also approximately 300 000 - 400 000 refugees in the country. They have limited labour rights and protections and hence are regular targets of exploitation, often receiving poor wages and forced to live in horrible conditions.

What’s also interesting is that despite this, migrants and refugees have been quietly building grassroots networks of solidarity and care. This is what some of the folks from the North South Initiative recently wrote about, for the Asian Labour Review, in an article titled, Rewriting the Politics of Care, Dignity, and Labour Justice.

So, what does that look like? And what is the impact of this grassroots solidarity?

We speak to Dr ​Asha Rathina Pandi, Head of Research and Lead Analyst, North South Initiative.

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