Amussol: informal workers have access to social security in the Dominican Republic!

Let's share an update on some of the recent achievements in other regions where WSM supports networks on the right to social protection. 

The Dominican trade union ‘CASC’ is a long-standing partner of World Solidarity (WSM), the ACV-CSC trade union and the Christian Mutuality, three organisations from the Christian labour movement in Belgium.

In this thematic brochure, we took an interest in AMUSSOL, a mutual association set up in 2005 by CASC. It allows men and women workers in the informal economy to access social protection, a right that is not guaranteed by the Dominican state for this part of the population.

The mutual association serves as a ‘virtual employer’ for these men and women workers in the informal economy. Affiliates pay their monthly fee to AMUSSOL, which channels it to the national Social Security Treasury.
Therefore, more than 60,000 men and women workers of the country are entitled to a family health coverage, workplace accident allowances and a pension.

The initiative is a great example of the transformative power of a social movement that uses its expertise to change the existing system. By enabling men and women informal workers to access the social security scheme, AMUSSOL has developed good practices in the field of the extension of social protection, bringing greater fairness in the Dominican society. At the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the initiative has inspired the development of the standard-setting system concerning social protection floors (with the adoption in 2012 of Recommendation 202) and the transition from the informal to the formal economy (with the adoption in 2015 of Recommendation 204). AMUSSOL and CASC have played a major role in the negotiations that led to the adoption of both standards.

And what about the future? Ideally, the Dominican Government should eventually settle this question of access to social security for all, pushed in the back a.o. by CASC and AMUSSOL, which are asking for the compliance with international labour standards such as ILO Recommendations 202 and 204. AMUSSOL could thus keep on serving as a transmission belt between the organisations of workers in the informal economy and the official social security system. It would allow to keep an effective control, the ownership by all beneficiaries and, consequently, a broad support for the system.

We hope you enjoy reading it here when we put the spotlight on an initiative that has already allowed around 60,000 people to gain access to social protection.

Indonesia’s reviewed law on labour migration

On Thursday October 12, ANRSP members KSBSI and SBMI jointly organized a workshop on Indonesia’s reviewed law on labour migration. The current legislation, Bill nr 39/2004, has been in effect for 13 years and its revision is in the last stages. Without obstacles it will be approved in parliament on October 28 this year. Generally speaking, both KSBSI and SBMI think some amendments to the decree are positive, others require a critical look and still other elements are not sufficiently taken up in the reviewed of the bill.

The new amended Bill will focuses on the protection of migrant workers. For example, Indonesia will no  longer send migrant workers to countries oversees who didn’t sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indonesian Government. Also the sanctions by law for offenders will be strengthened. The possibility to combine jail-time and financial sanctions will make the sanctions more applicable in practice.

The reviewed bill also shifts the migrant workers’ social protection. Instead of a separate social security mechanism (private, for profit), migrant workers now have to join the universal, non-profit, State owned social protection body called BPJS. According to KSBSI and SBMI, as such this is a positive evolution. However, the new social protection body cannot cover all risks the former system covered (for example repatriation, sexual harassment, etc). Furthermore not all possible social protection schemes are being made compulsory for migrant workers.  KSBSI and SBMI state that all social protection schemes should be made compulsory for migrant workers. This means the government should not see migrant workers as informal workers. To cover the other risks, it might be more feasible to solve this problem in the short term by bringing the responsibility for very specific migration related risks (like repatriation) to the ministry of foreign affairs. Widening the possible schemes within the BPJS, might prove to be a much more challenging approach in the short term.

Unfortunately many questions remain on the actual implementation.  The role of government institutions increases, but who is going to monitor what will happen in the bureaucracy?  For example: how will it be guaranteed that migrant workers don’t have to pay for their recruitment themselves? So there should be an independent monitoring body that can not only mediate, but that can also sanction effectively.  KSBSI and SBMI also know that offences are happening right at the recruitment phase, even before migrant workers leave the country. So legal aid should be provided by the government even in the pre-process stage.

Another gap is the important phase of the recruitment and the placing of Migrant workers.  Unfortunately the bill doesn’t tackle this issue well. Another derivative regulations on placing will be needed.

Indonesia synergy focuses on young workers and political action

The WSM partners in Indonesia KSBSI and SBMI working on labour migration choose young workers and political action as the areas they wanted to improve in.

