A REPRESENTATIVE from the Brunei Council on Social Welfare (MKM) attended the recently-concluded 9th Asean Forum on Migrant Labour held in Vientiane, Lao PDR from November 9-10.
Themed ‘Better Quality of Life for Asean Migrant Workers Through Strengthened Social Protetion,’ the forum saw the involvement of 80 participants from Asean member states representing government agencies, employers organisations, workers associations and civil society organisations.
Two thematic sessions were held.
The first session was on the current situation of social protection of migrant workers in Asean.
Concepts on social protection by International Labour Organization (ILO) were discussed, including equal access for migrant workers, barriers some women migrant workers face when accessing social security systems and strategies that countries can adopt to extend social protection to migrant workers.
Concrete examples were shared on how migrant workers access social security, including health care and employment injury benefits.
Participants of the 9th Asean Forum on Migrant Labour.
Meanwhile, the second session discussed the portability of social security for migrant workers in Asean, describing frameworks in other regions that are successful and how Asean member states can work towards the inclusion of social protection provisions in bilateral labour agreements.
Sixteen recommendations were drawn calling for social protection measures for migrant workers in Asean that cover protection for sickness, medical care, invalidity, work injury, unemployment, survivor’s benefits and maternity among others.
MKM member Fatin binti Muzini shared on the importance of promoting and supporting best practices in social protection for migrant workers in Asean as they also contribute to the economic prosperity of the country where they are employed. Her participation at the forum was fully sponsored by UN Women.
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