By Tan Sze Wei (PSI AP Youth Representative and APYN Coordinator)

Imagine leaving your loved ones and traveling to a faraway country to etch out a living in an entirely foreign place. Imagine staying in dingy, cramp dorms and receiving no pay after working for months.  Imagine being exposed to various health and safety threats without precautions at your workplace and being subjected to violence and sexual abuse by your employer.

For Mr Shafiqul (not real name), a Bangladeshi construction worker in Singapore and Ms Suyanti (not real name) , an Indonesian domestic maid in Hong Kong who left their countries in search of a decent life and better employment opportunities these are not imaginations but real life situations.  Their stories are not all that unique and according to ILO estimates there are over 20 million Asian migrant workers in other countries.

These workers usually work to send money to families back home and their earnings contribute substantially to their own nation’s economy. The phenomenal rise in remittances that migrant workers send back to their home countries ( US $207 Billion according to World Bank) led to overwhelming interest by countries in the economics of migration,  focusing their attention on “maximizing the development benefits of migration”. Governments however overlooked the social impact and consequences of migration on migrants and their families. Moreover, the migrant workers were also among the most exploited and vulnerable of workers where they oftentimes had to pay exorbitant fees to recruitment agencies were deprived of freedom of movement (passports confiscated by employers), prohibited to join unions and subjected to racism and xenophobia attacks.

As part of the core mission of trade unions to uphold the interest of all workers, 11 established global unions including Public Services International (PSI), together with NGOs and civil society organisations made a global call for migrant workers’ rights at “The Peoples’ Global Action on Migration, Development and Human Rights”, a parallel civil society event in relation to the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) from 24-27 October 2008.

On the opening day of the GFMD, I had the rare privilege to participate in a demonstration by the global unions, the Philippine labour movements and civil societies. We were rallying to change the fate of our fellow migrant workers as we marched peacefully towards the Philippine International Convention Centre (PICC) the venue where the GFMD would be held, shouting slogans like, “Migrant workers are not commodities”, and “Migrant Workers not for sale”. Reporters, photographers, camera operators and journalists from the local and international media came too, frantically trying to capture the mood. That day was etched in my memory forever. I listened to migrant workers ‘personal stories, their suffering, undying determination in face of difficulties and trade unions accounts of their work with migrant workers.

As government officials and international bodies continued to negotiate on migration and developments at the GFMD, we could only hope that they would be able to put aside vested economic interests and do what is right. What is right? The answer lies in the collective voices of the migrant workers and each and every one of their stories. While some of us were at the protest march, our counterparts lobbied at the GFMD for our voices to be heard and our issues to be addressed. As workers united, we’ll never be defeated.  The story of the migrant worker is a story of deep suffering but also of great courage. We have to support this courage. Oh Yes. Voices of the migrant workers will continued to be heard loud and clear.