Alfie Gordo, 17 December 2020

The Philippines is among the top ten origin countries and the one with the largest diaspora population. Migration for labour has been a part of almost every Filipino family’s life for decades. Described as an indispensable sector of the Philippine economy, the Philippine diaspora has in many ways become a permanent feature of the country’s GDP through a steady inflow of remittances from Filipino migrant workers.

In 1974, the Marcos administration institutionalised a policy for labour export as a temporary stop-gap measure to impede the rising unemployment rate and severe balance-of-payment pressures.. Nearly five decades and six administrations later, the number of Filipinos leaving the country for work continues to grow steadily due to the government’s effort to diversify its labour markets and to send more Filipino workers abroad.

The once temporary labour programme had become a permanent pillar of life in the Philippines. On the one hand, the country receives commendations for its comprehensive policies and protection measures for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). On the other hand, labour and migrant rights groups are questioning the government’s overreliance on the labour export programme to stimulate growth in the economy while there is lack of sustainable programmes to provide employment and livelihood opportunities in the country thus making migration a means for survival and a necessity rather than a choice.

Global shifts in international trade and investments have greatly influenced the gender construction of the labour markets and mobility of people between developed and developing countries. Women now make 56 per cent of Filipino migrants, with the vast majority working in the services sector.

The regulation of the country’s labour migration has provided a stringent framework to facilitate the outflow and supply of labour force for the globalised markets. Filipino migrant workers benefit from the improved systems of deployment and the formalities set in workers’ contracts. However, raising the standards towards ethical recruitment, contract processing and deployment of migrant workers is only the first step to securing decent work and in ensuring protection of their rights and welfare. Reviewing the gaps and overcoming the challenges in existing policies to actually work for migrant workers is equally important.

Women Migrant Workers Matter

The participation of women migrant workers as active agents of change and development is crucial in labour migration reforms and policy making. Their contribution to intergovernmental processes on labour migration provides a more accurate response to their demands, labour conditions and welfare.

Consequently, there are two important issues to reflect on when it comes to women migrant workers’ realities in destination countries and in the Philippines – women workers’ organising and re/integration.

One of the interesting areas in looking at mobilising and organising are the creative processes by which women work towards forming a collective advocacy, and a pool of services to support other women migrant workers. The need to organise in order to raise women’s concerns paved way for innovations and creative learning spaces for knowledge and skills building.

The use of politicised learning to gain understanding of the critical issues on women workers’ rights has been a common factor in building leadership and advocacy strategies. For example, the Labor Education and Research Network (LEARN) has been providing leadership trainings among women workers’ groups, including migrant domestic workers, in the Philippines.

Through our project, we train leaders to be organisers. As organisers they have to learn how to do the basic orientation seminars – which includes information on workers’ rights, migrants’ rights and gender rights. We make sure that they use the skills that they acquired from the training when they start mobilising among Filipino migrant domestic workers.

– Jen AC Albano, LEARN

Today, one of the best examples of Filipina migrant workers organising has been the formation of various migrant domestic workers groups to promote the rights of domestic workers internationally. Women migrants are often concentrated in few occupations, which are menial and low paid, in difficult working conditions and with little or no prospect for upward social mobility.

The concept of social movement within the unorganised sector had been integral in the growth and sustainability of many self-organised groups, unions and community-based formations in the Philippines and in destination countries.

In Jordan, a group of community leaders representing migrant domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka formed a network in 2014 called the Domestic Workers Solidarity Network in Jordan (DWSNJ). Support from the Solidarity Center in providing thematic workshops and dialogues with the migrant domestic workers on labour exploitation and human trafficking, was instrumental in grounding the vision and advocacy of DWSNJ.

We started with 10 community leaders who went through the thematic workshops. And then we were able to do a public launch where we were officially introduced to the civil society groups as a grassroots network in Jordan.

Mobilising and case handling are the core tasks of community leaders. We also have a network of NGO support services, such as legal clinics, where we can endorse cases of migrant domestic workers.

– Joy Guarizo, community leader, DWSNJ

Building the capacity of unions and women migrant workers groups in destination and origin countries to achieve sustainable leadership and mobilisation can be realised by strengthening networks of stakeholders to take on roles in providing technical and financial support. Recognising the contributions of women migrant leaders and their grounded advocacy on women workers’ rights are critical in successfully engaging with donors.

