SOLCEN and ITUC Hopeful To Organize ALNI/Cambodia

SOLCEN-Cambodia Country Director welcoming the ADB
Country Director and its Civil Society Specialist.

       The Solidarity Center in Cambodia and the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC)  conducted orientation on Core Labour Standards and its great importance being mainstreamed into funded projects of the International Financing Institutions (IFI's) such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation and the International Monetary Fund.  Such activity aimed to encourage the organizing of ALNI-Cambodia.  ALNI (Asian Labor Network for IFI's

     ALNI/Philippines in the persons of Julius Cainglet of the Federation of Federation of  Free Workers (FFW) and Susanita Tesiorna   of ALLWIE/S - TUCP were invited to share experience of how ALNI/P was organized, its composition, its continuing engagements through constructive dialogues with the IFI's, its accomplishments and how it operates.  Ms. Susanita Tesiorna shared ALNI, as a Regional Structure, was organized under Manila Declaration in 1999 as a response to the negative impact to workers of the financial crisis.                              

           The organizers and resource persons were optimistic for a new chapter, ALNI-Cambodia,  another milestone of the labour movement.



The participants :  Trade Union and Civil Society Leaders,
and ILO



Susanita Tesiorna, ALLWIE/S President

3-MOA's Signed on "Exclusive Breastfeeding in the Workplaces"

      The "Exclusive Breastfeeding in the Workplaces" group led by the International Labour Organization  bogged three (3) Memorandum of Agreements with the local governments called 3-Joint Program (JP) Cities such as Zamboanga City, Iloilo City and Naga City.  Such MOA's are expected to strengthen the support to institutionalize local mechanisms in the implementation of  RA 10028, specifically on the workplace component, both in the formal and informal economies. 

      Such Joint Program  is aimed to help achieve the Millenium Development Goal on Child Nutrition.  The local governments of these 3-JP cities have passed ordinances already on the law to ensure exclusive breastfeeding of babies from 0-6 months old and continue breastfeeding with supplements until the baby is 24-months old.  Parents should be aware of positive effects on health and nutrition and the economic side of it.

      The ILO tripartite constituents such as TUCP, APL, FFW, ECOP, ALLWIE/S and the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns has been working together and such group has been called in this project the Sub-Committee on Exclusive Breastfeeding in the Workplaces.

Zamboanga City with Mayor Celso Lobregat

Iloilo City with Mayor  Jed Patrick E.  Mabilog



Naga City with Mayor John Bongat



      

Domestic Workers Summit 2011, Better Lives for the " Kasambahay "

        The Visayan Forum, the leading organization in the advocacy for the protection and development of the domestic workers, "kasambahay" in local dialect did successful  "3rd Domestic Workers' Summit 2011" last Nov. 9-11, 2011 at the Walter Hogan Hall, ISO, Ateneo de Manila, Quezon City.  It was well participated by the domestic workers themselves organized as SUMAPI, trade unions, civil society organization, employers informal sector associations, academe, government, and church based organizations.  The summit brought hope for the "kasambahay", with the adoption of the ILO Convention 189 towards decent work for them.

       Honored guests were  Vice-President Jejomar Binay, Hon. Rep. Jackie Enrile who talked about his Kasambahay bill and Hon. Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz of the Department of Labor.  Susanita Tesiorna, President of ALLWIES and Informal Sector Coalition of the Phils (ISP), chaired the conference on Social Security wherein Phil Health Vice-President on Membership, Vice-President of PAG-IBIG, an SSS Manager, presented innovations how the domestic workers can access their programs and sustain premium contributions given the situation that they cannot be permanently hired.  On the occupational safety and health, the OSHC director talked about the realities that exosting policies and programs are for industry based workplaces.  Ms. Tesiorna was able to bring the speakers commitments for more meetings with them to develop needs based or customized programs for the domestic workers.

       The SUMAPI leaders and members were all hopeful to have a grand X-mas gift from the House of Representatives this year with the passage of a Kasambahay Bill.  Last year, they had their gift from the House of Senate, the Senate version of the Kasambahay Bill.

