CMR joint victory Statement on ILO DW Convention |
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Coalition for Migrants Rights (CMR) * Alliance of Progressive Labor-HK (APL-HK) * Asian Migrant Centre (AMC)
ILO CONVENTION 189: WE SHAPED, WE WON, WE WILL CLAIM THROUGH CONTINUED ORGANISNG, SOLIDARITY AND STRUGGLE 19 June 2011, Hong Kong
In the first week of June 2011, three of the CMR member-organisations in Hong Kong – the Thai Women Association (TWA), Overseas Domestic Workers Union (ODWU), and Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU) – joined the workers’ and civil society delegation to the 100th ILO Conference in Geneva. The CMR members were part of our Asian regional team led by the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) and Asian Migrant Domestic Workers Alliance (ADWA). TWA officially represented CMR at the ILC, while ODWU and IMWU officially represented the domestic workers’ unions led by the Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions (FADWU), HK Confederation of Trade Unions, and APL-HK. On 16 June, the migrant DW delegates returned victorious to Hong Kong, and joined the Asian and global celebration on the formal adoption of ILO Convention 189. ILO Convention 189 is the newest international law establishing the minimum legal standards on the recognition, rights and equal treatment of domestic workers as workers, worldwide. The ILO Recommendation sets additional normative standards enhancing the Convention. For CMR and our partners – united under the International Steering Committee of Domestic Workers, and the “International Campaign for the Rights, Recognition and Decent Work for Domestic Workers (8-HR Campaign)” – the 100th ILO Conference was a culmination of years of hard, sustained, joint campaign for the adoption of the ILO DW Convention which began in 2006. Therefore, ILO Convention 189 did not happen by accident or out of pity for DWs – it is a proud victory shaped, asserted, and won by DWs in solidarity with trade union, migrants and all advocacy partners through years of preparation, intervention and intense campaigning. Victory in Substance
We have every right to be proud of what has been achieved so far – CMR and partners contributed to the process of this ILO Convention campaign even before the ILO formally put domestic work in the agenda of the 99th session of the ILC (2010). CMR and partners worked hard in 2006-2007 to build joint positions and consensus (Asian and global levels) on the core principles and rights we wanted enshrined in the Convention. This consensus is reflected in the joint position adopted in December 2008 by CMR, HKCTU and the local (HK) DW union, paving the way for the establishment of FADWU. At the Asian and global levels, the consensus position became the basis of the submissions of MFA, ADWA, and International Working Group of DW (IWG-DW) to the ILO in 2008, 2009 and 2010; ILO has properly acknowledged these. We also submitted inputs during discussions and negotiations with the employers' group and the governments in Asia in 2009-2010. The DW consensus was thus launched in 2008 as the “8-HR” Campaign (Recognition of DW as Work) – reiterating the application of the 8-hour work standard (ILO Convention #1)to domestic work, and asserting the 8 key rights that must be guaranteed for MDWs in order to achieve equal treatment and end slavery-like conditions. These substantive interventions helped shape the text of the Convention. Much of the key principles we lobbied for – regulation of working hours and application of the 8-hour work standard, regulation of recruiters, right to unionise and organise, right to collective bargaining, daily/weekly rest days and annual leaves, occupational health, decent working conditions, right to legal/binding contracts, privacy, right to keep passport/identity documents, etc. are now parts of the Convention. We note with specific pride the following Articles and principles that we fought hard to ensure in the Convention: · Definition of domestic work and domestic workers; · Equal treatment and coverage of MDWs in national labor and protection laws; · Article 3 on freedom of association, unionisation and collective bargaining; · Article 4 on compulsory education for those below 18 but above the minimum age for employment (instead of just vocational education, which was in the draft text prior to the ILO Blue Report); · Article 5 on protection against abuse and violence; · Article 6 on decent working conditions and right to privacy; · Articles 7 and 8 on written and enforceable contracts, which includes specifications on normal hours of work (serves as a reference to the ILO's standard 8-hour work-day for ALL workers), paid leaves, etc. · Article 8 on legal, transparent and regulated migration (and repatriation) processes for MDWs; · Article 9 (a) on domestic workers' right to negotiate and agree with employers on live-in or live-out arrangements; and right to keep passports and personal documents; · Article 10 on equal treatment as all other workers in terms of normal hours of work and overtime compensation (this is a reference once again to the ILO principle of a standard 8-hour work-day); · Article 11 on minimum wage coverage for domestic workers where such minimum wage law exists, which will directly impact the domestic workers in HK who have been left out of the statutory minimum wage (SMW) law adopted last year; · Article 15 on regulation and punishment of abusive recruiters, and on employment fees not being deducted from the wage of domestic workers. Victory in Process and Struggle
