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RESOLUTION FOR THE IMMEDIATE RATIFICATION
BY THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT
OF THE ILO CONVENTION ON HOME WORK (ILC 177)

We representatives of various homeworkers’ organizations, trade unions, and NGOs focusing on women and informal workers,

Recalling that ten years ago (1996), the International Labour Conference (ILC) adopted the Home Work Convention (177), a landmark decision of particular importance to women workers in the informal economy who have been increasingly subjected to grave exploitation and substandard working conditions in the light of rapid globalization;

Recalling further that advocacy efforts for the ratification of ILC 177 have been jointly exerted by informal sector groups and trade unions in the Philippines since 1997;

Encouraged by the inclusion of ILC 177 as one of the priority conventions being pushed by the ILO through its Decent Work Agenda approved by the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) composed of trade union, employers’ and government representatives, and by the emphasis placed by the Philippine government on the decent work concept in expressing its employment aspirations and policy goals, as evidenced by the chapter in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) on “Promoting Full, Decent and Productive Employment”;

Heartened by the ratification of ILC 177 by Finland (1998), Ireland (1999), Albania (2002) , the Netherlands (2002), and more recently by Argentina (2006), as well as by the ongoing ratification campaign being conducted by Homenet Southeast Asia (with member networks in Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Laos) as well as by Homenet South Asia (covering India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh);

Recognizing that in the Philippine setting, there are at least six million homeworkers,
most of them women who are multi-burdened and subjected to discriminatory practices because of their sex;

Underscoring the reality that most homeworkers have no written contracts with definite employers, suffer from substandard wages even while they shoulder the cost of work space and utilities , lack social protection, access to training and other resources, and are vulnerable to occupational health and safety hazards,

Conscious that most homeworkers are not organized and if they are, they have little voice and participation in decision-making bodies in charge of their concerns;

Appreciating the fact that ILC 177 seeks to address these realities and uplift the conditions of homeworkers so that they can undergo the same treatment, exercise the same rights based at the very least on the core labor standards of decent work, and receive the same entitlements workers in the formal and other sectors are legally enabled to enjoy;

Agreeing that ILC 177 would strengthen homeworkers’ organizations and encourage the unorganized to organize themselves because it emphasizes the homeworkers’ right to establish or join organizations of their own choosing and to participate in the activities of such organizations (Article 4, 2a).

1. Reaffirms the major reason for the immediate ratification by the Philippine government of ILC 177, namely, that it is an international law requiring monitoring and reporting to show governments’ compliance in providing the basis for the statistical and political visibility, legal protection and security of homeworkers ;
2. Calls on all workers’ and women’s organizations to show solidarity with home workers in the Philippines and worldwide by supporting the move towards the immediate ratification of ILC 177, initially by signing this resolution;
3. Calls specifically on representatives of trade unions, employers, and government agencies sitting in the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) to include representatives of homeworkers organizations in their deliberations on ILC 177 and to prioritize its approval/ endorsement for ratification;
4. Appeals to employers’ groups to support ratification since the envisioned increased productivity of homebased workers resulting from improved working conditions and social protection will also strengthen business;
5. Reminds government agencies concerned of their obligation to defend, promote and fulfill the rights of all workers, particularly women in homebased work, towards the goal of full, productive, and decent employment which will reduce if not eliminate poverty, and increase government’s capability to provide resources and services to its citizenry;
6. Requests the appropriate bodies in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Senate, the Office of the President of the Philippines, and the ILO to expedite the process of ratification.