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COVER STORY intergovernmental agencies and leading international human rights, church, labor, migrant and women’s organizations. The Steering Committee’s activities at international and national levels in order to publicize and raise awareness of the Convention through the Global Campaign led to a salutary increase in the number of ratifications and signatures. It is worth nothing that the 29 States parties are principally sending States, although some of them are also transit and receiving States. None of the major receiving States has ratified the Convention. When we consider the geographical distribution of the States parties, we note that 12 are from Africa, 9 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 7 from Asia, and 1 from Central and Eastern Europe. Another 15 States have signed but not ratified the Convention. As of May 2005, no Western State has signed or ratified the Convention, although some of them were actively involved in the Convention’s drafting process. Obstacles to Ratification This brings us to the question of the possible obstacles to ratification. How is it that the Convention has met with so little enthusiasm by States, including those States who are usually quick to champion human rights? UNESCO has carried out several interesting studies on this matter. Firstly, it is obvious that the contents of one or other provision may be unacceptable to some States, for instance because it would give rights that would go beyond its capacities. Fortunately, the Convention itself has foreseen the possibility of entering reservations to the application of certain articles. This obstacle is therefore one that can be overcome by a careful study of the compatibility of the domestic legislation with the rights contained in the Convention, and the drafting of pertinent reservations. Secondly, the Convention has given rise to many misconceptions. One of the common misconceptions is the often expressed opinion that the Convention favors irregular migration. It is clear from the text of the Convention that it does not and that, on the contrary, the concept of giving rights to irregular migrant workers was inspired not only by the basic principle of respect for the dignity of all human beings, but also by the desire to discourage recourse by employers to irregular labor by making it much less advantageous, as unequivocally expressed in the preamble of the Convention. Thirdly, many countries fear the high cost of developing an infrastructure for the implementation of the Convention. The Convention is a long and complex instrument that provides many rights in different fields, and the implementation thereof consequently involves many government departments, coordination of which may not be an easy task. It is illustrative in this respect that none of the States parties © ishamaec.wordpress.com By Fr. Edwin Corros, CS Joven de la Cruz (not his real name) was a former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from Antipolo, Rizal. He has sought the assistance of the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), complaining of harassment from the lending agency that paid his placement fee to get a job in Taiwan as a factory worker. He was repatriated when the factory where he was employed temporarily cut down its operations due to lesser demand of IT products in United States and Europe because of global economic recession. Afraid of being jailed for not paying his debts, he sought ECMI’s help. When he arrived in Taiwan in March 2008, De la Cruz did not find anything unusual about his employment. Three months later, his employer announced that the factory will operate only thrice a week. This meant that Joven and other foreign migrant workers would only work three days weekly, hence, will also receive a salary that was equivalent to the three-day job. The company’s management had explained that it could not afford to pay all the workers due to the low demand of their company’s product. With his salary cut into almost half of his initial monthly wage, Joven had to face the consequence of being unable to pay his debts arising from the placement fee he had borrowed in the Philippines. Added to this burden, the workers also had to pay their board and lodging on days they were not working. This unexpected turn of events came as a big blow to Joven and his co-workers. All they could do was to wait for their condition to improve. Few weeks later, the company offered the migrant workers the possibility of repatriation with a free airline ticket. Realizing that he had just been working without saving, plus the fact that his salary was not enough to pay his debts, Joven had immediately accepted the offer. Before leaving Taiwan he was asked to sign a document implying he had resigned from work. Although he was not sure of the consequence of such decision, he decided to sign the document because he did not have the chance to seek help from the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei, the Philippines de facto embassy. A month after his arrival in the country, Joven started receiving a statement of account from the lending company that paid his placement fee for Taiwan. He called up the lending company explaining why he was not able to pay his debt. Unfortunately, after explaining his incapacity to pay, he received a stronger letter demanding that he pay his debts including accumulated interests and surcharges or else he will be brought to court. It was this threat of being jailed that brought Joven to seek ECMI’s help through the Antipolo Diocesan Commission for Migrants. The case of Joven is a usual example how some overseas Filipino 20 <strong>IMPACT</strong> • February 2010
