BANGKOK, (ILO news) - The International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, Royal Thai Government and the European Union Delegation in Thailand organized the third National Project Advisory Committee meeting of the Safe and Fair Programme. Safe and Fair: Realizing women migrant workers’ rights and opportunities in the ASEAN region is part of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls. Nearly 70 participants including, government representatives, workers, employers and civil society organizations came together to discuss challenges posed for women migrant workers and employers in the context of COVID-19.

“To fight violence against women during these very special times, where many women, especially migrant women, have been particularly vulnerable to violence, it is important that we include women migrant workers in the national COVID-19 response and ensure they have access to essential services. We really look forward to hearing your experiences and lessons learned while implementing activities, this will help us steer the project over the next few months,” said Mr Giuseppe Busini, Deputy Head of Mission, European Union Delegation to Thailand.

In the meeting, project partners shared their initiatives to support women migrant workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Language is a key barrier for women migrant workers in Thailand to negotiate and obtain better working conditions and to access essential services when they experience violence or exploitation. Thai language course were conducted by Raks Thai Foundation online via Facebook to ensure that women migrant workers could access the training during the pandemic. Raks Thai Foundation also responded to the urgent need for PPEs and information to mostly Cambodian women migrant workers in Chonburi Province.

Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion (FLEP) highlighted that the work to promote quality services for women migrant survivors of violence should be made together with the effort to improve access to services and information for women migrant workers. “Service and Access are just like the two sides of the same coin; women migrant workers cannot access to service without the quality service that guarantees accessibility for all women regardless of their immigration status,” Ms Tulaphan from FLEP said.

Supported by Safe and Fair Programme, FLEP has established multidisciplinary local networks in Mae Sot, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok, to support, referral pathways on violence, capacity building, and essential information for women migrant workers experiencing violence.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, structural challenges preventing migrant workers from enjoying their rights and protection namely, right to stay, access to emergency assistance, social security benefit and access to health care have become even more evident. This is particularly true for women migrant workers who are employed in the sector hardest hit by COVID-19, such as service sectors and domestic work. Migrant Working Group (MWG), through partnership with Safe and Fair, provided PPEs, drinking water and food; apply for social security benefits; and ensure that women migrants are less vulnerable to trafficking and smuggling through enhanced information and access to services.

In partnership with Safe and Fair, the State Enterprises Workers' Relations Confederation (SERC) is starting initiatives in Songkla Provice to provide services to women migrant workers and empower women migrant workers to organize.

“It has become obvious that the outbreak of COVID-19 has negative impacts on the economy and society, and women migrant workers have become more at risk of violence and labour rights violation. The Royal Thai Government has undertaken immediate and effective labour-related measures, such as jobs retention schemes, expansion of social protection coverage, employment promotion, skills development and supporting enterprises in retaining workers, in order to facilitate and allow new entry and re-entry to the labour market after the pandemic. In addition, relevant information in their languages has been disseminated through various channels to ensure better understanding on how to protect themselves from COVID-19,” highlighted Ms Pataraporn Samantarath, Assistant Permanent Secretary, the Ministry of Labour.

“We would like to commend the government of Thailand for announcing its commitment to the UN Secretary-General’s statement to end violence everywhere and to make the prevention and redress of violence against women, including women migrant workers, a key part of national response plans for COVID-19,” said Ms Gita Sabharwal, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand in closing. “I am very proud of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative's Safe and Fair Programme led by the ILO, UN Women and UNODC working with the Royal Thai Government to make migration safe for all women. Thailand has set the trend for the region and contributed directly to advancing the SDGs, specifically SDG 5, 8, 10 and 16, which aim to address problems facing women migrant workers,” she added.

The EU-UN Spotlight Initiative’s Safe and Fair Programme, under the implementation of the ILO and UN Women, in collaboration with UNODC will continue to support the Thai Government and partners to promote decent work and ending violence against women migrant workers as a key component of Thailand’s national development strategies in line with international labour standards. The activities in responses to COVID-19 will ensure that women migrant workers are not left behind, that they have access to quality coordinated services if they experience violence and enjoy their rights and opportunity as women migrant workers.

Photos: @ILO/Pichit Phromkade

For further information please contact:

Pichit Phromkade
Communications Officer
Safe and Fair: Realizing women migrant worker’s rights and opportunities in the ASEAN region
Tel.: +66 (0) 2288 1762
Email: phromkade@ilo.org