In the 2009, 2010 and 2011 ILO Conferences, we sent our own CMR and DW representatives as part of the larger DW/workers/civil society delegations – despite incredible obstacles including lack of funding support, employers who refused permission for us to travel or take leave from work, governments which imposed discriminatory and unreasonable visa restrictions on our travel to ILO meetings, etc. All these we overcame through the help of the above partners. Through MFA, ADWA, FADWU, HKCTU and partners, we were able to go inside the ILO conference itself, and in several occasions (after much struggle, too) were able to speak for ourselves and presented our oral and written statements to the ILO assembly. At the 99th session (2010), ILO recognised our representative, MFA Chairperson Ms. Ellene Sana, to speak on the floor. At the 100th session (2011), our domestic worker leader, Ms. Ristanti, gave our statement on the floor. CMR and partners have worked for the recognition, unionisation and empowerment of DW since 1989, when we formed our first trade union of MDWs in Hong Kong. The specific campaign started in 2006 (for adoption of the ILO DW Convention) intensified CMR’s efforts in organising and unionisation; in directly involving DWs, especially migrants DWs in the whole process; in asserting self-representation of DWs in ILO and key Asian and international forums (UN Human Rights Council, trade union meetings, GFMD, etc.); in strengthening alliances with trade unions (especially GLobalNet, ITUC and the GUFs); in working in solidarity with migrant networks (esp. MFA) and civil society groups; and in forming our own DW alliances and Federations (e.g. FADWU in Hong Kong, ADWA at the Asian regional level, and the International Steering Committee and IWG-DW at the international level). Therefore, the strength of our victory with Convention 189 is not only the international law itself; as importantly, we were able to build and strengthen our country-level, Asian and international organisations, unions, alliances and network of DW, workers and migrant groups. These will now serve as our mechanisms in advancing the campaign from adoption to the ratification, implementation and monitoring of Convention 189 at the country and international levels. Convention 189 indicates that many of the entitlements need to be negotiated with the “most representative organisation of workers, or domestic workers where these exist”. Therefore, CMR and our partners will present ourselves as representative unions and organisations and will negotiate and push for the implementation of the Convention based on the best interest of DWs and workers in general. Our Urgent Tasks
The fact that the Convention was overwhelmingly supported – 396 votes in favor (with only 16 votes against, and 63 abstentions) is another reflection of the depth of our lobbying and campaigning efforts. In 2006/2007, many of the governments, even some trade unions, were either lukewarm or opposed to having the DW Convention. The approval represents about 83% of the ILO votes; this provides our starting ground in campaigning for universal ratification of the Convention. For CMR, it is also important that China voted for the Convention. This provides strong pressure on Hong Kong to honor this commitment and therefore make the Convention applicable in HK. If so, Hong Kong would have to review its many exclusionary and discriminatory policies towards MDWs, e.g. exclusion of MDWs in the Statutory Minimum Wage Law, New Conditions of Stay (NCS) policy, exploitative recruitment fees and practices, visa ban on Nepalese migrants and DWs, unfair immigration and other policies affecting MDWs. CMR has campaigned against these discriminatory policies for more than 20 years now. Several of the origin countries of MDWs in HK – Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka – have also supported the Convention. Therefore, CMR and partners will also campaign for these countries to effectively implement Convention 189, including reviewing/adopting bilateral agreements consistent with the Convention. CMR and partners will continue to strengthen the self organisation of MDWs, to assert self-representation, collective bargaining, proper consultation and participation of DW unions and organisations in monitoring and implementing the Convention. Therefore, we will continue to unionise, organise, form alliances, campaign, negotiate, dialogue, and launch collective actions to promote the interest of DWs and workers in general. This is a proud moment for all of us. Our hard-won victory will serve as our new strength and inspiration in advancing our struggle and campaigns. This is another victory that elevates the status and value of domestic work, promotes gender justice, enhances workers’ power, and demonstrates what we can achieve through persistent struggle. Ratify and Implement Convention 189 Now! Domestic Work Is Work! Domestic Workers Are Workers! Domestic Work Is Not Slavery!
We reiterate our long-standing demands:
Scrap NCS and 2-week Rule! Stop underpayment of MDWs in HK! Stop exploitative recruitment fees and practices! Include MDWs in SMW! HK$4,000 minimum take home pay for MDWs! End visa ban on Nepalese migrants to HK!
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