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Homenet SEA Subregional Workshop 2007: 

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) 
and Fair Trade Advocacy to Strengthen
Membership-Based Organizing

Leaders of national Homenets from Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, and the Philippines as well as representatives from fair trade groups in Cambodia and Timor Leste converged at the old Amari Airport Hotel in Bangkok 16-18 November to learn from each other  in the Fourth Subregional Workshop conducted by Homenet Southeast Asia with the support of FNV,  UNIFEM-ESE Asia and Oxfam Hong Kong.

They shared country experiences on strengthening membership-based organizing through advocating and implementing occupational safety and health policies and programs, as well as through  developing fair trade standards to improve  the working conditions of homeworkers/producers.

Opening ceremonies on 16 November, moderated by  Boonsom Namsomboon of Homenet Thailand,  was  graced by guests from the Thai government, UNIFEM ESE ASIA, ILO, AMRC, FES and other international foundations and development agencies, trade unions, and women’s organizations. Somkid  Duang-ngean, in his welcome remarks, on behalf of host organization Homenet Thailand, expressed optimism regarding  the expected results of the field visits in Thai communities. He was hopeful that in the process the network will have more exposure to the issues of homebased workers, particularly those concerning  lack of social and legal protection, OSH and fair trade standards and health development. Dr. Rosalinda Pineda Ofreneo, Regional Coordinator, Homenet SEA, acknowledged sponsorship of friends and supporters (FNV, UNIFEM-ESE ASIA , Oxfam HK), the important inputs of  resource persons from ILO Bangkok and AMRC, the need for unity among  workers (formal and informal) as well and various stakeholders especially on the right to health. She recognized the participation and endeavors of national Homenets,  Homenet SEA secretariat, and Homenet Thailand as host organization. The welcome message by Frank Elvey, Oxfam Hongkong Programme Manager for Archipelagic Southeast Asia was read by Homenet SEA IEC Coordinator Primar Jardeleza. It affirmed  HK’s support to  organizing and networking  among homebased workers  (HBWs) as an integral part of its mission to reduce poverty by linking livelihood and security focusing on small producers, prioritizing issues of fair trade, lessening vulnerabilities so that people will be more resilient to crises, and exhibiting genuine concern for gender equity. In her introductory message, Ms. Jean D’Cunha, Regional Program Adviser of UNIFEM ESE ASIA,  provided important insights and directions on empowering the poor, and reiterated UNIFEM!s commitment to strengthen   membership-based organizing among HBWs.   (see editorial page for a summary of Ms. D’Cunha’s message). Chuthatawat Indrasuksri of the  Permanent Secretariat, Thai Ministry of Labor, acknowledged  insightful learning from experiences of neighboring countries that will help and guide  in developing  policies on social and life security among informal workers in particular. As he emphasized in his keynote address,  “we are here to share and learn much from each other”. He stated  further  that Homenet SEA’s  workshop outcome can pave the way towards the development of a  platform for workers in the informal economy, especially on the issues of occupational safety and health and fair trade. (see www.homenetseasia.org for the English version of the keynote address)

Experience Sharing 

Dr. Tsuyoshi  Kawakami  of the Asian-Pacific Regional Network on Occupational Safety and Health Information (ASIA-OSH)-ILO described the best practices in safety , health and working conditions made possible by introducing participatory approaches like the WISH (Work Improvement for Safe Homes) project for ho meworkers in Cambodia, Thailand and Mongolia; and WIND (Work Improvement in Neighborhood Development) concept for homeworkers and farmers in Thailand and Cambodia. (see page ---for the presentation summary.)

Dr. Melody Kemp,  Regional Council, Asia Monitor Resource Center  (AMRC) and Technical Adviser,  Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV), presented  her own personal experiences as writer and advocate of OSH,  and discussed OSH from a rights based approach with a clear gender  perspective. (see page --- for the  presentation summary).
Sharing of country experiences among the Homenets commenced in the afternoon of 16 November  where participants presented two sets of country papers for panel discussion on this year’s SRW theme:  1) Membership-based  Organizing,  and 2) Occupational Safety and  Health in relation to membership-based organizing.  The third set of country sharing   on  the theme  Linking OSH and Fair Trade.  had  Dr. Hesti Wijaya of  Homenet Indonesia as moderator  on the morning of 17 November.  (see pages ---for the country papers of Homenets Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Laos.)  Clarificatory questions were raised during the open forum ,  often  leading to engaging discussions.

Fair trade groups from Cambodia and Timor Leste also shared their experiences on membership-based organizing, OSH and fair trade. .  Sitann Nuth gave a comprehensive report on the Artisan’s Association of Cambodia, providing data on membership composition and benefits derived by members, type of products, destination of exported products, and sharing experiences on membership-based organizing, OSH and fair trade. (refer to page --- for a summary AAC’s presentation).  Bernadete de Fonseca  of  Alola Foundation of Timor Leste spoke on the incorporation of fair trade and occupational safety and health concerns in the Economic Development Program, one of the four broad programs of the Foundation while acknowledging  there is much more that needs to be done . (refer to page --- for a summary of Alola Foundation’s presentation). Some common concerns  linked together Homenet and fair trade group experiences,  namely: a)  Government legislations and policies (on labor standards, OSH, social protection, trade) – the extent of protection that these laws extend to informal workers, particularly HBWs;  b) recognition of issues and problems affecting HBWs and other informal workers (such as lack of awareness on their need for OSH; separation of dwelling and workplace, etc); c) What the Homenets  are doing   to address issues and problems ; d) importance and relevance of being organized- HBWs and  other informalworkers helping themselves, and one another; and d) establishing linkages and networking, which is very helpful in sourcing assistance and  pushing advocacy campaigns.
 

Field Exposure

Participants went on field visits to the bronzeware shop(s) in Bangkok , and the water hyacinth local handicraft group and the stuffed toy factory  in the Ratchaburi district in the afternoon of 17 November. Leaving the Amari Old Airport Hotel in the Don Muang area  at 1:00 in the afternoon to visit the three Homenet Thailand sites, participants returned  home around 8:30 in the evening.  The exposure trips  to siteswhere OSH programs are in place opened an opportunity for sister Homenets and other participants  to explore, discover, and connect with  issues, concerns, aspirations of the communities  visited.  Tired but satisfied with their experiences, participants still had the energy for some hours of bonding and fun during  the solidarity night that lasted till midnight. 

The Next Steps

Workshop results on “how to strengthen membership-based organizing through occupational safety and health and fair trade initiatives” yielded very interesting responses and varied reactions from the participants. They were asked to answer two questions: 1) List down five new ideas obtained from the discussions of the last two days that you think are good to implement in your country to strengthen membership based organizing of homebased workers; and 2) List down three activities that can be immediately done in 2008 to implement some of the above ideas.

From their responses, it can be said that the country Homenets drew inspiration from the experiences of Homenet Thailand and fair trade group Artisan’s Association of Cambodia, and  from the discussions that transpired during  the three-day workshop. As a result, each Homenet  plans to carry out activities for the next steps, attuned to  occupational safety and health and fair trade to enhance membership-based organizing.  Updates on accomplishments and activities undertaken by each country Homenet  relative to the said concerns will be  taken up in the forthcoming SRW (2008) in Vientiane.