| Home |
| Intro |
| FAQ |
| PPA |
| Resources |
| Meetings |
| Indonesia |
| Philippines |
| Laos |
| Thailand |
| Cambodia |
Last Updated: |
What's NewHOMENET SEA Receives Catalytic Grant from UNIFEM Fund for Gender Equality
Homenet Southeast Asia’s proposal entitled “ Women in the Informal Economy Advocating for Rights-Based Policies Amidst the Crises” was one of 27 initiatives in 26 countries approved by UNIFEM New York to receive a catalytic grant from the Fund for Gender Equality. The 27 were chosen from a total of 543 applications submitted worldwide. (Link here to unifem site)
LET THOSE IN THE MARGINS BE IN THE CENTER!
|
 |
Five PATAMABA grassroots women leaders (Lourdes Gula, Primar Jardeleza, Josephine Parilla, Mary de los Santos, and Leonida Antonio) captivated the audience with their stories during the Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing+15, held at Miriam College, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City, 23 October 2009. In a session organized by Homenet Southeast Asia and entitled “Weaving the Wisdom of Grassroots Women Leaders in Confronting Crises and Forging the Future”, the women shared their decades of experience in leading their own organization, enlivening their stories with photos and other illustrations. Workshop participants were also encouraged to interact with them and to bring out the lessons learned from their stories in a creative way.
The said workshop focused on issues and themes relevant to “strengthening women-led homebased and other informal workers' movements in addressing the economic and environmental crises towards social protection and human security.”
Following are excerpts from their stories: Following are excerpts from their stories, the full versions of which may be accessed at www.homenetseasia.org.
HOMENET SEA JOINS THREE ASIA- WIDE SOCIAL PROTECTION MEETINGS
 |
Rosalinda Pineda-Ofreneo with Dr. Voravidh Charoenlert of Homenet Thailand in Aross meeting |
Social protection seems to be the global issue of the moment, given the impact of the financial and environmental crisis on vulnerable groups, especially the working poor. Representatives of Homenet Southeast Asia participated in three meetings on the issue: the Annual Policy Conference and Research Workshop of the Social
Protection in Asia (SPA) program in Hanoi Vietnam June 1-5; the Regional Roundtable Strategizing Meeting on “Building Southeast Asia Peoples’ Agenda on Transformative Social Protection As a Democratic and Human Rights Response to the Crisis” in Manila 12-13 October, and the Asian Roundtable on Social Security (AROSS), in Hong Kong 8-10 October. Dr. Rosalinda Pineda Ofreneo of Homenet Southeast Asia and Dr. Voravidh Charoenlert of Homenet Thailand presented papers and actively participated in AROSS, particularly in crafting the position paper (see p. 5) which is now being circulated for co-signing.
Impact of the Financial Crisis on HBWs in Thailand:Stories from the Ground
Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion (HomeNet Thailand)
 |
 |
On 16 June 2009, Homenet Thailand had a chance to discuss with 13 homeworkers and self-employed persons in the garment business in Bangkok about the current economic crisis. According to them, the economic crunch had made more people become unemployed. And many had turned to home-based work. Among those still working in factories, their dwindling income had forced them to take on extra work, including selling things or working at home. Orders from abroad had been on a decline and meanwhile, some subcontractors had decided to employ migrant workers and give them very low pay. All of these had made job opportunities among homeworkers become more limited and the orders they received were dwindling. Also, they were seeing their wages slashed. They did not have much bargaining power in this situation and risked losing the chance to work if they dared to bargain. For sewing one boutique shirt, they used to earn 25 baht. Now they receive 20. And if the orders were given out to homeworkers in the province, each HBW there would simply get seven baht per piece. The economic crisis might even bring down the wage to just three baht per piece. Those self-employed who produced to sell suffer from the increased prices of raw material and the slow market. Some orders from abroad had disappeared.
