Novelita Palisoc, a migrant worker and President of the United Domestic Workers of the Philippines, is one of the millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who left our shores to search for opportunities abroad.  In fact, in 2017, the number has already reached two million documented OFWs and the total number is still increasing annually. 

There is also another important data where Palisoc is included.  For decades, men have outnumbered women OFWs. It started changing in the year 2013, when women such as Palisoc became part of the majority. In 2017, women migrant workers already comprise 54% of the total OFW outflow. 

Palisoc’s moving testimony – how women migrant workers can sometimes face violence, gender discrimination, restrictions on movement, or labour exploitation – became one of the highlights of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) presentation of the “Safe and Fair” programme which was held in conjunction with ILO’s centenary celebration.  Notably, President Rodrigo Duterte just signed Proclamation No. 710 declaring 2019 as ‘ILO Centenary Year.’   

The programme “Safe and Fair: Realizing Women Migrant Workers’ Rights and Opportunities in the ASEAN Region” was launched in 2018 in 10 ASEAN countries including the Philippines. The five-year (2018-2022) programme is part of the global, European Union-United Nations (EU-UN) Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls. “Safe and Fair” is implemented through a partnership between the ILO and UN Women (in collaboration with the UNODC).

Khalid Hassan, Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines, underscored the relevance of validating key issues on migration and cooperation among various stakeholders in order to find suitable and sustainable solutions to uplift the lives of women migrant workers. 

“This (Safe and Fair) is a project which will bring all of the ILO components together to support women OFWs,” Hassan said. “The ultimate goal is to make migration a safe and fair process for women – and more importantly towards the creation of decent jobs and real opportunities that will uplift the lives and welfare of all migrant workers.” 

This was supported by EU Delegation in the Philippines Program Manager-Health Diana Van Daele, as she reaffirmed the important role of the ILO, EU, and tripartite partners in enhancing international cooperation and migration while highlighting women empowerment at the center of all efforts. 

“It is really heartening to see so many partners showing that safe and fair migration for women is a top priority. Change is possible, but it needs to be supported by a real culture and social movement where everybody plays their part,” Daele said.     

“Safe and Fair” in the Philippines is guided by a National Project Advisory Committee (NPAC), which is a multi-stakeholder body chaired by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) as Vice-Chair. The committee is composed of 26 partners from government, trade unions, employers, recruiters, grassroots and civil society groups representing migrants/ families, women, academe and advocates.  The programme’s social partners include organizations of OFWs and their families; trade unions; recruiters and private sector groups; and civil society, specifically migrant groups, women’s groups, end-VAW and gender advocates. 

On the part of the government, OWWA Administrator Hans J. Cacdac underscored the tremendous role of women OFWs in building the national economy. He said that it is crucial to promote and protect their labour rights such as freedom to association, collective bargaining, and trade union representation.     

“OFWs deserve to be empowered. We should provide care and protection when they need us the most,” OWWA Administrator Hans J. Cacdac emphasized.   

During the “Safe and Fair” event, a public forum on “Ending VAW and Discrimination, Empowering Women OFWs” was also held. Representatives from the government and private sectors shared various progress of platforms and initiatives to promote women rights protection and help vulnerable sectors. Among these campaigns are the “May I Help You? Corner” at NAIA 3, “OWWA 1348 Helpline”, “IACAT 1343 anti-trafficking action line”, among others. 

The forum clearly revealed that women migrant workers continue to face enormous challenges but there are a lot of ways to address rights protection gaps and improve the effectiveness of laws, policies, services, mechanisms, and collaborative efforts in all stages of labour migration. 

“The Philippines has ratified a lot of UN and ILO conventions, including the Migrant Workers Convention, Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, and Domestic Workers Convention. The crucial gap is implementation and monitoring. The ‘Safe and Fair’ initiative creates an opportunity for us to look into these and to make them more responsive to women migrant workers,” said UN Women’s Maricel Aguilar, Acting OIC.  “While there are vulnerabilities that are still present to this day, it is also important to highlight the capacities of women to actually shape public policies and programs. It is also important to eliminate stigma as it creates a lot of social breakdowns and barriers, putting a lot of migrant women workers at risk.” 

“With ‘Safe and Fair,’ we want to contribute to making various efforts more effective, sustainable, coordinated, and convergent,” said Rex Varona, ILO’s National Project Coordinator for the ‘Safe and Fair.’ “A critical element in making labour migration more safe and fair for women OFWs, is in ensuring that we strengthen the voice, choice and agency of women migrants, so that they become the drivers in realizing these changes.  We are now moving in convergence and we’re doing a lot of collaborative efforts with various agencies and stakeholders to hopefully lessen – if not eradicate entirely – all forms of abuse on women migrant workers.” 

With passionate efforts to make migration safe and to make opportunities fair for all, there should come a day when stories of women migrant workers such as Palisoc will be filled with inspiration, empowerment and hope.