For political action, they dream their synergy is able to influence the government in making labour migration policy and socialize it towards members and officials, especially at local level. In short term, they expect to see:

• Socialisation in four regions for 100 members of KSBSI and SBMI
• In three regions, meeting with local level authorities to explain legislation and adapt similar regulation at local level.
• Synergy drafts a proposal of local level regulations and ministerial decree at national level

On mid-term, they would like to see:

• Local level regulations are adopted and implemented in four provinces.
• Ministerial decree is adopted with operational details about recruitment agencies (criteria, responsibilities, fees)
• Synergy to influence the government during MoU for bilateral agreements regarding protection of migrant labourers

And in long term, the participants would love to see:

• Bilateral agreements between Indonesia and receiving countries hold provisions for migrant labourers passport held by labourers, legal assistance from embassies, freedom of association is respected, one day holiday/week, able to communicate with family.
• Government regulates and manages the placing of migrant labourers

Regarding the young workers, they hope the synergy contributes to young workers to be professional, responsible and independent. They expect to see in the short term:

• 100 young workers members are made aware of labour migration regulation
• Maintain or increase the involvement of young workers in synergy through leadership training, targetting them specifically in invitations for meetings or training, use of social media.
• Targetting students at universities and colleges before departure or employment to join trade union.

They would like to see the SBMI-KSBSI membership of young workers increases by 300 through the synergy activities. On long term, participants would love to see that through the synergy, 80% of these new members are aware of their rights and able to defend themselves.

As this was their first time using the WSM approach to capacity strengthening, participants greatly appreciated the session and the way it helped them evaluate their work and plan for the future.

2014-2016 impact: Access to health

IMPACT
Achieved at 88%. Through GK in Bangladesh and AREDS in India, 351.466 people benefitted from health care and insurance. Health care expenditure of 12.380 workers was reduced by 6 to 7%. Also note that in the areas GK works, Crude Birth Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio went down by respectively 14 and 12% for 275.000 beneficiaries.

OUTPUT

	Number of people	To which extend achieved planned
Awareness raising	14.763	196%
Access to health care	351.292	134%
Self-organized health insurance	231.461	176%

GK paramedics doing community visits and post-natal care.

“I was born outside of Dhaka, near the border with India. My marriage was arranged when I was 12, thirteen years ago. While in the beginning, I was a housewife, I started working as garment worker two years ago. My husband was already working at the same garment company, so I wanted to add to the family income. We have two children, 7 and 3 years old, all living in one room. From my monthly salary of 8.000BDT, I pay 2.000BDT for rent. I opened a bank account, on which I deposits half, the other half I give to my husband. I come to GK service center because after my appendix was taken out at the GK reference hospital, it is still painful so I wanted some medication or painkillers. I have been covered by the GK insurance scheme for the past fifteen months. The operation was done for free, while in private clinic it would cost at least 30.000BDT. I would be very willing to pay 10BDT per month to continue this coverage, because if I have to pay for services, this would have probably amounted for the past year to around 5.000BDT.”

2014-2016 impact: Illustration Social Security: India: NDWM's strategy to distribute pending social pensions

Kerala: campaign organized at Secretariat in the capital has resulted in the decision of Govt. to distribute the pending social pensions to the Domestic Workers. The campaign was a result of joint discussions of the domestic workers in the regional level meeting. The group has identified that the campaign as a strategy to fight for their rights.

Jharkhand: We have been working on the themes of Labour Rights and Social Protection in the past years through the WSM program. Both these themes are very relevant to our situation in India as a whole. During the last WSM program (pre-2014) we in Jharkhand first worked on the theme of labour rights and through different means and strategies got the Department of Labour to fix the wages for domestic workers. This was a success. Then we took up the issue of social protection. For almost two years along with our leaders we met the concerned Ministers and Government officials a number of times and requested them to implement the Social Security Act, but all in vain. Then in the end of 2012 we filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court of Jharkhand requesting the Court to intervene in this matter.

The year 2014 is special for us as the High Court gave a positive verdict on our behalf and gave clear directions to the Government to take steps implement the Act. This implies that the Government has no choice but to implement the Act in its true sense. For NDWM it is an achievement, because, the State was very cool about the social protection issues and now is forced to act, otherwise the petitioner, that is, NDWM can file a contempt of Court petition in the same court.
This implies that more than 90% of the total workforce in Jharkhand State including domestic workers will now not be turned down but be enrolled into welfare Boards and be able to avail the existing schemes on social protection. We will be closely monitoring the activities of the Government in this regard so that we can bring to the notice of the court if any negligence is shown by the Government.

Thus the target before us for 2015 and the years to come is to ensure that social protection becomes a reality, that aged workers can live in dignity, health is ensured, education of the children is guaranteed, dignified housing and other benefits are made available to the informal workers.

2014-2016 impact: Social security

IMPACT
Achieved at 185%: 42.440 informed workers got coverage of social security schemes (retirement, maternity leave, health insurance…) through support from NDWM and CWM in India.