HOMENET SOUTHEAST ASIA JOINS ASEAN PEOPLE’S FORA, ICT TRAINING FOR ASEAN HBWS, SEATRANET DIALOGUES
 |
Leaders of Homenet Thailand participated in the ASEAN People’s Forum held 19 October in Cha-am, Petchaburi, Thailand. Homenet Southeast Asia took an active role in the preparations for the plenary discussion on the ASEAN Economic Pillar entitled “Deconstructi-ng the ASEAN Economic Ambition: A Conversation among Advocates, Analysts and Activists,” Other participating organizations were Focus on the Global South, AsiaDHRRA, Asian Farmers Association, Committee for Asian Women, Institute for Global Justice, EU-ASEAN FTA Campaign Network, FTA Watch Thailand, MAP Foundation, Thai Labour Campaign, ASEAN Youth Union, and Network International-Asia Pacific Regional Office (UNI-Apro). The main objectives of the conversation were: a) to shed light on the most urgent economic issues faced by ASEAN, and how they impact on common people; b) to highlight how different groups respond to these issues and their impact; c) to solicit ideas on how we can collectively move forward; and d) to see whether there is enough interest and energy to actually move forward together on specific common issues.
Homenet SEA Joins HNSA’s Advocacy for Change
 |
Homenet SEA Regional Coordinator Rosalinda Ofreneo and PATAMABA leader Lourdes Gula participated in the workshop “Change and Impact on Homebased Workers” organized by Homenet South Asia and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 7-8 September 2009, Hotel Heritage Village, in Manesar, Guragon, India. Guests, network links representing various organizations supportive of homebased workers, and Homenet South Asia’s homebased worker leaders from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India graced the event.
PATAMABA Holds 7th Congress
 |
 |
On 5 May 2009, PATAMABA held its Congress at Club Royale, Malolos, Bulacan, with 300 homebased and informal workers and leaders in attendance. This year’s theme was “Confronting the Impact of the Crisis on Informal Workers” (Labanan…Ang Hambalos ng Krisis sa Manggagawang Impormal).” Coinciding with the celebration was the election of the National Council and eight sectoral representatives. The new set of PATAMABA officers are: Lourdes Gula, President; Maria de los Santos, Vice-President; Leonida Antonio, Treasurer; Josie Lipio, Secretary; Juliana Canta, Auditor; Primar Jardeleza, Education Coordinator; Linda Fantone, Project Coordinator; Olive Parilla, Marketing Coordinator; and Calixtra Patacsil, Networking Coordinator.
For its five-year plan (2OO9-13), PATAMABA’s objective is still broadly to strengthen the capacity of informal workers, their organizations and their networks.
This will be carried out through organizing and membership expansion; revitalization of inactive chapters and consolidation of existing ones; education and capacity building; lobbying, advocacy, networking to push particularly for the ratification of the ILO Convention on Home Work, the enactment of the Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy(MACWIE), and other items on its legislative agenda; social protection campaigns with focus on occupational safety and health; and resource mobilization for sustainability where trade facilitation will be introduced and developed.
HOMENET THAILAND Focuses on Youth
 |
 |
The youth program of Homenet Thailand was launched in September 2009 with a training camp involving children and relatives of homebased workers regarding occupational health and safety and labor rights for informal workers. Subsequent youth activities on these issues will continue to be supported by Homenet Thailand.
.
HOMENET SEA Plans Workshops
in Ahmedabad and Jogjakarta
Representatives from the five national networks of Homenet Southeast Asia will participate in a five-day workshop on membership-based organizing (MBO) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, in February 2010.
The workshop will be hosted by the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) Academy and will be conducted under the auspices of Homenet South Asia. SEWA itself is a pioneering example of a membership-based organization of more than a million homebased, self-employed and other women workers mostly living in poverty. It is a confluence of the labor movement, the cooperative movement, and the women’s movement.
Homenet Southeast Asia, in cooperation with HomenetIndonesia, is also planning to hold a subregional workshop on “Gender, Informal Work, Climate Change and Participatory Disaster Management “ in Jogjakarta in October 2010. The workshop aims, among, others, to raise awareness on the impact of climate change on informal workers’ communities, stimulate development of disaster preparedness measures and alternative options, share relevant knowledge and country experiences, and demonstrate the practical uses of gender-responsive participatory disaster management.
--- ARCHIVES --