ASIAN LABOUR LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE A Proceeding Report Organised by Asia Monitor Resource Centre, International Domestic Workers Federation, and School of Labor and Industrial Relations, the University of the Philippines Venue: School of Labor and Industrial Relations University of the Philippines (UP SOLAIR) 29 November to 1 December 2014
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ASIAN LABOUR LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
A Proceeding Report
Organised by
Asia Monitor Resource Centre, International Domestic Workers Federation, and School
of Labor and Industrial Relations, the University of the Philippines
Venue:
School of Labor and Industrial Relations
University of the Philippines (UP SOLAIR)
29 November to 1 December 2014
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary 3
Day 1 4
Introduction 4
Welcome Remarks by Dr. Jonathan Sale 4
Panel Discussion I 5
Presentation 1: “Labor and Industrial Globalization: where is the process leading us to?” by Rene
Ofreneo 5
Presentation 2: “The Rise of Non-Standard Employment in Asia” by Melisa Serrano 7
Questions and comments on Panel Discussion I 8
Panel Discussion II 10
Presentation 3: “Labour Migration” by Dennis Arnold 10
Presentation 4: “Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia” by Elizabeth Tang 11
Presentation 5: “Intra-migration in China” by Samuel Li 12
Presentation 6: “Migrant Workers in India from Nepal and Bangladesh” by Surendra Pratap 12
Questions and Comments on Panel Discussion II 14
Panel Discussion III 16
Presentation 7: “Informal Labour in Asia: Organising Strategies” by Nalini Nayak 16
Presentation 8: “Is the Asian Labour Movement Gender-Blind?” by Christal Chan 17
Questions and Comments on Panel Discussion III 18
Day 2 21
Panel Discussion IV 21
Presentation 9: "The Development of Collective Bargaining in China" by Chris Chan 21
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Presentation 10: "Organising and Campaign Experiences from Domestic Workers" by Fish Ip 22
Presentation 11: "Emerging Labour Resistance in South Asia" by Surendra Pratap 23
Presentation 12: "Labour Protests in Southeast Asia" by Fahmi Panimbang 24
Questions and comments on Panel Discussion IV 25
Group Discussion I: Building Alliances and Networks at Grassroots 26
Report from each Group 27
Day 3 29
Panel Discussion V 29
Presentation 13: "Rethinking the (Asian) Labour Movement" by Dae-Oup Chang 29
Presentation 14: "Democracy, Occupy Movement, and Grassroots Movement in Hong Kong" by
Samuel Li Shing-Hong 31
Presentation 15: "Stories of Dispossession in Plantation and Mining Communities in the Philippines:
Challenges of reclaiming rights and dignity" by Joy Hernandez 32
Questions and Comments on Panel Discussion V 33
Group Discussion II: Vision on Labour Movement in Asia and its Challenges 36
Report from each Group (Question 1: "What is the vision of social transformation shared by labour
movements in Asia?") 36
Report from each Group (Question 2: "What are the challenges to the labour movements in Asia?")
38
Group Discussion III: Solidarity Building 40
Report from each group 40
Comments and recommendations 42
List of Participants 43
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Executive Summary
Over the course of three days, panel members and participants of Asian Labour Leadership
Conference mapped the landscape of Asian labour with a special focus on experiences of
resistance and solidarity building. Through presentations of history, relevant trends, and
important case studies, the participants of the conference identified commonalities and
peculiarities in the experiences of particular countries, toward a better understanding of the all-
encompassing and globalised nature of the challenges that labour movements in the region face.
Wide-ranging issues like minimum wage, anti-labour legislation, and human rights violations,
were taken side by side with specific concerns, like the question of gender in trade unions, the
plight of migrant workers, and collective bargaining in socialist countries such as China and
Vietnam, among others. In the end, with a better and consolidated idea of the nature of
resistance in Asia, there was a consensus among participants to continue with existing
campaigns while seeking out an altogether new paradigm for the labour movement, in terms of
alternatives to what exists today.
