A Catholic bishop has lauded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in its bid to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers across the region.
The leaders of the 10 Asean member-states gathered in Manila for a summit this past week and signed on Tuesday a landmark document on the protection of migrant workers.
Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Migrants on Itinerant People (CBCP-ECMI), described the agreement as “caring and helpful” initiative of the Asean leaders.
“This manifests their concern and compassion of the plight of our migrant workers,” Santos said.
With common and unified stand of the Asean leaders, he said the rights and privileges of all migrant workers would be “protected, promoted and respected.”
“Their decision is the best and very beneficial to all migrant workers regardless of their nationalities,” he said.
The Philippine government said that the signing of the document “Asean Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers” is the “centerpiece” of the Philippine chairmanship of the 10-nation bloc.
Foreign Affairs Acting Spokesman Robespierre L. Bolivar said one of the key features of the agreement is for the host country to afford the same level of protection to migrant workers as they do to their own citizens.
He added this include protection in terms of labor contracts, labor standards, access to legal representation, especially access to consular representation. The Department of Foreign Affairs has said the landmark document would further strengthen social protection, access to justice, humane and fair treatment and access to health services for the migrant workers in the region.
About 7 million migrant workers employed within Asean member-states will be covered by the agreement. It will benefit over 200,000 overseas Filipino workers employed in Singapore and Malaysia.
The signing of the document came 10 years after the regional bloc adopted the Asean Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers.
The Asean is composed of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. CBCPNews
Image credits: Analyn Perucho/CBCPNews