2011 Asia Pacific Regional Conference for Domestic Workers

     Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City, Phils:  The International Labour Organization, ITUC-Asia Pacific and Migrant Forum Asia, IDWN with Global Network held the 2011 Asia Regional Conference on Oct. 24-26.  The conference was all about advocacy towards the ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 189 on Domestic Workers.  More than 100 participants   from the 15 Asia Pacific countries came representing international development bodies, government, civil society organizations, trade unions, workers associations and domestic workers organizations.

      The objective of the activity was achieved.  Each region/countries came out with plans how to push the ratification of ILO Convention 189 or the Domestic Workers Convention 2011. This convention will promote decent work for the domestic workers which constitutes 40% of the total workers in the world.  The domestic work, just like the informal economy workers, continues to be undervalued and invisible and is mainly carried out by women and girls, many of whom are migrants or members of disadvantaged communities, and, who are particularly vulnerable to discrimination in respect of conditions of employment and of work, and to other abuses of human rights. They remain marginalized. 

  

      It was recognized by some paticipants in Geneva on ILC 2011, that it was Usec Hans Cacdac of the Department of Labor and Employment (Philippines) who was behind the success of the much long awaited

Convention 189.  Hon. Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz was in a high hope that the Philippines will ratify Convention 189 before its first anniversary of being ratified (June, 2012) because she mentioned that Pres. Aquino included this as priority as mentioned during the SONA last July..  

Hon. Srecretary Rosalinda Baldoz. Dep't. of Labor in her keynote speech. Other keynote speakers
were:  Bro. Noriyuki Auzuki, Sec. Gen. of the Int'l. Trade Union Confederation, and Sis.
Thetis Mangahas, Dep. Regl. Director for Asia-Pacific, ILO Bangkok

The cry:  " Ratify Convention 189, Now Na! "

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TUCP Delegates took souvenir photo with Usec Hans Cacdac
From left:  Ramon Certeza for the export processing zones, Flor
Cabatingan, for the TUCP-Women Sector, Usec. Cacdac,
Susanita Tesiorna for the Informal Economy and Luther
Calderon for the migrant workers.