Another important aspect on migrant women’s realities is reintegration upon return, which has been an underdeveloped component within migration governance. Preparation for return is not a straightforward path for many women. Many factors influence their preparedness to return, such as having a sense of successful migration experience, the family’s wellbeing and stability, support systems in origin and new communities, and most importantly, prospects for a stable income source and livelihood.

I hope to complete my studies as a way of preparing myself to return back to the Philippines. I don’t intend to stay in Kuwait for a long time because I know my kids need me home. I believe that having a permanent income will create more economic stability.

– Jinky Escuadro from Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association (SKDWA). Jinky has worked in Kuwait for 7 years

I’m now 57 years old, and I think I will go back home for good when I reach 60 or maybe I will stay here (in Bangkok) as long as there are employers who are willing to hire me. I thought about my plan for retirement only this year. But I still have plans to complete the renovation of our family house before I go home for good. It is quite difficult to pursue my plan now because of the economic situation back home. As an OFW, returning to our families can be a great challenge, our savings can easily dry up if we have no one else to rely on within the family.

 – Heidi, 57 years old, Filipina domestic worker in Thailand.

Economic reintegration remains as the biggest challenge for many returnees. While they may have gained extensive experience and skills while working abroad, migrant workers find it hard to find livelihood opportunities in their communities. In the case of migrant domestic workers, many have spent almost half of their lives working and as they return home, they are in their senior years. It is crucial for the government to assess the potential contributions of returning migrants within the domestic economy as well as to understand where to link these opportunities when creating long term development plans.

What we want is for the government to develop more job opportunities that match the skills and knowledge of returnee migrants. Age limits within the available job sectors should be more considerate to the aging population of returnee migrants especially in the domestic work and other low paid job sectors. As long as the returnee migrants are able to execute the tasks, they should be given priority in job placements.

I hope the government considers our skills and experience. I do hope that they still accept me as a social worker when I return home for good.

– Josephine Tecson from Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association (SKDWA). She has worked in Kuwait for 8 years

The success of allowing women returnees to be self-sufficient rests in a variety of enterprises. However, most of these enterprises have a short life span of 7 years. This is the dilemma with regards to livelihood support programs since the needs of women migrant returnees requires a longer timeline. Hopefully, the importance and challenges of this process when applied at the community level, should not be overlooked by donors and project partners.

– Andrea Anolin, BATIS Center for Women

Filipina migrants who return to the country have diverse needs. KAAGAPAY, a local NGO in Mindanao supporting returnee migrants noted the importance of having localised government services particularly in providing trainings and assistance, given that most migrant workers are not from Manila. Bureaucratic processes should be streamlined to speed up the delivery of services, while economic programmes need to match the sectors, gender-specific needs and new skills of returnees.

It is important for the government to pay special attention to sustainable return and reintegration by focusing not only on services but on transformative growth of the economy in order to stir more jobs and investments. Grounded research with the active participation of women workers are also integral in strengthening and reframing programmes and policies on return and reintegration.

The Road Ahead

While looking at the milestones and imminent challenges on how the Philippine government is managing its labour migration programme, it is important to reassess the push factors which drive women’s migration in the Philippines. Undeniably, economic need has been one of the key motivations to take up work abroad.

For decades, the government had been successful in pulling off its centralised programmes and legal frameworks around regulation and protection of Filipino overseas workers. However, it continues to be complacent with its promise to raise the standards of living of Filipinos and efforts to create more sustainable jobs and livelihood opportunities in the country.

The real issues of migrant workers, especially women, both in destination and origin countries, have often been side tracked by bigger political and economic priorities, which often times do not address women’s demands for decent work, equity, sustainable environment, and good governance.

With the temporary nature of labour migration in the Philippines, it is but necessary to find out if policies, strategies and services in place are in line with the expectations of Filipino migrant workers should they decide to return to their home country. The vision of the government to make migrants as actors of development needs to be backed up by concrete programmes and incentives to provide sustainable growth not only to the Philippine economy but also to migrant communities and their families.

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This blog post accompanies the report Facts and Perspectives: Women's Labour Migration from the Philippines