Ang UN Resolution on women migrant workers

IN-ADOPT ng United Nations General Assembly sa 68th plenary session nito noong nakaraang Disyembre ang Resolution 68/137 para sa proteksyon at kapakanan ng mga kababaihang migrant worker. Ang draft ng resolusyon ay inisyatiba ng Pilipinas at Indonesia at sinuportahan ng 53 bansa bilang co-sponsor.

Ayon sa nasabing dokumento, “The resolution seeks to protect women living and working abroad, underscoring the promotion of their rights and privileges as well as the cooperation and shared responsibility of countries of origin, transit, and destination to create an environment conducive to their welfare.

It urges all countries to grant women migrant workers access to gender-sensitive and transparent mechanisms for airing their problems pertaining to status of contracts, working conditions or labor issues, and advises governments to encourage those concerned, especially the private sector and job agencies involved in recruitment, to focus on funding support for women migrant workers.

All governments are likewise urged to consider permitting women migrant workers who are victims of violence to apply for residency permits independently of abusive employers or spouses, and to eliminate abusive sponsorship systems.

It welcomes the entry into force on September 5, 2013 of International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers and encou-rages States to ratify it.”

Inaprubahan din sa UN session ang: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Wo-men (CEDAW); Improvement of the Situation of Women in Rural Areas; at ang Follow-up to the 4th World Confe-rence on Women and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

May humigit-kumulang na 1.03 milyong kababaihang Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), at mahigit 100,000 sa mga ito ay domestic workers. Napakarami nang insidente ng pagmamaltrato at pang-aabuso laban sa mga ito.

Ayon kay Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, chairman ng Committee on Labor and Human Resources Development, dapat i-maximize ng Philippine government ang mga inaprubahang dokumento ng UN upang mas isulong ang pakikipagkasundo sa iba’t ibang bansa hinggil sa mga karapatan ng mga Filipina migrant worker.