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Day 1
Introduction
Elizabeth Tang opened the conference by giving a brief history of its inception. The idea for a
labour conference, she said, began to take form during the World Social Forum on Migration
held in Manila from November 26-30, 2012. It was here when participants from various labour
organizations based in different countries in Asia saw the need to create a space where they
could discuss their concerns, share their experiences, and learn together. Together with plans for
establishing an Asian Labour School, the Asian Labour Leadership Conference stemmed from the
participants’ decision to make more concrete steps in building labour solidarity in the region.
Afterwards, Elizabeth described what to expect throughout the three-day conference. The first
day would discuss the increasing dominance of capital and how it impacts the lives of workers
and labour organizations. On the second day, panel and group sessions would aim to elaborate
and lend insight on the various forms of workers’ resistance in various sectors in Asia. The last
day of the conference should look at and assess the common future of labour organizations
amidst current economic policies in Asia.
Welcome Remarks by Dr. Jonathan Sale
In his message, Dr. Jonathan Sale traced the history of labour organisations in the Philippines,
beginning with the foundation of Union Obrera Democratica by Isabelo de los Reyes in 1902. This
union, he pointed out, was very critical of American labour policy. He then proceeded to discuss
the development of labour policies in the country, pointing out contradictions and major issues
in the process.
One instance is the country’s ratification of the World Trade Organization agreements, which
further deepened inequality between capital and labour. Further exacerbating these conditions
is the Supreme Court’s interpretation that globalization is in accord with the Philippine
Constitution. These events, along with the predominant economic policies in the country, have
been detrimental to the workers, particularly in conflict resolutions. Due to the frailty of
organized labour and considerable decline in collective bargaining agreements, the burden of
labour dispute settlement has fallen on compulsory arbitration, which is mainly facilitated by the
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government.
Meanwhile, membership of so-called “workers’ associations” have increased over time. This is
directly correlated to the increasing number of small enterprises in the informal economy which
employ ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers. These workers’ associations, however, are
organized only for the purpose of mutual gain and protection, and not for collective bargaining.
Another cause for concern is the Philippine Labor Code, which is supposed to protect the rights
of the workers and give them remedies that are available under law. While the Labor Code and
its implementing rules mention the word “work” and its derivatives, it does not provide a
statutory definition of work. Under Article 13 of the Code, “worker” is defined as any member of
the labor force, whether employed or unemployed. In Article 97, employ “includes to suffer or
permit work”. Therefore, most if not all, of the provisions in the labor code are based on the
existence of an employer-employee relationship, where the rights of workers are not accessible.
Seen to remedy these problems is the proposed Magna Carta of Workers in the Informal
Economy that is currently in Congress. But Dr. Sale warns that whether such a law would pass –
given the composition of lawmakers in the 15th Congress – is entirely another issue.
Panel Discussion I
Presentation 1: “Labor and Industrial Globalization: where is the process
leading us to?” by Rene Ofreneo
Rene Ofreneo’s presentation discussed the history and characteristics of the global production
network (GPN). He pointed out that current practices in international trade and labour market
have created a new glossary of terms, which could be used to describe the nature of GPN.
“Flying geese” – the term, which gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, pertains to Japan’s
attempt to transfer its multi-layered industrial structure to East Asia. The model envisioned a
regional hierarchy – with Japan at the forefront – in terms of technological development where
the production of goods would continuously move from advanced countries to less advanced
countries. The key to the process was international subcontracting, which meant transferring
less technological, more labour intensive activities to other Asian countries. One company which
employed this strategy was Toyota, which outsourced the production of various parts of their
vehicles in Southeast Asia. However, Japan was not able to sustain this method due to the non-
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linear development of economies of Asian countries.
NIDL vs. OIDL – The change from OIDL (old international division of labour) to NIDL (new
international division of labour) signalled the “global industrial shift”, which relocated production
processes from developed countries to developing countries in Asia. This condition is in stark
contrast to the OIDL, where developing countries were only seen as producers of cheap raw
materials and importers of expensive finished products. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are
seen as the primary facilitators of the NIDL.