Upholding the Rights of Migrant Workers have managed to present their first report on time, partly because the preparation of the report on the implementation of the Convention demands close cooperation between different branches of government and is thus time- and resource-consuming. Other obstacles are of a political nature. The present day climate is not very conducive to discussing the granting of rights to migrant workers. Public opinion in many receiving countries has turned against migrants who are perceived as competition and thus a danger to local people’s jobs. Prejudices against migrants are aggravated by the trend to view foreigners as potential terrorists. Recommendations The range of obstacles to the acceptance of the UN Convention on Migrants’ Rights is wide, and fostering further ratifications of this treaty will require substantial effort. Among the possible ways of achieving this goal, one can notably mention the following recommendations: Promoting a better understanding of the content of the Convention; given the misconceptions surrounding this treaty, it is worth repeating that more information is needed. A campaign in favor of the notion of rights for migrants and of the situation of undocumented migrants; the idea that migrants constitute a vulnerable group and that they need adequate legal protection is not yet accepted and needs to be promoted. Similarly, the idea that undocumented migrants deserve a minimal degree of legal protection meets strong opposition. It is necessary to stress the socio-economic contributions made by both documented and undocumented migrants, even if access to rights should never be conditioned to economic considerations. Developing capacity-building in migration policies and training local experts; all too often, migration takes place in an institutional and political vacuum or is only minimally managed by state authorities. This calls for improving state capacities in addressing migration challenges. Involving the social actors concerned by migration; it is a far-reaching phenomenon that affects most segments of the societies in which it takes place. Along with states, civil society should therefore be adequately prepared to face migration. NGOs already play a key role, but other social actors – such as the media, schools, employers, unions, police and health professionals – should be involved. A d d r e s s i n g fears of ‘being first’ by working at a regional level; states are reluctant to take the risk of being among the first to ratify the Convention. This calls for promot- Rights, page 25 workers are cheated and abused by exploitative recruiters who take advantage of migrant workers’ vulnerability. Joven’s deployment was facilitated by paying a placement fee through a lending company that was most likely owned or linked to the same job placement company. He was even illegally charged with P120,000 pesos (overcharged) as placement fee, a violation to the allowable placement fee set by Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). Luckily, Joven had declared an affidavit that such huge amount was being demanded from him, to be paid in a monthly amortization payment deductible from his salary every fifteen days while working in a Taiwanese factory. When his case was brought to the attention of the POEA, he was not anymore forced to pay the remaining balance of his debt. He could have brought his placement agency to court for having cheated him, but he did not bother to do so. All he wanted then was to stop the lending company from harassing him. Joven could have sought assistance from the Labor Attaché of MECO in Taipei before signing the document attesting his resignation. But then he was not probably aware of his rights nor was familiar where to seek help. By asking him to sign the document, it was clear that the company wanted to clear itself of any liability in case workers would complain in the future. Taiwanese companies are not allowed to hire foreign workers once proven that they had been involved in illegally terminating their migrant workers. There are several lessons to be learned from the case of Joven. Ignorance of migrants’ labor policy on the part of any prospective migrant worker leaves him or her highly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. OFW’s should Victim, page 25 Filipino overseas workers in Hong Kong spend their free day shopping at downtown’s business district. © Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media Volume 44 • Number 2 21
Page 1 and 2: Vol. 44 No. 2 • FEBRUARY 2010 Php
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Page 5 and 6: ARTICLES By Pinky Barrientos, FSP
Page 7 and 8: Volume 44 • Number 2 7 © Roy Lag
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Page 11 and 12: ARTICLES By Mario Añabieza & Paul
Page 13 and 14: Hands across the waters at a Decemb
Page 15 and 16: NEWS FEATURES CBCP official awarded
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Page 19: Upholding the Rights of Migrant Wor
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Page 29 and 30: ook Reviews Joyce Rupp Meaningful M
Page 31: ASIA BRIEFING INDIA Avalanche kills

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