OUTPUT

	Number of people	To which extend achieved planned
Awareness raising	190.698	273%
Basic training	8.882	93%

Cambodia: More than 700.000 workers from 1.029 companies have now access to the social security, of which at least 20.600 are new members of CLC. In May 2016 the health insurance system started up, although only workers in Phnom Penh, Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces are being covered. Both worker and employer contribute 1,3% of the salary each. The workers receive a free pre check-up and the treatment is also for free (except the serious treatments, like teeth operations and facial surgery). During the treatment a worker who is on sick leave receives 70% of its wage (for 6 months). The same goes for pregnant women: for the 9 months maternity leave, they receive 70% of their monthly wage from the social security and 50% from the employer, which means a monthly income of 120% of their regular salary. Health insurance for the public sector has also started in 2016 and discussions for pension schemes are ongoing.

2014-2016 impact: Social economy

IMPACT
Achieved at 120%. 13 new cooperatives are providing 350 families with a stable extra income.
Achieved at 311%. 1.832 vulnerable workers started their own Income Generating Activities through AREDS in India.

	Number of people	To which extend achieved planned
Basic training on income generating activities	2.638	149%
Organizing into cooperatives	799	89%

2014-2016 impact: Illustration Vocational: What drives Bangladeshi women?

In Bangladesh, GK is one of the main health providers. It started by training women paramedics and also taught them to ride bicycles, which was not evident in Bangladesh, and against fundamentalism, promoting equal opportunities. Since 1980s, GK also recruited marginalized women from the rural areas to learn how to drive cars, and then facilitated driving licences from the government. This met with much success, and a formal school for women drivers was inaugurated mid-1990s in the south, Cox Bazars. Since that time, around 100 women were trained and GK currently employs 12 female drivers, which draw a lot of attention when driving across the cities and countryside. In 2014, BRAC also took over this training for women. Since it became such a flagship programme, in 2016, GK gathered 38 of the trained women drivers and they were all working, mostly in NGO, UN agencies, hotels, less for families or private cars. Currently, since GK is also heavily involved in humanitarian support for the Roshingya refugees, they are also looking to employ Roshingya female drivers, but it won’t be easy to obtain driving permits for them.

2014-2016 impact: vocational skill training

IMPACT
Achieved at 88%: 175 workers from Bangladesh found permanent jobs through GK.
Achieved at 233%. 279 female workers started their own business.
Achieved at 87%. 26 children and adolescents found permanent jobs or were granted access to higher education.

OUTPUT

	Number of people	To which extend achieved planned
Basic training	599 427	132% 114%
Career counselling	53 children	63%

2014-2016 impact: Illustration labour rights: migration

Labour migration largely occurs under temporary migration regimes and for less skilled work. Migrants often fill jobs unattractive to nationals, the infamous three Ds: Dirty, Dangerous and Demeaning. Examples of this are the Nepali and Indian migrants travelling to Gulf countries like Qatar to work as domestic or construction workers. Migrant workers make an enormous development contribution to the region’s economies – through skills, labour, services and competitiveness in countries of destination; and financial remittances, skills and knowledge upon return to their countries of origin. In destination countries many migrant workers fill labour market niches by doing jobs that nationals do not want or cannot fill. Yet many migrant workers in the region are subject to labour exploitation and abuse during recruitment and employment. Several of the WSM partners focus on organizing and defending labour migrants rights.

2014-2016 impact: Illustration labour rights: Indonesia

Faisal, one of 1.300 workers at a company called PT Indonesia Wacoal, where GARTEKS obtained better rights, such as social security coverage: accident, death and old age insurance. Faisal: "Moreover, since 2015, management also agreed to provide pension funds to all workers. Paid holidays have been obtained. Short term contracts can become permanent by union recommendation or selection from management. A wage scale according to duration of employment is being practiced. Freedom of Association is formally recognized and respected by the owner." All these advantages led to 916 workers out of total workforce of 1.300 becoming members of GARTEKS.

KSBSI: Mesdi from PT Benua Perkasatama: "My company produces various crude palm oil based products and owns the world’s palm oil refinery in the world and is among the biggest players in the vegetable oil refining and soap manufacturing industries in Indonesia. I am the chair of the negotiation team which concludes collective bargaining agreements for the plant level union affiliated to KSBSI. KSBSI helped me a lot to conclude better CBAs through training and exchanges with other unions. Visits of from the national level leadership also showed our management the support we could count on. Even other trade unions came which gave more visibility to our demands and they could provide us with advice and assistance to find solutions to our problems. After the CBA negotiation, our members reap the benefits: improved working conditions, better social security coverage, minimum wage is respected, workers receive meals and transport allowances and occupational health and safety equipment are being provided at the factory."

