Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body (AMCB-IMA)
Members from Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines

Press Statement
14 December 2008
For reference: Eni Lestari
Spokesperson, Tel. No.: 96081475

On Int’l Migrants Day, foreign maids challenge governments:
Workers first!

As Hong Kong starts to feels the crunch of the global recession, the workers shall be at the frontline of those bearing the brunt. It is thus imperative that the HK government think of the workers first and protect the workers first, including the migrant workers.

On the occasion of the International Migrants Day, we challenge the Hong Kong government to conduct concrete moves that shall protect the wage and job security of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in Hong Kong especially the foreign domestic workers.

Foreign domestic workers are yet to share the benefits of the HK economic rebound and now, we are again facing a crisis that migrants rightly fear shall again bring more hardships to our situation.

FDWs remember how the government has justified its moves to drastically cut the salary of foreign maids by HK$400 and implement a levy to employers of FDWs by saying that everyone has to share the burden of the financial crisis. This time, we will not be sacrificial lambs anymore.

The government has already allotted HK$100 billion for businesses that will be affected by the economic problems. Yet, the government has no commitment yet, whatsoever, in terms of increasing the wage of migrants to help us cope with the crisis, legislate a minimum wage law for all workers, and reviewing, at the very least, policies that make FDWs vulnerable to abuses and exploitation such as the Two-Week Rule.

The challenge to put the protection of workers first is not only directed to the Hong Kong government.

Governments of sending countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Nepal must also exercise its political will to ensure that their nationals are shielded from the forecasted problems. Additionally, actions to address problems of overcharging of recruitment agencies, high fees that migrants have to pay and mediocre onsite services for FDWs must be decisively done.

It is most condemnable that the rights of migrants are subjected to attacks during crisis. Neoliberal globalization that has repeatedly violated the rights of migrants as workers has again plunged the world in an unprecedented problem. It is most unjust if the burden of its failure is passed on to the workers including the migrants.

Today we register our position: workers first!

Migrants shall remain vigilant of any move that will further violate our rights as workers. It is in time of crisis that vulnerable sectors and classes need the most urgent and most concrete protection.

We vow to launch actions that shall ensure the protection of our wage and job security that we rightfully deserve.#