        The ALLWIE/S sent eight (7) delegates to the Summit namely: 1)  Violeta Jamito from CARAGA, 2) Judith Buhay from Reg. 8, 3) Juliet Tigo from Zamboanga City, 4) Sandra Javier from Cavite, 5) Rodelio Gaviola from Region 3, 6) Gloria Madayag from NCR and  7) Bel Abellera from NCR.

 

  

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! "

.  

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.

    



NAPC Basic Sector Assembly 2011

      The long awaited Administrative Order No. 21, series of 2011, was signed by Pres. Nony Aquino on October 10, 2011 for the implementation of the RA 8425 otherwise known as the Poverty Alleviation Act of 2008.  The fourteen (14) basic sectors thanked the President for turning on the wheel for the basic sectors which started with the mandated National Assembly held on Oct. 17-19, 2011 in three (3) hotels.

     The  14 Basic Sectors with at least 50 delegations each from all parts of the country held simulataneously respective assemblies to be able to adopt the three-years Sectoral Agenda and elect its council members.

      Susanita Tesiorna chaired the Technical Working Committee who did the pre-assembly work such as selection of delegates, drafting the ground rules, the election code and the sectoral agenda.  She was also elected as the Assembly Chairperson unanimously with the automatic membership to the Workers in the Informal Sector Council. She cannot be reappointed as Sectoral Representative because the law RA 8425, clearly provides that there is no reappointment for Sectoral Representatives.  She served already as Sectoral Representative from 2002-2005.  

     25 Council Members from the 68 delegates were elected and from the 25 council members, three (3) were nominated to the President. PNoy will then appoint one (1) from them to be the NAPC-WIS Sectoral Representative for the next three years.  The other two not appointed becomes the Alternates for the Sectoral Representative. 

ALLWIE/S Meet with SSS Com. Bong Malonzo

Sept. 20, 2011 at the SSS:  ALLWIE/S officers led by the President Susanita Tesiorna, Josephine Parilla and Josephine Virtudazo meet with Commissioner Bong Malonzo of the Social Security System to discuss with him proposals on how to improve the services for the informal sector and how to capture them with sustainability. She presented the bottlenecks and concrete proposals.

         Com. Malonzo informed the delegation that the accreditation of cooperatives as collecting agentgs of SSS premiums has been approved. Ms. Tesiorna thanked and mentioned that at last, after more than a decade advocacy, it has been heard.

         She reminded him of the committment of the SSS to design customized benefit package for the informal sector workers which will be in according to the economic activity of the workers.  Many things were discussed and the meeting ended with a good promise from the honorable commissioner. 

     

Maternal and Young Child Nutrition Security Initiative in Asia Field Visit

        Susanita Tesiorna was invited by the Unicef Philippines to join the MDG stakeholders on maternal and young child nutrition last Oct 5 which was held at DOST, Taguig City and debriefing on Oct. 7 at the Tiara Hotel in Makati. The UICEF Team were :  1)Christina Lopriore, EU/NAS, 2) Anja Bauer, EU Philippine Delegation, 3) Rita Bustamante, EU Philippine Delegation, 4) Dorothy Foote, UNICEF Regional Office, 4) Pura Rayco-Solon, UNICEF Philippines, and 5) Maria Evelyn Carpio, UNICEF Philippines.          

          UNICEF and the European Union are collaborating improve child survival, growth and development through nutrition security and life cycle interventions within the Southeast and South Asia Regions, with the Philippines as one of five focus countries (along with Bangladesh, Indonesia, Loa PDR, and Nepal).  The Maternal and Young Child Nutrition Security in Asia programme would like to position nutrition security in the policy and development agenda of the country and to strengthen capacities and information systems, build on lessons learned and scale up high impact interventions for children and women.

The programme will focus on a number of evidence-based, cost-effective, and high-impact interventions to improve nutrition security among women and young children. Through linkages with both health and non-health sectors, a multi-sectoral approach to addressing the immediate and underlying causes of undernutrition will be addressed. The programme aims to reduce stunting rates among young children by 5 percentage points, and anemia among young children and pregnant women by a third.

          Other presenters during at the DOST were Asec. Bernie Flores of DOH, DOST director, Food and Agriculture representative, Dang Buenaventura of ECOP, Ginger, an ILO Consultant for the Breastfeeding in the Workplace and Flor Cabatingan of DAWN-TUCP.