Dear Friends
and Advocates of the Labor Movement of Asia and the Pacific,
We are pleased to announce that the University of the Philippines
School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP-SOLAIR), in cooperation with
the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), the Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC),
the Union Network International/Asia-Pacific Regional Organization (UNI
Apro) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), is convening an
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON "A CENTURY OF LABOR STRUGGLE IN ASIA
AND THE PACIFIC" in fitting celebration of the centennial of the
labor movement in the Philippines and other Asia Pacific countries.
The conference will highlight the contributions of the trade union movement
in the development of labor institutions and industrial democracy in Asian
society. Likewise, the conference will discuss the twists and turns in
the history of the labor movement as well as the challenges facing the
Asian trade union movement in advancing the cause of decent work given
the dramatic changes in the economic environment of Asia.
We would like to invite all Asian industrial relations scholars, trade
union leaders and researchers involved in the Asia-Pacific labor movement,
either as labor leaders or labor analysts, to participate in this historic
Conference by submitting any paper on the following Conference Tracks:
Track I: The Historical Experiences of the
Labor Movement in Asia.
Track II: Development of Collective Bargaining
and Industrial Democracy.
Track III: Decent Work: Emerging Problems
and Challenges for Labor in the 21st
Century.
Track IV: The Roles of Non-Government Organizations,
the Church and Civil
Society in the Labor Movement.
The deadline for the submission of abstracts has been extended to August
31,
2002, while the final deadline for the submission of the full papers has
been
extended to October 15, 2002.
Please communicate to UP SOLAIR (c/o
melisa.serrano@up.edu.ph
mcmarasigan@up.edu.ph ,
vevpupos@up.edu.ph)
or
AMRC (c/o sfrost@amrc.org.hk
)
or
UNI Apro (c/o uni-asiapacific@union-network.org
)
You may also wish to open the web site of UP SOLAIR at www.solair.upd.edu.ph.
The venue for the conference is the Rembrandt Hotel, Quezon City. The
registration fees for the conference are as follows:
- Foreign delegates -- $US150.00
- Foreign trade union participants -- $ 50.00
- Local delegates/participants - P 2,000.00
Registration fees are exclusive of the hotel accommodation.
Paper writers and conference participants who wish to stay at the said
Hotel may contact the UP SOLAIR at the above e-mail addresses. Hotel reservation
and bookings may also be made through Hotel Rembrandt’s website
at www.HotelRembrandt.com.ph
or
through Tel. No. (632) 373-3333 loc. 201 to 203 and Fax Nos. (632) 373-2727
and 372-0415.
The Hotel has offered the following discounted rates for Conference participants
(the prevailing exchange rate as of July 30 is US$1=PhP51):
Standard room P 1,620 net per day
De Luxe (Twin) 1,800 net
(Triple) 2,340 net
We expect your presence in this important meeting. Manila says MABUHAY
to you!
Warmest regards.
Yours truly,
Prof. Juan Amor Palafox Prof. Rene E. Ofreneo, Ph.D.
Dean, UP SOLAIR Chair, Steering Committee
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International Conference
"A Century of Labor Struggle in Asia and the
Pacific"
Learning from a Century of Trade Union Struggle For Decent Work
and Building a Democratic Society Many countries in Asia have witnessed
a century of labor and trade union struggles. Most of these struggles
originated from the anti-colonial liberation movements launched by various
nationalities at the turn of the 20th century. Since then, he labor movement
has played a major role in society - in securing national Independence,
in deepening democratic polity and in guaranteeing fundamental labor rights.
It is an opportune time to summarize the major contributions of the labor
movement in nation building and the development of democratic and fair
labor rules.
Such a summing up is also most opportune in the context of recent developments
under economic globalization which indicate that trade unions are at grave
risk in the new economy - unless radical adjustments in many areas of
traditional trade union work are undertaken and the rules of global commerce
given a human and labor dimension.
Hence, the overall objective of this International Conference is to gather
an international group of concerned labor scholars and labor leaders,
principally from the Asia-Pacific region, o to highlight key contributions
of the labor movement not only in the struggle for nationhood but also,
and more importantly, in the development of institutions of industrial
democracy, principally collective bargaining,
- to distill major lessons from a century of labor struggle in the Asia-
Pacific Region, - to identify emerging problems and challenges facing the labor movement
under globalization, and - to outline old and new labor empowerment measures.
