AFML 12: INI USULAN MASYARAKAT SIPIL

The 12th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour “Future of Work and Migration” 24th September 2019. Civil Society Recommendations

We the national civil society representatives from the 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS) along with regional civil society representatives make the below recommendations for the 12th AFML with the theme of “Future of Work and Migration”.
As mentioned ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, transition into the Future of work will be, “driven by technological innovations, demographic shifts, environmental and climate change, and globalization, as well as at a time of persistent inequalities, which have profound impacts on the nature and future of work, and on the place and dignity of people in it”. During this transformation, migrant workers are predicted to be more vulnerable to exploitation and labour rights violations, compared to local workers.
We need to shape a Future of Work with sustainable development and decent work principles to end poverty and benefit all. While ensuring decent work for all workers including migrant workers, we need to also recognise that inclusive social dialogue is integral to the overall cohesion of societies and is fundamental for a well-functioning and productive economy.

Subtheme 1 – Challenges on Sustainable, Fair and Equal protection
1. The AMS should implement the zero recruitment and migration related fee and adopt the employer-pays principle.
2. The AMS should extend their existing social security schemes accorded to Nationals to all migrants including the invalidity schemes for workers who suffer permanent or total disability or death due to any cause not related to employment.
3. The AMS should adopt more inclusive policies to ensure equal and affordable access to health care for all migrants:
a. Guarantee firewalls are in place to prevent undocumented migrants from being arrested while accessing hospitals and health care institutions; and
b. Respect women migrants’ right to Sexual and Reproductive health and be allowed to have their children in receiving States without the fear of deportation; and
c. Allow workers who have contracted communicable diseases such as TB and HIV, to seek treatment and rehabilitation in receiving States and not be deported on account of health issues 

4. The AMS should remove all barriers that hinder migrant workers’ freedom of association to join or form trade unions and associations to ensure migrant workers’ voice and representation in collective bargaining and social dialogue.
5. The AMS should implement measures to address structural and governance issues to enable migrants’:
a. access to justice, legal and related services and set up government legal aid schemes for all migrants; 
b. access to file their complaints to the relevant government agencies without having their work permits being cancelled or fear of deportation and be allowed to work pending resolution of their grievances; and,
c. protection from being classified as ‘undocumented’ upon unilateral cancellation of their work permits by the employer without due process.
d. exemption from arrest and detention for violating immigration laws which are administrative and not criminal laws.

6. The AMS should eliminate the informal employment and move towards the more regulated formal sector which will address and recognise labour law protections for domestic workers, hawkers, fishers, artists and those in self-employed work (adopting and implementing the Vientiane Declaration on Transition from Informal to Formal Employment towards Decent Work Promotion in ASEAN)

7. The AMS should have a secure, centralised and integrated government portal, accessible to migrant workers, to contain digitalised job offers and applications, travel documents, contracts, to address documents being lost or withheld by employers/agents and eliminate contract substitutions.

8. The AMS should encourage Employers to use technology to eliminate precarious and dangerous work – e.g. automation, safer use of machinery, research for improving personal, protective equipment (PPE) to eliminate the concept of 3D jobs.

Subtheme 2 – Challenges on Migrant Worker Employability

1. The AMS should implement a mechanism to provide recognition of work skills and social/soft skills (e.g. language) through certification by recognised government/private institutes or testimonial of employers.

2. The AMS should recognise domestic work as work and provide an accreditation mechanism to recognise the skills of domestic workers as well as their different set of skills as care workers.

3. The AMS must provide post-arrival orientation/training on living skills, including social, cultural and labour rights for migrant workers in collaboration with employers, trade unions, civil society organisations and migrant community groups.

4. The AMS should remove discriminatory policies (e.g. age, mobility and sexual reproductive restrictions) for women migrant workers to access more safe and regular migration pathways.

Recommendations for Plan of Action.

Key National Priorities
1. Implement access to remedies and direct services – Legal aid, complaint mechanisms, healthcare
2. Invest in awareness raising – educating migrants, employers, recruiters, consumers and the general public on Rights
3. Invest in capacity building of migrant worker communities leadership, organisational processes, reintegration, governance, re-skilling

Key Regional Priorities

1. The AFML should continue its function with reference to the ASEAN declaration and the ASEAN Consensus.
2. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders should be involved in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the ASEAN Consensus action plan.
3. The AMS should allocate sufficient budgets and resources for stakeholders at national level to follow up on post AFML and other thematic activities in an accountable and transparent manner.
4. The ACMW should institutionalise the process and mechanism of inter-ministerial consultations with migrant workers’ associations, CSOs, Trade Unions and employers/recruiters.