"For Asia's migrant workers, extreme heat is 'a matter of life and death'", 2 August 2022

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[...] [M]illions of migrant laborers in Asia working on construction sites, shipyards, mines, factories, farms and plantations [...] are left vulnerable due to their prolonged outdoor exposure to high heat and humidity.

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"Migrant workers are too often excluded and forgotten from most global conversations about the climate crisis even though they are clearly one of the most vulnerable groups at risk," said British researcher and migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall.

Hall highlighted concerns shared by many migrant workers on construction sites in countries like Singapore and Malaysia, who said that they were still being made to work outdoors despite extreme heat.

They said they were not permitted to enter most air-conditioned public spaces like shopping malls and other buildings because of rules by landlords and tenants prohibiting their entry and to avoid complaints being made by members of the public, Hall said.

Instead, they escape the heat by resting in parks or under trees, bridges and highways, he added.

"They are unable to benefit from these (cool air solutions) due to systemic restrictions as well as discrimination. It's disappointing," Hall said. "Their welfare in the ongoing heat crisis needs to be a bigger topic of discussion.

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