ASETUC-Conference "ASEANs impact on worker's rights", 22nd until 25th October, Bangkok

Since its formation in March 2007, the ASEAN Service Employee Trade Union Council (ASETUC) has made major progress in positioning itself as a labour partner of the ASEAN and the emergent civil society movement in the region. ASETUC is currently deeply involved with three major concerns: migrant workers' welfare, occupational safety and health for service sector employees, and the ASEAN Charter and services trade liberalization under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS). ASETUC was founded mainly with the support of UNI APRO, BWI AP has also officially joined the network and PSI AP, ITF AP and other regional GUFs are keen to develop future cooperation and common projects. The "Regional Trade Union Programme Asia and Pacific" of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung has supported ASETUC from its inception and plans ever closer cooperation, with the aim to achieve the following goals in 2009:

• Realise an assessment of the implications that ASEAN's holds´ for workers' rights and trade unions
• Creating visibility for ASETUC as a regional player representing trade unions and their concerns in social dialogue with ASEAN and employers organisations
• Develop outreach-tools for ASETUC towards establishing national structures via the provision of trainings and materials

Therefore FES and ASETUC have currently assigned Prof. Mar S.V. Amante (Professor from Hanyang University, Korea) and three sector experts with the task conducting the study "ASEAN Economic Integration and its Impact on Workers and Trade Unions". This study will be in preparation for the ASETUC-Conference "ASEAN´s impact on workers' rights" and serve as input at the conference, taking place from 22nd - 25th October 2009 in Bangkok (Thailand). The first day of this meeting of 50 representatives from trade-unionists and officials from ASETUC will serve as the strategic conference of ASETUC, where the study is reviewed and policy recommendations are produced. Afterwards, the study and the recommendations will be presented during the second day to officials from the "ASEAN Senior Labour Officials Meeting" (ASEAN SLOM), and on the third day to a joint dialogue with civil society and representatives from ASEAN foreign ministries.

Find here the draft conference program.

Last changed: Nov 02 2009 at 12:47 PM