Migrant Aotearoa Press Release
24 March 2009
Group seeks protection for Migrant Workers under ILO standards
Migrante Aotearoa, a group of Filipino migrants in New Zealand, is appealing to the New Zealand government, employers
and unions to uphold the principles embodied in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-Up (1998).
Dennis Maga, national coordinator of Migrante Aotearoa, says “We are seeking protection for migrant workers from unions
and employers that enforce the policy to “get rid of migrants first.” Our call is for unions, employers and government
to work on a fair and transparent process in selecting workers who will be redundant and not just based on their
colours.”
“The ILO standards provide necessary guidance for national law and policy to ensure protection of migrant workers.
Instead of fanning racism by making migrant workers scapegoats for job losses and attacking them for "stealing" jobs
from locals, we hope that governments, employers and unions of host countries will recognise that migrants have rights
too and decent jobs have no colour, the group stated.”
“In the face of the current recession, we understand that New Zealand immigration will likely enforce restrictions on
the entry of overseas workers. But we expect unions and employers to also guarantee the rights embodied in the ILO
standards of those currently working here who have made significant contribution to the New Zealand economy. We further
urge the unions and employers to uphold migrants’ rights under the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on Labour Cooperation
between the Government of New Zealand and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines signed in 2008,” Mr. Maga
stressed.
‘Article 3.f. of the MoA notes the cooperation between the NZ and RP governments to cooperate on human resource
development including the promotion and protection of employment rights and obligations of migrant workers.’
“While local workers stand to benefit from government support when they lose jobs, Filipino migrant workers who paid an
average of 8,000 – 10,000 NZ $ to work in New Zealand face bigger losses when they are the ones made redundant and
forced to go home,” Mr Maga concluded.
ENDS