Thailand National Tripartite Preparatory Workshop for the 10th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour

National tripartite preparatory workshops for the 10th AFML will be held in several ASEAN Member States (AMS) to take stock on the progress of stakeholders in implementing the previous AFML recommendations and to discuss the themes of the 10th AFML. Organization of these preparatory workshops is supported by the TRIANGLE in ASEAN. TRIANGLE in ASEAN (2015-2025) is a partnership between the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Global Affairs Canada, and the ILO.

The ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour (AFML) is an open platform for the review, discussion and exchange of good practices and ideas between governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and civil society on key issues facing migrant workers in Southeast Asia. Each year the forum develops recommendations to advance the implementation of the principles of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers.

The 10th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour will be held on 25-26 October 2017 in the Philippines. It will be hosted by the Government of the Philippines as the current chair of the ASEAN and the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW).

The 10th AFML will carry the overall theme “Towards Achieving Decent Work for Domestic Workers in ASEAN” and cover two thematic sessions:
  • Theme 1: International and national standards for the protection of migrant domestic workers
  • Theme 2: Implementation of policies and support services

Rational

The 10th AFML with the theme “Towards Achieving Decent Work for Domestic Workers in ASEAN,” is being organized to support the implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of Rights of Migrant Workers (Cebu Declaration).

According to the ILO, there are at least 67 million domestic workers worldwide. About 21 million are employed in the Asia Pacific Region. The Philippines has 1.9 million domestic workers employed locally and 1.5 million domestic workers deployed overseas. Indonesia has 2.4 million domestic workers. On the other hand, Thailand is host to about 250,000 domestic workers, mostly coming from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia. In Malaysia, the more than half of the estimated 250,000 domestic workers in the country are non-Malaysian, many coming from Indonesia and the Philippines. Singapore is host to around 210,000 foreign domestic workers, the majority of which comes from Indonesia and the Philippines. Domestic workers comprise a significant part of the global workforce in informal employment and are among the most vulnerable groups of workers.

Objectives

  1. The AFML national tripartite preparatory workshops will be organized in order to:
  2. Take stock of stakeholders’ progress in implementing the recommendations of previous AFMLs;
  3. Discuss the 10th AFML theme and sub-themes as well as prepare national recommendations on how to achieve decent work for migrant domestic workers as duly endorsed by national tripartite partners
  4. Develop a report or set of positions that the AFML delegates can use at the 10th AFML

Participants

  • Each AFML preparatory workshop should include representatives from:
  • Government ministries responsible for labour migration and domestic work (20 participants)
  • Employers’ organizations, including affiliates of the ASEAN Confederation of Employers (3 participants)
  • Workers’ organizations, including affiliates of the ASEAN Trade Union Council (4 participants)
  • Civil society organizations, including the Task Force for ASEAN Migrant Workers (9 participants)
  • International organizations, including ILO, IOM and UN Women (9 participants)
  • Other participants as deemed appropriate