Joint conference-workshop of Homenet Southeast Asia (Homenet SEA) and Homenet South Asia (HNSA)

Joint conference-workshop of Homenet Southeast Asia (Homenet SEA) and Homenet South Asia (HNSA) on “Building Visibility and Voice through Responsive Homebased Workers’ Organizations in Asia: Focus On ILO Convention 177 on Home Workers Ratification

Disusun Oleh:

Daniel S. Stephanus, SE, MM, MSA, Ak.

Latar Belakang

Homenet Southeast Asia (Homenet SEA) and Homenet South Asia (HNSA) have a long history of working together. Homebased worker-leaders from Southeast Asia distinctly remember their inspiring visits to SEWA, the largest and longest existing HBW organization in Asia, during their early years of organizing. Both collaborated in a joint UNIFEM-FNV project entitled “Strengthening the Network of Homebased Workers in Asia” which covered the period 2002 to 2006. On two occasions, leaders of Homenet SEA participated in regional workshops conducted in India under the sponsorship of HNSA and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). Those workshops sought to build solidarity, mutual learning and experience sharing among participants so that they can strengthen their organizations and make their issues visible Moreover, both Homenet SEA and HNSA are also strengthening membership-based organizing (MBO) in their various country homenets in order to facilitate the emergence and empowerment of grassroots women leaders.

It is in this context that Homenet Southeast Asia and the FES Philippines would like to invite you to attend the Joint Conference-Workshop of Homenet Southeast Asia (Homenet SEA) and Homenet South Asia (HNSA) to be held on August 2-3, 2010 in Discovery Suites, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Metro Manila.

With the theme “Building Visibility and Voice through Responsive Homebased Workers’ Organizations in Asia: Focus On ILO Convention 177 on Home Work, ” the purpose of this meeting will be three-fold, namely:

1) to share experiences and assess the campaign for ILC 177 ratification on a per country and subregional basis, in order to plot the ways forward;

2) to share experiences and lessons in advocating for national policies and laws on homebased workers; and

3) to review the results of the membership-based organizing initiatives discussed in previous workshops conducted by SEWA in Ahmedabad as important steps in building cooperation and solidarity for greater visibility, participation, and empowerment of homebased workers at national, subregional, regional, and global levels.

The major outcome of the activity will be a stronger sense of mission and solidarity among all the national and subregional homenets that will be the main ingredient for the success and of sustainable, democratic, transparent, accountable, gender-responsive, and participatory initiatives at the national, subregional, regional and global levels for the benefit of homebased workers.

Given your expertise on the issue, we sincerely hope that you will accept our invitation and confirm your participation in the workshop. Kindly find attached a draft Agenda for the Meeting.

Waktu, Tempat, dan Penyelenggara

It is in this context that Homenet Southeast Asia and the FES Philippines would like to invite you to attend the Joint Conference-Workshop of Homenet Southeast Asia (Homenet SEA) and Homenet South Asia (HNSA) to be held on August 2-3, 2010 in Discovery Suites, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Metro Manila.

Rincian Kegiatan

AUGUST 1 Day Zero

Arrival of participants

Preparation of exhibits and bazaar

Welcome Dinner

AUGUST 2 Day 1

08:30 - 09:00 am Registration of participants

Viewing of exhibits and bazaar

09:00 - 09:30 Opening Ritual

Ms. Zone Narito, WISEACT

Welcome Remarks

Ms. Kristina Birke

Director, Regional Cooperation for Gender Equality

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Dr. Rosalinda “Inday” Pineda-Ofreneo

Regional Coordinator, Homenet SEA

09:30 - 10:00 Key note speech

Mr. Jeff Lawrence Johnson

ILO Country Director

10:00 - 10:15 Tea Break

10:15 - 10:35 Policies and Programs for Homebased Workers in the Philippines

Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz (to be confirmed)

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

10:35 - 11:00 Comments and Reactions based on the proposed Magna Carta

for Workers in the Informal Economy (MACWIE) and People’s Social Protection Agenda (PSPSA)

Ms. Beth Angsioco of DSWP for MACWIE

Ms. Olive Parilla of MAGISSI for PSPA

11:00 - 11:30 ILO Convention 177 on Home Work: Looking Back And Moving Forward

Mr. Dan Gallin

Global Labour Institute (GLI)

11;30 - 12:00 nn Comments and Reactions

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)

Federation of Free Workers (FFW)

Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)

Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP)

12:00 - 01:00 pm Lunch

01:00 - 01:10 Energizer

01:10 - 01:30 Building Homebased Workers’ Organizations for Greater

Visibility and Voice

Homenet South Asia (to be confirmed)

01:30 - 02:30 Sharing of Experiences on MBO Organizing for Policy Advocacy:

Homenet South Asia country homenets

02:30 - 03:30 Sharing of Experiences on MBO Organizing for Policy Advocacy:

Homenet Southeast Asia country homenets

03:30 - 5:00 Homeworkers’ Café:

(Snacks will be served during the Café)

05:00 - 05:30 Short sharing of insights from the stories

Table hosts

DAY 2 AUGUST 3

09.00 - 09.15 am. Recap and synthesis of Day 1

Myrna Magbitang, Homenet SEA Documentor

09.15 - 10.15 Homenet South Asia panel presentation: Summing up

last ten years of policy advocacy in the subregion – nodal points

Sharing of good practices: India, Nepal, Pakistan

Sharing of problems and difficulties: Bangladesh,

Sri Lanka

Summing up: HNSA (to be confirmed)

