Protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers

Tripartite Action for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers in the ASEAN Region (ASEAN TRIANGLE Project-Philippines)

The Project aims to significantly reduce the exploitation of labour migrants in the region through increased legal and safe migration and improved labour protection. The project promotes both bilateral and regional approaches to deal with shared concerns, make regionalism more effective, and enhance the capacity of institutions in ASEAN. The project objectives are in line with the strategic priorities of the ASEAN Labour Ministers Work Programme (2010-2015).

Outcomes:

  • Support the development of a regional legal and policy framework on labour migration that reflects good practices and rights-, age- and gender-sensitive principles drawn from international standards.
  • Establish a regional age and sex-disaggregated database on migration and trafficking to guide the formulation of age and gender sensitive evidence-based migration policies.
  • Enhance the capacity of governments in countries of origin to maximize the positive impact of migration on development by developing regional tools to strengthen pre-employment and pre-departure training, overseas employment administration, the support provided by labour attachés and consular officials, emigration procedures and migrant welfare funds.
  • Enhance the capacity of governments in destination countries through the development of regional tools and guidelines, including on labour inspection, occupational safety and health and dispute resolution.
  • Strengthen relations between and among workers’ organizations in the region by facilitating cooperative agreements among trade unions and by the development of regional guidelines on the role of trade unions in formulating labour migration policies and providing services to migrant workers.
  • Strengthen relations between and among employers’ organizations in the region by strengthening the capacity of the ASEAN Confederation of Employers (ACE) to convene members on labour migration issues and formulate policies, supporting the enhancement of skills training and certification of migrant workers and developing regional tools.

Activities:

  • Conducted a financial literacy needs assessment of ASEAN migrant workers; developed a financial education course and capacitated migrant leaders, civil society organizations and embassy staff to conduct financial education workshops.
  • Conducted a consultation workshop among Philippine stakeholders in support of developing an ASEAN database on labour migration statistics.
  • Supported Philippine civil society organizations (CSOs) develop a primer on the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and Philippine Domestic Workers Law.
  • Organized a regional CSO forum on ILO Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189) to strengthen ASEAN CSO networks and advocate for the ratification of Convention No. 189.
  • Convened the 2014 ASEAN Labour Inspection Conference wherein labour inspection in migrant-reliant sectors was adopted as a strategy.
  • Developed and conducted a training course for ASEAN labour attaches on strategic negotiations and conflict management.
  • Conducted a national tripartite workshop to examine the Philippines’ progress against ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour priorities and develop recommendations for the 7th AFML.
  • Supported the ASEAN Trade Union Council’s (ATUC) formal adoption of a regional complaints mechanism and an inter-trade union agreement on ASEAN migrant workers.
  • Gathered representatives of the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) to validate a tool on developing gender-responsive labour migration policies and discuss specific concerns of vulnerable groups of migrant workers.
  • Gathered representatives of the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW) and the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) to discuss the labour dimensions of trafficking in persons and to develop cross-sectoral strategies to combat the issue.

For further information please contact:

ILO Country Office for the Philippines (CO-Manila)
19th Floor, Yuchengco Tower
RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue
1200 Makati City, Philippines
Tel. +632 8580 9900
Fax +632 8856 7597
Email