GCC – Eventually, debates between NIDL and OIDL have been replaced by discussions on global
commodity chains (GCCs). GCC pertains to the design, production, and marketing of goods by
MNCs across the globe. In the 1990s, GCC quickly became the norm with the advent of the
information and communications technology (ICT) revolution, transport modernization, and
ascendancy of neo-liberal ideology from the formation of the World Trade Organization. For
these reasons, “globalization” eventually replaced “internationalization” as the buzz word in
Asia.
Buyer-driven GCC and Producer-driven GCC – Buyer-driven GCCs are dictated by MNCs that have
no factories but have brands, huge stores, retailers, and partner traders, mainly in Asian, new
industrialized countries (NICs). Products that are produced in this model are mostly light
consumer goods, especially garments, footwear, toys, furniture, etc. On the other hand,
producer-driven GCC are dictated by MNCs which control research and development and design
to production and marketing through a chain of subsidiaries, joint ventures, and outsourcing
partner firms. Here, technology and capital intensive industries produce goods like cars,
computers, etc.
GPN, GVC, GSC – At the turn of the millennium, a new term, global production network (GPN),
was coined. Under this mode, MNCs aim to maximize the global value chain (GVC) through a
rigorous assessment of the global supply chain (GSC) and a better supply chain management
(SCM). Playing an increasingly important role in this framework is the logistics industry to
facilitate seamless operations from the procurement of raw materials to the distribution of
finished products in stores. Mapping of GPNs have also been used by MNCs to determine the
global division of labour based on technology. For instance, assembly parts of cars and airplanes
are sourced in different countries, essentially making them “made in the world”.
From year 2000 onwards, a “tradability revolution” in the services industry took place. As the
WTO embraced the general agreement on trade in services (GATS), mode 1 (consumption
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abroad), mode 2 (cross-border), mode 3 (commercial presence), and mode 4 (movement of
personnel of service provider) became part of trade vocabulary.
Subsequently, the WTO would coin the phrase “trade in tasks”, which indicated trade processes
becoming highly complex. This globalization of production and services has caused the rise of
new economic models (NEMs) and the spread of precarity, reaffirming MNCs domination of
global, regional, and national economies. Meanwhile, indigenous production and marketing
outside the framework of globalization hardly progress.
Despite today’s global financial crisis, neo-liberal policy regimes are still in place in many
countries and remain unchanged. Two big advances of the neo-liberal framework are: first, the
privatisation of social services and infrastructure development via public-private partnerships
(PPP); and second, the liberalisation of land and markets.
To conclude, Ofreneo pointed out the following questions to the participants: can MNCs be
tamed? Can globalization be re-directed to a race to the top? How different will be this from the
race to the bottom? How do we humanize globalization?
Presentation 2: “The Rise of Non-Standard Employment in Asia” by Melisa
Serrano
In her presentation, Melisa Serrano initially pointed out the difficulty in defining non-standard
employment (NSE) in Asia due to the variety of terms, forms, and concepts that each country
used. She explained that even within ASEAN and east-Asian nations, there are differences on the
definitions and usage of types of NSE such as “casual work”, “contract of service”,
“contract/piece paid”, “project-based”, “seasonal work”, “contract work”, etc.
However, Serrano also pointed out the commonalities between these types of NSE. Some of
these are: fixed or short duration of employment contract; lower and unstable incomes; limited
or absence of social security benefits; work at multiple worksites; dominance of elementary
occupations; dangerous and risky jobs without insurance; over-representation of women and
young workers, but increasingly among older workers in East Asia (except Taiwan); workers are
largely unorganised, non-unionised; dominance of service jobs; use of fixed term contracts
through outsourcing in almost all sectors and across a variety of occupations; and outsourcing is
increasingly done within the enterprise.
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Throughout the ASEAN and East Asia, the recorded incidence of NSE has been high and
increasing, due mainly to employers’ views on variability of demand and the need to reduce
workforce. In Indonesia, 65% of employment could be attributed to NSE; in Malaysa, 25% and in
the Philippines, 33%. In Korea, the rise of in-house subcontracting has greatly contributed to an
increase in NSE.
Yet, studies show the lack of positive impact that NSE has to a country’s GDP and economic
growth. In the Philippines, for instance, the increase in NSE does translate to a decrease in its
unemployment rate. In Korea, in-house subcontracting could not be attributed to the higher
wages of its regular workers. In a survey, more respondents (40%) also believed that outsourcing
actually leads to higher costs than lesser costs (32%) in the production.
