Civil Society Forum on ILO Domestic Workers' Convention, 2011 (No.189)
The increasing participation of national workers in the formal sectors of the economy generates the necessity to hire foreign workers to perform domestic chores.
Domestic work is an important sector of migrant labour. The increasing participation of national workers in the formal sectors of the economy generates the necessity to hire foreign workers to perform domestic chores. Based on ILO data, there are at least 53 million domestic workers worldwide (excluding child domestic workers) and 83% are women. Their number is on a steady increase both in developed and developing countries.
The Philippines played a lead role in the adoption of ILO Domestic Workers' Convention, 2011 (No.189. It became the second country to ratify the Convention in 2012 and has passed a Domestic Workers Law in 2013. The success in the Philippines has been attributed in part to the coordination among civil society organizations, trade unions, employers' groups and the government. However, challenges remain, such as the application of the national law to migrant domestic workers. It is also worth mentioning that there are other countries in the ASEAN region that have intentions to ratify ILO Convention No.189 but have not yet been successful. These countries have expressed interest in learning from the Philippine experience.
In order to support the advocacy towards the ratification of ILO Convention No.189 among ASEAN member states and strengthen services provided to migrant domestic workers, the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW), with the support of the International Labour Organization's ASEAN TRIANGLE project, has organized a forum for civil society organizations (CSOs) in the ASEAN region in order to:
The Philippines played a lead role in the adoption of ILO Domestic Workers' Convention, 2011 (No.189. It became the second country to ratify the Convention in 2012 and has passed a Domestic Workers Law in 2013. The success in the Philippines has been attributed in part to the coordination among civil society organizations, trade unions, employers' groups and the government. However, challenges remain, such as the application of the national law to migrant domestic workers. It is also worth mentioning that there are other countries in the ASEAN region that have intentions to ratify ILO Convention No.189 but have not yet been successful. These countries have expressed interest in learning from the Philippine experience.
In order to support the advocacy towards the ratification of ILO Convention No.189 among ASEAN member states and strengthen services provided to migrant domestic workers, the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW), with the support of the International Labour Organization's ASEAN TRIANGLE project, has organized a forum for civil society organizations (CSOs) in the ASEAN region in order to:
- Discuss strategies on how ASEAN CSOs can advocate for C189 ratification.
- Discuss coordinated CSO interventions in addressing migrant domestic workers concerns, with specific focus on the role of CSOs in the complaints mechanism process which is a priority recognized by stakeholders during the ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour.