Returning migrants participating in decision-making back home

Shortly after graduating from high school, Novelita became a domestic worker. One of the families which she was working for offered her an opportunity to work abroad. She decided to take the opportunity but soon realised that it was not what she expected. Miles away from her family and friends, she found herself isolated, overworked, abused, and indebted to her employer.

Experiences like Novelita’s are far too common. In her home country of the Philippines, legal protections have been put in place to respond to the exploitation and violence that migrant domestic workers can face. A Magna Carta of Migrants Workers was instituted in response to the execution of a Filipina domestic worker in Singapore and several amendments have been made to the law over the years to respond to the different vulnerabilities of migrant workers, especially those doing domestic work.

These protections are only as effective as their implementation and migrants’ ability to exercise their rights. Channelling the experiences and concerns of overseas migrant workers through committees at local and regional level – like the Regional Committee on Migration and Development – has propelled conversations forward to improve policies and administrative processes on this issue at national level.

Upon Novelita’s return to the Philippines, she decided to become part of solution by actively participating in decision-making processes to promote the rights of female domestic workers. Now she is the National President of the Union for Domestic Workers and leads campaigns to help migrant domestic workers in distress. Through these endeavours, she is working closely with migration civil society groups to empower migrants and help ensure that their rights are upheld and protected.

Demonstrating how governance interventions can take migration into account to enhance development outcomes, the EU-funded 'Mainstreaming Migration into International Cooperation and Development' (MMICD) initiative implemented by IOM produced a video to showcase this #MigrationConnection. The video highlights work that is ongoing in the Philippines under the “Safe and Fair Programme” which is part of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative.

The “Safe and Fair Programme”, implemented by ILO and UN Women, in collaboration with UNODC and funded by the EU, is working towards the realization of women migrant workers’ rights and opportunities in the ASEAN region. One of the key areas of this work supports their efforts to organize and raise awareness so that safe and fair migration is promoted and gender-based discrimination is addressed. The programme is providing technical inputs on the implementation of and the reform of existing laws.

Novelita is contributing to this work with her advocacy and community organizing. Through these efforts, she hopes that she can help make things better for the next generation who might also choose to work abroad. As Novelita’s story demonstrates, it is essential that migrant representatives’ engagement in local and national governance is facilitated in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.