The Asian Domestic Workers Network (ADWN) was officially formed in the year 2005 as an outcome of an Exchange workshop of Asia Domestic Workers in Hong Kong in 2004. This exchange was organised by Committee for Asian Women (CAW). It is the first Asian-based network that links up local adult Domestic Workers� organisations.

Currently Committee of Asian Women is acting as the secretariat of the ADWN.

The network comprises of local adult DW organisations/unions and NGOs from Asia.

At present, we have membership from South Asia, East Asia and South East Asia who are mostly DW organisations including societies, trade unions and NGOs.

Our membership comprises of two categories , the regular and associate members.

Tentative Dates: 8-10 November 2006

Head Office, FNV Mondiaal, Amsterdam

"Domestic workers' employment situation is considered not to 'fit' the general framework of existing employment laws. This is because most work done by them is generally invisible, done in houses (not considered as workplaces) of private persons (not considered as employers). So, domestic workers are not normally considered as employees, their work is undervalued, and their working conditions remain, in essence, unregulated. In fact, some countries not o­nly do not consider household helpers as workers and exclude them from protection under their national labour codes, they do not provide them with protection under any other national law. In some countries they are denied the right to organize in trade unions. This of course leaves them vulnerable to abuse."

PRESS STATEMENT

Migrants Cry Out: Don't Bleed Us Dry, Stop Extorting Fees o­n Us!

The revelation made by Taiwan�s Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) that what the foreign workers pay as service fee is actually a management fee o­nly shows that the CLA is biased towards the employers and the brokers. It does not give a damn to the rights and welfare of the migrants.

The CLA made this revelation o­n September 6 when it conducted a dialogue with NGO�s. This meeting was called by the CLA in the wake of the recent Thai MRT workers uprising in Kaohsiung because of their poor working and living conditions. The CLA has attributed this to the poor management of their broker firm. This has caused a huge uproar in Taiwan o­n how migrant workers are treated and resulted also in CLA chairperson Chen Chu to resign her position by taking blame o­n the incident.

�Pass the Bill now!� This is the concerted clamor of thousands of domestic workers that will gather at the Quezon Memorial Circle o­n April 24, Sunday for the annual celebration of the �Araw ng Kasambahay�. The elusive bill that they are pushing for here is the Magna Carta for Household Helpers, otherwise known as the Batas Kasambahay, which has languished in the Senate for nine years to date.

�It�s high time that we give this sector the respect, recognition and attention it deserves,� says Ma. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, President of Visayan Forum Foundation, co-organizer of the Araw ng Kasambahay celebrations.