| International Women's Day 2010 |
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Migrante Canada Statement on the Centenary of the International Women's Day March 8, 2010 Continuing the struggles of the working class women's movement As we observe the 100th anniversary of the birth of the militant women's movement, we pay tribute to all the courageously spirited toiling women who then fought to advance equal rights in society, better pay at work and the right to vote. Even as there have been significant changes in the status of women since then, imperialist globalization today poses new challenges and forms of exploitation. In the Philippines like in other developing countries, women continue to be highly exploited, marginalized, and perennial victims of violence and repression. Massive poverty, unemployment, and the capitalist-inflicted economic crisis persist in plaguing the country under the US-Arroyo regime. Right now there are 10 million Filipinos looking for jobs; 2.71 million are unemployed; 7.41 million are underemployed; and 4.6 million are contractual workers. Most of them are women. This terrible economic situation forces many Filipinos to leave the country to work abroad in temporary jobs, or to live there as permanent migrants. Around 3,400 Filipinos leave the country every day, more than half of them are women. In Canada, tens of thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are mainly women, work as nannies, caregivers and maids. They were brought to Canada under a temporary foreign worker program called the Live-In-Caregiver Program, or LCP. They were lured by the promise of landed immigrant status, but only if they could put up with the live-in conditions for a "mere" two or three years, conditions which often turned out to be oppressive, exploitative, racist and heartless. Temporary foreign workers, including OFWs, have been subject to arbitrary and shifting employment conditions with little ability to defend themselves or seek alternative employment. The TFW is often paid substantially less than their Canadian co-workers, the working conditions are often significantly different from those promised. For example, an administrative assistant arriving to find she was to work at a gas station; chefs from 5-star hotels spending half their time washing dishes and floors, mechanics being told their job is apprentice-mechanic with pay lowered accordingly. Housing provided is substandard, crowded and costly. Those who complain are often threatened to be deported or imprisoned. Despite the increasing number of cases of exploitation, abuse and even mysterious deaths, the Arroyo administration continues to advertise its shameful labour export program of sending more than 1 million Filipino workers abroad every year. While dollar remittances from migrant workers are increasing, the supposed basic services from government agencies become sluggish or most of the time inaccessible when these are most needed. Meanwhile, the attack on women and other sectors of the progressive movement goes on under the pretext of war on terror by the fascist US-Arroyo regime. The recent illegal arrest of 43 community health workers in Morong, Rizal is an indication that the ruling administration is hell-bent on continuing its anti-people policies and practice of undeclared martial law. Most of the arrested and currently detained health workers are women, some of whom complained of torture and sexual abuse while in detention. These workers who unselfishly dedicated themselves for the good of the poor should be treated fairly rather than subjected to state-sponsored hostility. In fact, the government should be pleased with people like them for providing the health services that the State itself fails to provide its own people. On the contrary, the government has demonized them by tagging them as “enemies of the state”. Adding insult to injury, the government awarded the military men with medals. Instead of stroking the ego of its armed goons, the ruling Arroyo administration should end fascist repression. We demand the unconditional release of the Morong 43! To continue the struggles of that women’s movement that started a century ago, we need to have the tenacity to join hands with militant women activists, trade unionists, migrant workers, and other allied forces. We need to raise our voices against any attacks to our rights and welfare. We need to raise our clenched fists against pro-imperialist economic policies and measures that displace millions of women and other working people from their jobs, their homes and their lands around the world. As the Philippines prepares for the May 2010 national and local elections, we migrant Filipinos should push for the advancement of alternative political and economic platforms e.g., for national sovereignty, national industrialization and genuine land reform, and lend our support to those candidates and progressive party formations that sincerely have the people’s interests at heart. Even then, we are one with the millions of women and the rest of the Filipino people in the ongoing struggle for genuine national freedom, and a just and liberating peace. Long live International Women’s Day! Long live women migrant workers! Working class women, unite against imperialist globalization! Carry forward the struggle for national freedom and democracy! |