NSE also poses several issues to labour unions and organisations. In Malaysia and the Philippines,
there has been a declining trend of labour union organisations. Singapore and Vietnam,
however, have increasing trends of unionisation. The actual representation of NSE workers in
labour unions is another issue, as most labour organizations are usually structured to address
concerns of regular workers and employees. Serrano reiterates that NSE is a multi-faceted issue
that requires a multi-dimensional approach.
Questions and comments on Panel Discussion I
Question 1: Regarding globalisation and NSE, what can trade unions and activists do to counter
it? What are the other possible strategies available to these organisations?
Answer 1 (Melissa Serrano): It depends on how unions understand NSE and on their willingness
to innovate. They are part of the trade union structure, but they are not represented as a
specific structure in the trade union organisation. Innovation exists for contractual workers;
there are very specific conditions for very specific structure, but these are still within the overall
structure of the trade union. Trade unions and organisations are governed by two existing logic:
the logic of accommodation and the logic of transformation. There should be equal balance
between the two.
Answer 2 (Rene Ofreneo): In trade unions and organisations, they have not gone beyond slogans.
It is easy to do slogans, but the challenge is, how do you operationalise it? There are different
steps and actions for different countries and conditions. We really need to analyse these things
carefully.
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Comment 1: Twenty five years ago, workers of the company Bosch in Bangalore, India did not
allow their products to be labelled as “made in Germany”. Strategies like these could be effective
in reaching agreements with MNCs.
Comment 2: In a study of workers of the automobile industry in New Delhi, they found out that
the number of workers actually did not change for the last 5 years. They used a downsized
workforce (permanent, contractual workers), but compel them to do overtime work (around 3
hours to 8 hours of overtime). Contractual workers are also having difficulty getting enrolled in
trade unions because the government does not recognize them as normal workers
Comment 3: In Indonesia, our unions organise all types of workers. We don’t differentiate
between outsourced, contractual, irregular, regular, etc. We organise as many as possible
regardless of their status and category.
Some companies put out the work to the entire family (home-based work system), where most
of the family members are employed. However, they are not aware that they are being
exploited. Instead, they are told that it is good because they can also take care of their children
while working, but they are paid very little and exploited. For example, they pay for the
electricity costs related to their work. It is not easy to organise, but we try to fight.
Comment 4: In Cambodia, the government is exerting pressure for workers not to join labour
unions. Another issue is that most union organizers don’t have training in the universities, so
they don’t know the existing laws which protect worker’s rights.
Question 2 (to Rene Ofreneo): I want to know your observation regarding the response of labour
unions in countries who are involved in free trade agreements and who are members of the
WTO. How do they respond to these trends that you have elaborated?
Answer 3 (Rene Ofreneo): Ever since, WTO kept on reiterating the need to liberalise to its
members. One of the most contentious areas is agriculture. It is hypocritical for US and Europe
to talk of liberalisation when they protect their own farmers (mainly through the US Farm Bill of
America and Common Land Act of Europe). In other words, the MNCs want a free market, but
not for the patents and new technologies, so that they can continue to impose monopoly prices.
Due to the failure of talks within the WTO, bilateral and regional free trade talks (China with
Australia, Korea with individual ASEAN countries, etc.) have appeared. Most of these talks
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reaffirmed not only the need to liberalise economies, but to respect and preserve the MNCs’
ownership of intellectual property rights. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank often
talk about the increasing inequality and gap in wealth, but they have no clear solution for it.
Their rhetorics do not match.
The concept of social contract was formed during post-war period, but it has disintegrated since.
The question is, do we revive the social contract? What should be its form in lieu of
globalisation? In 2010, a framework was formed by the UN which discussed the duties of
corporations to respect human and labour rights. But how do you operationalize these?
