MANILA: The current Philippine administration has been urged to look into the still widespread exploitation and abuse of Filipino women migrant workers, particularly domestic workers.
While the Center for Migrant Advocacy has hailed the President Duterte’s plan to place OFWs as a priority labor agenda, the current plight of OFWs, especially domestic workers, needs urgent action, it said in the light of the recently released concluding observations of the 64th Session of CEDAW (UN-Convention On the Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women) on the Philippines, reported Inquirer.
On July 5, the Philippine government, as a state party to the UN Convention, had a constructive dialogue with the CEDAW Committee to report on the state of all human rights of all women in the country, including Filipino women migrants.
The UN Committee reportedly welcomes the adoption of the amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 2010 (Republic Act No. 10022) to protect migrant workers working in the State party, but expressed its concerns on the widespread abuse among Filipino domestic workers abroad, and the insufficient support system to reintegrate returning women OFWs.
The Committee also added that the protection of migrant workers under the ASEAN migration policies does not cover unskilled migrants, who constitute the majority of Filipino women OFWs.
It recommends that the country enhance its efforts to effectively protect the rights of Filipino women OFWs abroad through bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding with countries and regions to which Filipino women migrate in search of work.
The UN body also encourages the country to strengthen its regulation and inspection of recruitment agencies for migrant workers and the sanctions in case of breaches of relevant regulations, including the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of exploitation and abuse of women migrant workers under its jurisdiction.
The CMA believes that while providing a significant portion in the annual multi-billion dollar remittances, the domestic workers are among the most exploited subgroup within the Filipino migrant workers, hence, the need to provide gender-responsive support to returning women migrant workers for their reintegration, reported Inquirer.
