First Meeting of the ACMW on the Drafting of the ASEAN Instrument on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers
Task Force on
ASEAN Migrant Workers
March 27, 2009
The
Honorable Pornchai Yooprayong
Chairperson,
ASEAN Committee
on
Migrant Workers (ACMW)
Deputy
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Labour
Dear Deputy Permanent
Secretary Pornchai,
On behalf of the Task Force
on ASEAN Migrant Workers (TF-AMW), I write to express our support and best
wishes for the successful efforts of the Drafting Committee of the ASEAN
Committee on Migrant Workers (ACMW) which is now starting its all important
work to draft an Instrument on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of
Migrant Workers for ASEAN. We greatly
appreciate the opportunity to submit our views to the ACMW Drafting Committee
meeting on April 1, 2009, in
As
you already know, the TF-AMW is a civil society coordinating mechanism
comprised of the major networks of NGOs, trade unions, migrant associations,
and community-based organizations working on migration issues at the regional
and national levels in ASEAN. The
TF-AMW has continuously engaged the ASEAN Member Governments and the ASEAN
Secretariat since 2006 in a constructive partnership aimed at bringing forward
the voices of ASEAN civil society in support of the ASEAN Declaration on the
Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers. During this process, the TF-AMW has
conducted 7 national consultations and 7 regional consultations. In all of the national consultations,
representatives of the national Government have been invited and participated
in the process. We are now preparing for
the 8th national consultation which is tentatively scheduled to take
place in
The
purpose of the TF-AMW’s national and regional consultations has been to garner
inputs to develop ASEAN civil society’s contribution to the ASEAN regional work
to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers. The civil society “Framework Instrument on
the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers” is now in its 5th
draft, and I attach this for your review.
However, let me stress that this draft Framework Instrument is not
yet final since the TF-AMW is still incorporating additional
recommendations from civil society partners and we anticipate there will be
some additional revisions. The TF-AMW
plans to finalize our Framework Instrument by May 1, 2009, and we will be
requesting the opportunity to present this Framework Instrument at the meeting
of the ASEAN SLOM in Vientiane.
While
I am sure that the ACMW Drafting Committee will examine our draft Framework
Instrument in depth at the appropriate time, kindly allow me to take a moment
to provide a brief summary. There are
four sections in our draft Instrument focusing as follows:
“Obligations of Labour Receiving Countries.”
From
the outset, a key recommendation include
ensuring that migrant workers are treated in accordance with the core labour
standards of the ILO. The Instrument
calls for according “national treatment” to migrant workers in terms of wages
and conditions of work, and instituting standard contracts for hiring migrant
workers throughout the region. The
Instrument reaffirms migrant workers’ rights to hold their own passports and
worker identification and calls for strong penalties against employers and
others who seize these documents.
Furthermore, the Instrument seeks special attention to the challenges
faced by particularly vulnerable migrant domestic workers. Other areas where action is sought include
ensuring provision of health care for migrant workers and their families,
guaranteeing safe and hygienic accommodation and living conditions, making
certain there are effective systems of inspection, and providing migrant
workers with effective access to legal systems and justice.
“Obligations of Labour Sending
Countries.”
These
are understood to include effective pre-departure training systems and
programs. Efforts should also be focused
on vocational training and capacity building, especially for the CLMV
countries. These elements are part of a
larger set of requirements related to deployment of effective systems to regulate migrant workers’ departure to work
in another country as well as their return and reintegration to their origin
country. The Instrument also urges
Governments to institute effective accreditation and regulation processes to
oversee labour recruitment agencies in order to prevent abuses. Another area for action is to ensure systems
of protection for migrant workers, through deployment and pro-active efforts of
committed labour attachés or other staff at sending country Embassies in labour
receiving countries.
“Joint Obligations of Labour Sending and Labour Receiving States.”
Among
the areas where action is recommended is effective regulation of labour
recruitment agencies; institution of
practical and effective grievance systems that can be used by migrant
workers; development of schemes to facilitate the migration of skilled
labourers and recognition of their skills;
effective suppression of human trafficking; and setting up easy-to-access systems to
facilitate transfer of workers’ remittances and creation of safe institutions
where migrant workers can save their money. Finally, and importantly, the
section calls for member states to harmonize their national labour laws with
international labour standards.
“Commitments by ASEAN.”
This
section discusses administrative requirements, such as reporting and encourages
participatory systems that include ASEAN civil society, both at the national
and regional level. The Instrument also
explores some of the possibilities for future ASEAN systems to protect migrant
workers (such as an ASEAN worker ID, hotline, portable insurance). Concerning the forthcoming ASEAN Human
Rights Body, the Instrument recommends the creation of an AHRB Subcommittee on
the Rights of Migrant Workers. The
Instrument lays out systems that could be further developed by ASEAN to manage
the responsibility (set out in the ASEAN Declaration on Migrant Workers) for
mutual cooperation among ASEAN countries in assisting migration workers from
ASEAN when they are toiling in countries that are outside ASEAN.
Obviously,
this is just a short summary of civil society’s Instrument on the Protection
and Promotion of Migrant Workers, which now stretches to 36 pages and 184
articles.
As
a representative of ASEAN civil society organizations working on migration
matters, the Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers looks forward to a process of
continuous engagement with the ACMW and the Instrument Drafting Committee. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to
present our views, and we stand ready to work closely with you in the coming
months to help forge an Instrument that will truly provide the protections to
migrant workers throughout ASEAN. Of
course, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about
the TF-AMW or the 5th draft of the Framework Instrument that we are
presenting today.
With assurances of my highest
respects,
Sinapan Samydorai
Convener,
Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers
Tel:
+ 65 9479 1906 Fax: + 65 6425 0709
Email:
samysd@yahoo.com
http://www.workersconnection.org
cc: Members,
ASEAN Committee on Migrant Workers