Making Decent Work an Asian Goal

Making decent Work An Asian Goal

By G. Rajasekaran

President

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions Asian

and Pacific Regional Organisation

Asia is at the heart of the globalization process. Working women and men have increasingly high levels of education and skills, and enterprises are becoming world-class competitors. For many, globalization has brought prosperity, opportunities, better lives and a brighter future. But for too many, mere survival is still a daily challenge . [1]

Labour Rights

The 18^th Conference of the ICFTU Asian and Pacific Regional Organisation expressed serious concern at the blatant violation of trade union rights in many countries in the region. Governments are increasingly becoming intolerant of trade unions. Core labour conventions are either not ratified or not implemented. Decent work deficits, already huge, are surging further. Freedom of association and the right to organize and collective bargaining as embodied in the ILO Conventions No.87 (Freedom of Association) and No.98 (Collective Bargaining) are restricted and even denied in some cases. This is especially so in the attempt by governments to attract foreign direct investment into their countries, in export processing zones where incentives like exemptions from labour laws are provided. Cases of violation even take the form of physical violence against union organizers and officials, apart from the usual discrimination and dismissals and other work-related anti-union/worker action. The region also sadly witnessed a number of unionists losing their lives for doing their legitimate trade union work.

Discrimination in employment is still rampant and increasing. A great number of women and men workers are faced with various forms of discrimination based on gender, nationality, race, age and other factors. Forced and compulsory labour, as embodied in the ILO Conventions No.29 and 105 has not been eliminated in the region as in the case of Burma. Slave labour and bonded labour are still found in Asia and the Pacific, mainly affecting the vulnerable of the most vulnerable, i.e. children and women.

Conference decided to:

launch an intensive campaign to promote ratification of the ILO core conventions and their effective implementation

assist the affiliates in capacity building to address the deficiencies in labour legislations in the Asia and Pacific countries and to ensure effective implementation so that the workers enjoy their fundamental rights to freedom of association and to organize as per universally accepted standards

[1] Juan Somavia, Director General ILO

study closely the restrictive labour practices and non-respect for workers rights in Free Trade Zones/Export Processing Zones and assist affiliates to promote core labour standards in FTZs/EPZs

assist affiliates to launch special organizing campaigns in FTZs/EPZs

keep constant vigil and monitor observance of human and trade union rights

strengthen and coordinate timely and effective solidarity actions to mobilise international solidarity against any form of denial of workers rights where organisational efforts are frustrated, and to exert pressure on appropriate organizations and governments

Employment Protection

Conference expressed serious concern that 6.2 per cent of the global workforce, i.e. 185.9 million is unemployed. Globalisation was unsuccessful in creating jobs for them. The army of unemployed is ever increasing. In addition, there are currently 550 million working poor who are unable to earn enough to keep their family members above the poverty line of one dollar a day. Under the current severe international competition, streamlining and shifts and relocations of company operations have increasingly been changing the employment structure. In developed countries formal type of employment is drastically replaced by atypical and casual type employment. In developing countries, structural adjustment had been causing a surge in informal economy. These have serious effect on working conditions - wages, benefits and working hours. Privatisation poses another serious threat to decent employment.

Organising Informal Economy

Conference recognized that overwhelming majority of workers in the Asia Pacific countries are in the informal economy. In Asia Pacific region about 60 per cent of the workers are engaged in informal economy and majority of them are women. In some countries, informal economy accounts for over 90%. The jobs in formal economy is shrinking because of privatization, labour shedding in the government sector and the closure of firms. Workers thrown out of formal economy have been forced to enter informal economy for employment. Informal economy workers are the most exploited, most neglected and is characterized by low wages, long working hours, lack of social protection, lack of job security, absence of OHS measures and are mainly outside the purview of the trade union movement.

Migrant workers

Conference recognized that there are as many as175 million migrant workers and their families residing in countries other than their own and the increasing feminization of labour migration currently accounting for 48% of the migrant workers. Migrant workers are important contributors to economies of both receiving and sending countries. Their remittance to poor countries is estimated to be US$ 80 billion annually. Despite their contributions, they remain vulnerable with exploitation and absence of protection. Many receiving countries deny their basic workers' rights to organize and collective bargaining by laws, exposing them to further exploitation. Yet another development of serious concern is the trafficking especially of women.

Industrial relations

Conference recognized that labour laws in many countries in the region are not in conformity with the spirit and principles of the ILO Conventions. Violations of rights to organize and to bargain collectively in a number of countries take place, including the restrictions or outright denial of unionization among certain categories of workers and anti-union actions. For sound industrial relations bipartism and tripartism have to be allowed to function effectively. Social partnership and dialogue is one of the fundamental components towards decent work and the main tenet of the ILO Convention No.144 (Tripartite Consultation, 1976).

Decent Work and Social Protection

Working Conditions

Conference recognized that decent work is the battle cry of trade unions in efforts to improve the lives of workers and the society through full respect for core labour standards, decent employment and income, social protection, and social dialogue/partnership. Decent work can be achieved only when work is carried out in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity. This implies that workers should work under working conditions that can enable them to live decently as human beings and sufficient income to meet a decent standard of living and having time for families and leisure as well. All workers should be paid at least a guaranteed minimum wage that can meet their basic needs. In addition to the already long hours of work in the region, the increasing informalisation of work has further intensified this trend. The growing ranks of informal economy have attributed in part to the increasing working poor, along with the economic downturns and the economic crisis that hit the East and South East Asia in 1997-98.

Regional Economic Integration

Conference recognized that regional and interregional groupings have emerged as important vehicles for pushing the market liberalization agenda, particularly the promotion and facilitation of trade, investment and services among the member states. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) are the significant regional groupings in the region. Trade union participation is invisible in the regional groupings, which is essential to ensure a balanced approach of the regional groupings by obtaining a level playing field, to reflect a labour perspective in policy formulation towards Decent Work and to contribute to the process by ensuring a social dimension.