Panel Discussion II
Presentation 3: “Labour Migration” by Dennis Arnold
Dennis Arnold’s presentation began by showing in broad strokes the current situation of global
migration: 215 million people live outside their countries of birth, an increase from 84.5 million
in 1975, and where 105 million are international migrant labourers; 43% of Asian migrants move
within the region; and that globally, 700 million people migrate within their countries. Arnold
cautions that these figures are just estimates, as reliable data on irregular migrants is lacking.
Migration, however, is nothing new. In the century following 1820, about 60 million Europeans
left for the “New World”. From 1846-1940, about 48-52 million people migrated from India and
Southern China to different parts of Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean Rim, and South Pacific. In
the same period, around 46-51 million also migrated from Northeast Asia and Russia to
Manchuria, Siberia, Central Asia, and Japan.
In the 1960s, neoclassical economists formulated a series of hypotheses concerning the volume
of migration and its streams and counter-streams, particularly the “push” factors at the place of
origin which stimulated “moves”, and the “pull” factors which attracted “movers”. But this
approach eventually became criticised for positioning migrant workers as being determined and
overwhelmed by economic structural forces and without having any agency.
Another view is the dual labour market theory, which claims that modern industrial labour
markets are divided into two sectors: the primary sector and secondary sector, which is
composed mostly of migrants and women. The reality, however, is that migrants are neither at
the fringes of labour markets nor an anomaly. In fact, migrants are at the centre of the
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contemporary labour process, replacing the male blue collar worker as the paradigmatic worker.
Theories of national development seldom paid much attention to international migration. It was
only recently that the labour migration debate began to take into account the complexity of the
development-migration interaction. The size of migrant worker communities and the volume of
remittances that they produced prompted theoretical models that emphasised financial flows.
The World Bank claims that remittances generally: reduce the level and severity of poverty,
translate to better access to social services, formal financial sector services, and to information
and communication technologies, as well as bring about higher human capital accumulation.
Many oppose these views, believing that the World Bank is covering up for the failures of its neo-
liberalisation projects, and precisely because migrants have become part of the solution to these
failures.
At present, two contrasting beliefs in migration studies exist – one that links it heavily on the
economic aspect of migration which emphasise exploitation and precarisation; and the other,
more positive view that celebrates migrants’ hybridity, the so-called “cosmopolitanism from
below”, and the migrants’ contribution to economic growth via remittances.
Presentation 4: “Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia” by Elizabeth Tang
Most migrant workers going out of their country end up as domestic workers. In fact, almost half
of the 53 million migrant workers are domestic workers.
One of the most common experiences of migrant workers is debt bondage. Most of these
migrant domestic workers go through private recruitment agencies where they are often
exploited by being forced to pay around four to seven months’ worth of salary for recruitment
fees. In many cases, they are also forced to sign contracts without having read the contracts.
Migrant domestic workers differ from other migrant workers in the sense that, despite their big
numbers, they are actually invisible. Once they arrive in their countries of destination, they
immediately go to individual households because of the live-in arrangements with their
employers. This gives them very little or almost no possibility of going out. Employers and
agencies that hold their passports compound this problem even further. For these conditions,
migrant domestic workers are among the most vulnerable.
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From an organising standpoint, migrant domestic workers also present various challenges. In
some countries, organising migrant domestic workers is very difficult because the governments
do not allow it (an example is Malaysia). Migrant domestic workers also include “local” domestic
workers who only move within their country. In India, for instance, most migrant domestic
workers belong to the rural-to-urban migration. At present, the Federation of Domestic Workers
in Hong Kong is the only organisation in the world that organises domestic workers (either local
or migrant) of multiple nationalities. Through this organisation, migrant domestic workers are
increasingly engaging with the issues that confront them.
Presentation 5: “Intra-migration in China” by Samuel Li
As of 2013, there are about 269 million migrant workers in China. This migration of workers is
primarily driven by China’s rapid economic growth and urbanisation, as well as the following
factors: the shortage of labour in urban areas, the failure of developmental policies in the rural
regions, and the perceived promise of progress and prosperity that urban areas have.
A major issue from this intra-migration of labour is the discrimination against migrant workers
from rural areas. In most cases, they are paid less compared to their colleagues who come from
the cities. They are also forced to do long overtime work, and they have no adequate social
protection from work-related injuries and illnesses.