2014-2016 impact: illutsration labour rights: India child domestic worker

Rashmi, age 17, is from Teklapada village in West Bengal, India. She was working as a domestic worker from the age of 8 in Athelbadi, West Bengal. After three years (probably in 2007) the employers took her to Patna Bihar. From then onward, she was neither allowed to talk to her parents, nor meet them. She used to do all kinds of household chores, like cooking, cleaning vessels, washing clothes, taking care of the children etc. When the employers called, she had to be there, if not, they used to beat her. One of her teeth is even broken. In spite of her hard work, they used to abuse her physically, verbally and mentally. She was confined to the house for so many long years that she wanted to go home very badly.

Rally organized by NDWM against Child Labour

In August 2014, she met a domestic worker working in the same apartment, who was affiliated to NDWM Bihar. She encouraged Rashmi to escape and put her in touch with NDWM. On 21st September early in the morning, Rashmi reached the office. The NDWM staff took the case to the Inspector General of Weaker Section, Bihar who directed the case to SC/ST Police, which contacted the employers. After five days of discussion and pressure, the employer agreed to pay half of her total salary and eventually, she received 150,000INR or nearly 2.000EUR. The employers also revealed the identity of the agent who had placed Rashmi and thus she could get back in touch with her mother. The people from Rashmi's village thought that she had died, but today, Rashmi is back home with her mother, happy with her family and relatives.

Through National Domestic Workers' Movement, India

2014-2016 Impact: Illustration Labour rights: Cambodia's minimum wage

C.CAWDU, the garment federation of CLC in Cambodia has seen its membership increase over the last three years from 63.760 members on 1 January 2013 to over 81.000 members in 2016, whereas the total number of members of the confederation is currently 93.000 workers. Perhaps the most spectacular result of the last 3 years is the raise of the monthly minimum wage in the garment sector: from 80 USD in 2013, the minimum wage went up to 100 USD in 2014, 128 USD in 2015, 140 USD in 2016 to 153 USD in 2017, which is way higher than the program objective of 120 USD. Although the trade union movement since the suppression of the minimum wage demonstrations in January 2014 has put forward a demand of 177 USD, it is undoubtedly so that the garment workers over the past 3 years have seen the largest increase in their income ever. It is needless to say that this result is mainly the effort of C.CAWDU and CLC, who over the last three years – with the support of WSM, ACV-CSC, the Clean Clothes Campaign, IndustriALL and UNI Global Union - have conducted a remarkable national and international campaign on ‘decent living wages’ to put pressure on the garment brands and retailers like C&A, H&M, Zara, Levi’s to increase the low wages of the Cambodian garment workers.

“Government sets minimum wage at $153 a month”, Phnom Penh Post, 30 September 2016

Throughout 2014-2016, CLC and C.CAWDU have made a lot of progress in formulating their political demands and developing policy proposals, negotiating with local employers and lobbying international brands and the Cambodian government. 2015 was the first time that they succeeded in mobilizing up to 200.000 garment workers to show their support for the minimum wage target of 177 USD per month, through ‘soft’ industrial action (awareness raising and informing colleagues in the factory, campaigning). The same year they learned to collaborate with the other Asian partner organizations of WSM and to formulate their demands into a position paper on social protection in Asia, which they defended towards the ASEAN Forum on Labour and Migration and towards the meeting of the ASEAN Trade Union Council. In November 2016, 46 staff members of CLC familiarized themselves with one specific ILO supervisory procedure to denounce violations of core labour standards in Cambodia in a workshop that was organized by WSM’s advocacy department.

Training on ILO supervisory system for CLC and C.CAWDU, November 2016

2014-2016 impact: Standards and rights at work

This is the area most of our partners focus on, and not only the trade unions. International labour standards are first and foremost about the development of people as human beings. In the ILO's Declaration of Philadelphia of 1944, the international community recognized that "labour is not a commodity". Indeed, labour is not like an apple or a television set, an inanimate product that can be negotiated for the highest profit or the lowest price. Work is part of everyone's daily life and is crucial to a person's dignity, well-being and development as a human being. Economic development should include the creation of jobs and working conditions in which people can work in freedom, safety and dignity. In short, economic development is not undertaken for its own sake but to improve the lives of human beings; international labour standards are there to ensure that it remains focused on improving human life and dignity. Though international and national standards often exist to protect workers, their knowledge of these rights are essential to their respect and implementation.

During 2014-2016:

• nearly 43.000 workers benefited from training and got better knowledge of the Right to Social Protection, or 104% of the planned impact. 
• Over 140.000 workers were informed of their labour rights through awareness raising campaigns. 
• Nearly 9.000 workers benefited from legal assistance. 
• Trade unions providing quality services to workers also translates into increased membership, which was achieved at 130%, as partner organisations were reinforced with 77.803 new members, mostly through CFTUI in India which grew with 30.840 members.