Robots Will Replace Millions of Workers in Southeast Asia

Increasingly sophisticated technology can make people lose their jobs. The emergence of robot manufacturing will dramatically change the labor market in Southeast Asia.

According to a recent report, it could lead to a surge in human trafficking, illegal slavery, and other labor breaches.

The "Human Rights Outlook 2018" report from risk analysis consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft outlines the United Nations (UN) prediction scenario of the labor market. The report says that 56 percent of workers in Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam will lose their jobs due to automation machinery over the next 20 years.

Automated machines or robots can result in misuse and breach of millions of global workforce. It can not happen unless the local government takes the first step by preventing the massive automation machinery.

Automation tops the list of five issues in the annual Human Rights Outlook report. It was identified as a significant challenge to the operations and supply chains of multinationals now in the future.

Reported by Cnet, countries in Southeast Asia are at risk of increasing slavery and human trafficking due to dependence of labor on low-skilled jobs. In addition, high levels of labor rights violations are also one of the factors that affect.

To investigate how robot automation will impact workers, Verisk Maplecroft applies a specific labor risk index to ILO data. The data is spread across 21 sectors where high-risk jobs are replaced by automation machines.

These sectors include agriculture, forestry, fisheries, manufacturing, construction, and retail.

Vietnam is the country with the highest risk level. 36 million people are at risk of losing their jobs due to robots or automation machinery.