On average, migrant workers stay in the same city for about 10-20 years. Over time, this results
to a “localisation” of migrant workers into the urban areas. An important phenomenon to take
note is how this intra-migration of labour has precipitated a new generation of workers. Of the
269 million migrant workers, 125 million were born after 1980. Mainly working in the
manufacturing industry, these younger workers usually have higher educational attainment, use
social media more often, and are not overtly concerned about the precocity of their jobs, leading
to higher attrition rates in workplaces.
Presentation 6: “Migrant Workers in India from Nepal and Bangladesh” by
Surendra Pratap
Migrant workers from Bangladesh and Nepal form the major section of foreign migrants in India.
There is no reliable data on migrant workers from Bangladesh and there are rare if any studies
on them. They are also not organized and therefore not socially and politically visible. Nepalese
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citizens immigrating to India constitute nearly 68 percent of total Nepalese emigrants. 23
percent of all Nepali households receive remittances, of which 33 per cent is only from India.
More than 1 million Nepalese are working in India. Among the male Nepali migrant workers in
India, 60 percent work in restaurant/bars; 20 percent as security guards/watch¬men, 10 percent
in factories and the rest are engaged in various casual jobs. Among women Nepalese migrants,
50 percent work as domestic workers, 10 percent as factory workers, 25 percent as housewives
and a significant percentage presumably as sex workers. There may be about 200,000 Nepali
women in Indian brothels.
All migrant workers including Nepalese and Bangladeshi migrants face following problems:
a) Brokers often exploit women, promising a job in some country and trafficking them to
brothels in India
b) While crossing the borders all migrant workers face harassment, particularly while going
back home
c) They also face discrimination in terms that landowners asking comparatively higher rents
from foreign migrants, as it also happens in case of migrants from south and north east
India
d) Sexual harassment. The problem is aggravated due to their isolation in society, and
because no one comes to help them. Furthermoer, they face discrimination in police
stations and administrative offices.
Most serious problems relate to the problems in getting the ID card in India. Address proof and
ID proof are the basic requirements for getting Ration card, Adhar card and other welfare cards.
The landlords are never willing to give in writing that they live in their premises, so they are
never able to provide an address proof. Less than 10 percent of Nepalese migrants have any
such ID cards and they are able to get benefit of such welfare schemes. For other migrants the
problem is even more serious. Therefore, they are unable to get subsidized items from public
distribution system (PDS) shops and also denied cooking gas connection, so compelled to
purchase cooking gas from black market at four times higher rate. In many cases, the employers
do not put their names in their enrolment registers so they do not have the proof of
employment. Following the policy of KYC (Know your Customer), bank does not open any bank
account for migrant workers for lack of address proof and ID proof. Because they do not have
bank account, they are unable to claim their pension and insuratance-related benefits. So the
workers willingly give their consent to employers for no PF deductions. Interestingly, it is in these
situations, the trade unions focusing only on shop-floor issues, become irrelevant for these
workers.
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Questions and Comments on Panel Discussion II
Comment 1: I have seen so many migrant domestic workers (Filipinos, Bangladeshi, Indian) in
gulf countries and their experiences are really horrifying. For instance, there was this lady sitting
next to me on a plane, she was crying. She told me she was going back to her home country. She
said that her passport was taken by her employer on the first day of her work. She worked for
that employer for six months, but only three months’ worth of her salary was paid. On the sixth
month, her employer’s entire family accompanied her to the airport, gave her the boarding pass,
without paying a single cent owed to her.
In construction sites, 10-15 migrant workers are crammed inside a very small room. Living
conditions in the site itself are also very poor.
My point is, what can we do to address these cases of domestic workers? How can we help
them? Is there social protection available for them?
Comment 2: In Malaysia, one problem that Cambodian migrant domestic workers encounter is
the discrimination that they get from the local population. Malaysians perceive the Cambodians
to be stealing their jobs and money. Another is hard labour and physical abuse. Some even die
from it. So how do we address these problems? My idea is that we start within our own home.
We need to strengthen laws and the recognition of rights of workers in Cambodia itself.