TRACKS:
Track I: The Historical
Experiences of the Labor Movement in Asia.
Track II: Development of Collective Bargaining
and Industrial Democracy.
Track III: Decent Work: Emerging Problems
and Challenges for Labor in the
21st Century.
Track IV: The Roles of Non-Government Organizations,
the Church and Civil
Society in the Labor Movement.
Day One
Track I: The Historical Experiences of the Labor
Movement in Asia.
This track will highlight the colorful and historical contributions of
the labor movement in shaping post-colonial Asia and influencing social
development in the region, particularly in the development of labor laws
and institutions of industrial democracy such as collective bargaining
even during the periods of colonial rule or in the case of some countries,
even during harsh martial law periods. There are certainly invaluable
lessons to be learned on how trade unionists tried to cope with the challenges
of union survival and growth in varying politico-economic conditions,
especially in situations of repression and intolerance to trade union
existence.
Track II: Development of Collective Bargaining and
Industrial Democracy
This track will be a sharing of insights and experiences on freedom of
association, collective bargaining and related institutions of industrial
democracy developed and got institutionalized through the organized efforts
of trade unions. Specifically, what is the influence of the trade unions
in shaping the laws on freedom of association, CB and industrial democracy
and their translation in the day-to-day life of the unions? Also, what
are the prospects for collective bargaining in a globalizing Asia? Some
countries in Asia are on the road to greater industrial democracy, while
others are trying to even narrow further the already limited space for
union organizing and
collective bargaining.
Day Two
Track III: Decent Work: Emerging Problems
and Challenges for Labor in the 21st Century
This track outlines the emerging problems and challenges facing
the trade union movement in Asia in the light of the globalization process,
which is radically changing the ways things are done, the way workers
are deployed and the ways by which employers are relating to the workers
and the unions. This track is also an invitation for a full-blown discussion
on traditional and non-traditional forms of labor organizing, advocacy
and negotiation, including ways of organizing and representing new workers
such as the contractuals, the homeworkers and other non-regular workers
as well as the highly-mobile technical and professional workers such as
the IT programmers.
Track IV: The Roles of Non-Government
Organizations, Church and CivilSociety in the Labor Movement
This track highlights the fact that labor organizing is not the sole preserve
of the trade unions. New players have entered the labor organizing (and
conscientizing) arena such as the non-governmental organizations or NGOs,
Church and other so-called civil society organizations. In some societies,
the ban on unionism has allowed these organizations to serve as the refuge
of distressed and vulnerable workers such as the exploited migrant workers.
These organizations have also brought with them new perspectives on how
certain workers’ issues and concerns should be addressed, for example,
launching alternative livelihood programs to supplement benefits gained
from collective bargaining.
Submission of Abstracts/Full Papers
For participants wishing to submit a paper, the deadline for submission
of abstracts has been extended to 31 August 2002. The deadline for submission
of full papers is on 15 October 2002.
Abstracts should not exceed two to three pages (maximum of 1,500 words).
Please indicate the preferred track. The preferred method of submission
is through email.
Participants
The Conference will gather around 20-25 foreign scholars and labor
leaders,
mainly from Asia, plus 40-50 scholars and labor leaders from the Philippines.
Sponsors, Convenors and Steering Committee
The above activities are being undertaken by the School of Labor and Industrial
Relations of the University of the Philippines (UP SOLAIR) in cooperation
and with the assistance of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), International
Labor Office, various labor groups and other concerned institutions. Asia
Monitor Resource Center (AMRC) of HK is a co-organizer of this conference.
Convenor: Steering Committee:
Prof. Juan Amor Palafox Chair: Rene E. Ofreneo
Dean, UP SOLAIR
Members: Marie E.
Aganon
Co-Convenor: Carlos Q. Anonuevo
Jose Gatchalian
Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo Gert Gust
Director, Center for Labor and Sarosh Kuruvilla
Grassroots Initiatives Apo Leong
Christopher Ng
Juan Amor Palafox
Ashim Roy
Melisa R. Serrano
Jorge Sibal
Anil Verma
Vera Eileen V. Pupos
University Research Associate
School of Labor and Industrial Relations
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City