HNSEA advocated for Social Protection for informal economy workers at the ASEAN Civil Society Conferences / ASEAN People Forum

HomeNet Southeast Asia advocated social protection for informal economy workers and other marginalized people in the Southeast Asian region at the ASEAN Civil Society Conferences / ASEAN People Forum, which is the parallel meeting of the ASEAN Summit.

ACSC/APF 2022 was organized in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 3 – 5 November 2022 and around 500 people participated. This year’s theme was “Defending and asserting Southeast Asian peoples civic space, democracy, and human rights towards an equitable and just society.”

During the three days of the conference, HNSEA along with their allies, organized the convergence space called “Life with dignity – Social Protection, Decent Work, and Healthcare for All in the Post-COVID Recovery”, which was made up of 4 workshops:

Stronger Efforts Towards Universal Social Protection for Southeast Asia People’s Recovery
Access to Social Protection for Migrant Workers
Adaptive Social Protection Responses in Times of Crisis
Follow-up Planning on the Recommendations of the CS of Life with Dignity.

Their calls and recommendations are a part of the ACSC/APF 2022 joint statement that was proposed to ASEAN and its 10 member states.

One among four calls that were raised is: “Social protection, including healthcare, decent wage, as human rights for all, regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, citizen, and economic status must be implemented, improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality, including essential benefits packages of voluntary social protection programs for informal workers. The social protection schemes must not be based on contribution. Governments should provide maternity protection for all women in need, including maternity leave and paternity leave, productive healthcare, childcare, unemployment allowance, and access to care allowance.”