Question 1 (Nalini): Obviously there is a gradual withdrawal of the state and its institutions in
addressing the issues of migrant workers. My question is, what is the role of trade unions in
highlighting the state’s role of protecting these sectors?
Comment 3: In Bangladesh, domestic workers are excluded from the national labour act. There
have been initiatives of organising domestic workers, but this is only limited to local domestic
workers.
Comment 4: Qatar, in particular is a very oppressive country for migrant domestic workers.
Answer 1 (Elizabeth Tang): Yes, Qatar might be the worst, but governments of Asian countries
are not doing much better. One agenda in government meeting is collective contract. We
oppose the model contract because it does not recognize the legal rights of domestic workers.
This is important because this gives legal basis. We also need to openly tell stories of exploitation
of migrant domestic workers. Finally, I want to remind people that, aside from being critical of
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foreign governments where these abuses are perpetuated, we need to compel our own
governments to protect their own people in countries where they migrate and work to.
Answer 2 (Dennis Arnold): On the issue of social protection and reproduction, I think this is one
of the key issues we have to address. Social protection is indeed being withdrawn and reduced
(as seen from austerity measures in Europe and other countries, gradual and dramatic reduction
in social protections and weakening of labour rights and protection). It’s not the state
withdrawing or becoming less prominent, but there is a shift in their priorities.
Another issue of contention is how the World Bank is championing social protection (deepening
commodification of social protection, return of investment). There are also issues within existing
labour unions. For instance, there is a case in the 1990s and early to mid-2000s where unions in
Thailand were united in calls to expel Burmese migrants out of the country. While many Thai
unions have changed their position, it has elicited various responses from Burmese trade unions,
which came to rely on themselves rather than solely local unions. The idea is for migrant workers
organisations to draw on a variety of support from, including but not limited to, trade unions at
the the national and international level.
Comment 5: Land grabbing has been very rampant in Indonesia, plantations have become
industrial complexes, so people are displaced as migrant workers in other countries.
Comment 6: One problem for migrant workers is that they receive no briefing or training before
they are sent to work abroad. This affects their integration into workers’ union in their country of
destination. Preparation should not only be initiated by the government, but by the labour
organizations as well. The issues of migrant workers are more than just issues of slavery and
human trafficking. They are also issues of changing the economic paradigm. Do we have an
alternative to globalisation?
Comment 7: My first employer in Bahrain did not pay me the right wages and never on time. I
went back to the agency, which gave me a new employer. However, they didn’t give me a new
contract to sign. My new employer was still abusive. He even attempted to rape me, so I ran
away. Instead of going back to the agency, I went to the Philippine embassy, but they handed me
to the police station. The police held me in detention for 21 days. My question is, if I go to
another country to work and the same thing happens, will the government of that country help
me? In gulf countries, they often side with the employer, because he is a citizen.
Comment 8: Despite numerous cases of abuses and exploitation by employers, the government
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is not compelled to act and protect these migrant workers. Export-labor policy of the Philippine
government is only after the steady flow of remittances, which contributes to the country’s GDP.
This is even institutionalized, as short courses on household work, for instance. I think the issues
of Filipino migrant workers should be resolved and addressed here in the country, not in the
countries where they go. Migration problems can only be addressed if industrialisation is
achieved.
Answer 3 (Dennis Arnold): Clearly, it is a government issue, but collective initiatives could also be
a better solution.
Answer 4 (Elizabeth Tang): Most MOUs between governments are bilateral. Even if it looks good,
the content is not disclosed. The migrant workers do not know the contents of these MOUs. We
need more multilateral agreements than bilateral ones.
How to get help in gulf countries: NGOs are making more effort to reach migrant workers. The
question is, how do we determine the workers who need access to these types of services and
assistance? For labour organisations, how do we ensure that these cases of exploitation and
abuse do not happen again?
Panel Discussion III
Presentation 7: “Informal Labour in Asia: Organising Strategies” by Nalini
Nayak
In South Asia, 94% of labour belongs to the informal sector. Of this number, 70% work in
agriculture and services sector, contributing to 60% of the GDP.
There are two primary effects of globalisation in South Asia: capital chasing cheap labour and