10:15 - 10:30 Tea break

10:30 - 11.20 Homenet Southeast Asia panel presentation: Summing up

the last 13 years of policy advocacy in the subregion – nodal points

Sharing of good practices: Thailand

Sharing of problems and difficulties: Indonesia, Cambodia,

Laos

Summing-up: Dr. Rosalinda “Inday” Ofreneo

11.20 - 12.00 nn Sharing of Experience on Using ICT as an Organizing Tool

Ms. Jeyasothy Arulambalam, eHomemakers.net, Malaysia

12.00 - 01.00 pm Lunch break

01.00 - 02.00 Workshop I: Action Plan for Advocating ILO C177 and other

Policies for Homebased Workers (country and sub-regional levels)

02:00 - 2:30 Presentation of Results of Workshops for Consolidation In Plenary into an Asia-wide Plan

02.30 - 03.00 Workshop II: Sustaining Policy Advocacy:

Identifying and Accessing Sources of Support

03.00 - 03.30 Concluding and Synthesizing Observations, Next Steps

Dan Gallin and Inday Ofreneo

03.30 - 04.00 Comments and reactions from Homebased Worker Participants

04.00 - 05.00 Participatory Evaluation and Vote of Thanks

Closing Ritual

Ringkasan Materi

Homeworkers are not recognized as workers yet and earn small income with long hours and no social protection. Homeworkers need a decent and basic right. So, the Ratification of ILC 177 is the way but need a long and hard work.

Homenet SEA and Homenet SA work very hard to make the ILC 177 ratified in national homenet. It’s need working together with Trade Union and Confederation to do dialogue with government.

Philipines Government through the Department of Labor already set up the rules and policies about the informal workers: The Informal Employment Rules and Laws and Special Concerns for Informal Employment of Labor and Employment Minister. Philipines also has Magna Carta for Women Informal Employment (MACWIE), the basic rights bill for women in informal workers. The numbers of Informal Employment are 25million, 5 times then formal employment. The informal workers movements are supported by the Researchers and Academe also joining the Trade Union movement.

The form of homeworkers around the world are 55% of informal employment (own account homeworkers) and 45% of industrial homeworkers (putting out system homeworkers). They are not protected by the social protection, only 7 countries that already ratified the ILC 177. The homeworkers movement must be joining the Trade Union Movement also with the Urban Poor Movement as the Industrial victims. The movement is not just workers movement but also the social movement.

The homeworkers movement needs organization because of the economics and politics trend and face the challenges (invisibility, genders bias, acceptance as real workers). The most effective organization is Member Based Organization (MBOs), because show the real number. Number (quantitative data) is everything. The organization must be registered. MBOs is same with Union.

Notes: SEWA is NGOs but accepted in International Trade Union in 1983 but the India Trade Union not accepted SEWA until now. SEWA activities focus on organizing, but working like a movement. Now a day SEWA become MBOs, because NGOs did not practice democracy structure in the organization, MBOs is the best choice for homeworkers movement.

The main problem of homeworkers movement are: political influence, bureaucratic deadlock, gender bias, patriarch culture, and market flexibility. The percentage of homeworkers are 80% women and 20% men, the number are 300million around the world, 50million in South Asia and no social protection.

Notes from Malaysia (the next member of HomeNet SEA). Working as the social enterprise for working women live in the below of poverty line or single mother, the name is “Salam Wanita Project”, operate like cooperative and training service in the Information Communication Technology. The SEP working based on the grass root based planning and implementation to make the women self-reliance and not depending to others. SWP form the community empowerment project to train women do fishing and feeding the fish. SWP supported by 17 NGOs.

Fundraising can be access to the Corporate Social Responsibility, the industrial country like Korea and Japan to build a training center like in Laos. Transparency with strong management and accounting system is a must also build many shops or gallery to maintain the sustainable funding and self-reliance. Sustainable development and self-reliance is everything.

The action plan for HomeNet Movement:

1. Organize more homeworkers by the MBOs.

2. Develop linkages with stake holders.

3. Expanding network.

4. Incorporation in Labor Act Reformation.

5. Urge government include homeworkers into existing social security mechanism.

6. Make local government responsible.

7. Develop leadership of homeworkers.

8. Enhance capacity of homeworkers and MBOs and country homenet.

9. Develop database system in country and regional level.

10. Develop and publish Economic Informal Campaigns materials as advocating tools.

11. Sensitize the policy maker.

12. Advocate government to mainstream homeworkers as labor force and to include in the national budget.

13. Declare international homeworkers day (20 0ctober).

14. Funding by CSR concept.

15. Appeal, event, exhibition, supermarket, etc.

16. Proposing for project funds from donors.

Kesimpulan

Great step to make collaboration of HomeNet South Asia and South East Asia for the International Homeworkers Movement. Moving forward as Union and with Trade Union because the differences very thin and fighting for the workers or labor rights.

Convince the ILO to push the national government to do ratification of ILO Convention 177, because ILC is an international commitment and obligation.

Need to organize as global or international organization.