ASEAN Regional Conference of Senior Officials On Strengthening the Protection and Empowerment of Women Migrant Workers

Transcription

1 ASEAN Regional Conference of Senior Officials On Strengthening the Protection and Empowerment of Women Migrant Workers November 13-14, 2014 Manila Presented by: Veasna Bunchhith, Ministry of Women s Affairs CAMBODIA

2 Gender Responsive and Ethical Recruitment Based on the understanding 1. Policy Context Achieving gender equality is part of the Royal Governments Rectangular Strategy for growth, employment, equity and efficiency (Phase III ). Wage employment and social protection of workers is governed by the Labour Law and various International Conventions. The mandate for implementing the Gender Equality and Labour Law lies with the MLVT and the MoWA ( CGA updating, MFA Framework and MoWA 5 year planning) There are a number of National Laws related to labour migration that have been revised and will come up with guidelines for recruitment agencies, training centres, as well as complaint procedures. 2. Legal Framework and Global Agenda Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) The Platform for Action adopted during the Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing in 1995 Cambodia has ratified seven of the core human rights (8) conventions, including CEDAW as well as ratifying all eight core ILO Conventions (No.87,98,29,105,100,111,138&182) Cambodia is also a signatory to the UN Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, The CG is also a signatory to the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, adopted by the Heads of State on 13 January 2007, in Cebu, the Philippines.

3 Continue Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan ( GMAP) - With support from the work of the migration unit of the MoWA, the MoLVT has in recent years identified a gender focal point responsible for ensuring that the activities of the Ministry are gender responsive. - GMAP of MLVT ( ) contained a variety of gender responsive initiatives related to employment and migration. The new GMAP ( ) aims to promote gender equity and reduce gender gaps through labor and vocational training. - MoLVT is also planning to introduce a pro-poor, gender equitable and rural-oriented National Employment Policy. T - The Framework also aims to address some of the current gaps in the protection of women s labour rights including linking demand and supply, expanding the services of the National Employment Agency (NEA), linking trade with improvement in working conditions and strengthening dispute resolution mechanisms.

4 Areas of Improvement Areas of Improvement - The development of initiatives system to monitor the migrant recruitment agencies; ensure a complaint mechanism is underway developed - Having discussed through the workshop on the Use of Guarantee Deposit of Private Recruitment Agency to agree on the minimum requirements of recruitment for labour migration, including provisions on the agencies, standard terms between recruitment agents and recruits, for pre departure training. - Capacity development on gender and migration is undertaken by MoWA in to improve the conditions of female migrating in terms of safety and protection both in Cambodia and in receiving countries. - A large numbers of training courses have been conducted by representatives of three key line ministries ( MoWA, MOI & MLVT), to promote the awareness of the legal framework, recruitment process, safe migration and the challenges for migrants workers working abroad. - The curriculum training on Gender and Migration are ready disseminated by the MoWA, which supported by UNW in 2014.

5 Continue... Pre-departure orientation is underway developed to have secured employment contracts, imparting practical knowledge about their future living and working environments. The training curriculum and employment support service was also developed by the MLVT to facilitate migrant s workers. The key subjects for training are these: - Preparation for pre-departure orientation to work abroad - Environment and cultural of the labour receiving country - Laws and regulations of Cambodia and the labour receiving country - Travelling to abroad and arrival in the receiving country - Working condition and living in the receiving country - Rights at work and dispute resolution - Financial education - Health and sanitation

6 Continue... Set up One Stop Service into four places to facilitate the migrants workers to work outside the country. MRC in Phnom Penh ran complaint desk to receive and process complaints from migrant workers and provide safe migration for those who suffer abuses and need protection ( By September, 2014 MRC received 71 cases, total:625 & women 236) Establish inter- ministry working group to identify and provide the registration process for migrants workers to work in Thailand, including Passport service Current research study on women migration in Cambodia has been done by the different organizations,as following the areas of research on female labour migration: - Women and Migration in Cambodia ( Ministry of Planning Series Report, 2013) - Migration Impact on Family and communities in the West province of Cambodia ( MoWA,2014) - Women s Economic Migration in Cambodia ( UN- Women, 2014) - Irregular migration from Cambodia: Characteristics, Challenges and Regulatory Approach (CDRI - Cambodia s leading independent development policy research institute, 2011)

7 Remaining Challenges Remaining Challenges - Lack of vertical and horizontal policy linkages has contributed to insufficient information exchange, uneven interministerial consultation and lack of joint programmes. - Lack of effective migration governance has led to a large number of migrants venturing into irregular status. - Gender perspective in labour migration, specially in the process of recruitment, it is difficult to draw an accurate picture of the situation given the current information available. - Lack of data on the gender composition of irregular migrants. It is extremely difficult to determine the gender composition of irregular migrants, given the nature of undocumented migration, and, even in the case of registered migrants, the actual gender composition can only be estimated, at best.

8 Continue... - There has been no systematic implementation to make certain that migrant workers get support returning home. - Lack of the capacity building and strengthen coordination within national and sub-national levels to analyze, design, implement and monitor gender responsive policy and programmes of the recruitment for labour migration, especially MoLVT is still limited. - Gender and labour migration is a crosscutting issue, inter-connected with a range of other policies that often lie outside the control of the MLVT, specially MoWA

9 The Way Forwards - Data collection and document on gender disaggregated, include irregular migration leaving Cambodia - Establish a systematic collected on the return of the migrants - Research and utilize data to promote women migration - Protection the rights of women migration within and outside Cambodia - Provide recruitment system and support services - Networking &involves all key actors at national & subnational levels - Monitoring and evaluation - Gender sensitivities and gender-specific concerns - Gender-oriented interventions to protect female migrant workers - Analyze the differences in the situation of internal and external female migrant workers. - Capacity building on gender and migration - Develop and expanse reintegration programs - Plan for reintegration in partnerships with local communities & NGOS & others - Social welfare system, vocational & skills training & income Gender Responsive in the labour migratio

10 Thank you 10