Thailand's closure of 56 financial firms this month threw 11,000 workers out of work, and analysts say up to 200,000 finance employees could be jobless after the restructuring of the sector is completed. Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians are also expected to lose their jobs in the next few months, even as prices of basic items like food are rising. In the case of Thailand, labour and social welfare officials say the government is supporting the return of unemployed workers to their hometowns or villages to ease urban joblessness. While Asia's problems are directly tied to labour uncertainty and restlessness expected in the next few years, some labour leaders say the crisis has also highlighted the risks that come with the opening of economies and the need for ways of protecting workers' interest. Indeed, globalisation as well the role of the IMF in bailing out troubled Asian economies came under strong criticism at the World Confederation of Labour Congress.
Globalisation is a kind of unavoidable situation.
I think it is bound to happen. It is happening in one direction from top to bottom, from western countries to developing countries. There will be some sacrifice. But IMF managing director Michel Camdessus, who was invited to the congress, said the Fund was not creating economic problems for Asian countries but that many of them had been adopting wrong policies ill-suited to a global economy. People are treating the IMF as a scapegoat for their problems.