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A Show of Force: The success of the launch of IWSAP’s Workers’ Study Conference Results and its formation

Our modernizing world has exposed to us the acute exploitation that workers have to face just to be able to make ends meet. Informal and formal workers alike in the Asia Pacific region alone are at the forefront of shouldering multiple personal and systemic burdens. It is in this context that the Initiatives for Workers Solidarity in Asia Pacific (IWSAP) presents itself as an avenue which will bridge the gaps between informal and formal workers who must organize themselves to overcome structural barriers to achieve decent work, living wages, social protection and many more.

As a start in upholding the mandate of IWSAP, the organization launched the formation and the results of its first Workers’ Study Conference (WSC) last 30 May 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand and online. The event gathered 23 in-person participants from Kaagapay ng Migranteng Pilipino sa Thailand (KMPT), Workers Union of Thailand, Southern Riders Association, HOMENET, Migrant Domestic Workers Network of Thailand, representatives from the International Labor Organization (ILO), as well as some Myanmese and Thai university students. At the same time, 57 participants joined online hailing from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Middle East, and Nepal. Big trade unions such as UnionAid and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) from New Zealand were also present, as well as representatives from UN WOMEN. 

Grounded in Reality

Bungon Tamasorn, IWSAP’s board chairperson, welcomed the participants in a video recorded message, impressing the importance of organising and working with informal workers, and their unity with formal workers in their fight for rights, wellbeing and dignity. Following this, a short video was presented to the participants, introducing IWSAP and some salient points from the WSC Results. 

Lei Covero, the Southeast Asia Coordinator of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) presented the results of the first WSC. The first WSC was held on November 23-24, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand as well. The results highlighted the realities on the ground of informal workers, specifically those who do gig and platform work, domestic migrant work, and agricultural work among others. Issues of women in informal work were also discussed, emphasizing the gender biases they experience in the workplace and the double burden of earning an income while taking care of the family. The WSC Results revealed the continuing precarious conditions of informal workers in the region ranging from lack of decent work and social protection, discrimination, non-inclusion in labor policies, and slave-like conditions in workplaces among others. 

But despite the seemingly bleak situation of many informal workers, there are efforts to counter the current structures that oppress both them and even formal workers today. Research initiatives and campaign-building are just two of the main works of different workers’ organizations and associations that contribute to strengthening their ranks. Lei ended her presentation with an inspirational quote urging the participants to take on the cause of building strength and solidarity with informal and formal workers – “If we don’t struggle, who will? If we don’t struggle now, then when?”

Voices for change

As a sign of support from some participants, video and in-person messages were shared by Workers First Union, Southern Riders’ Association, Coalition of Agricultural Workers International (CAWI), the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB), the Kaagapay ng Migranteng Pilipino sa Thailand (KMPT), and the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM). The organizations expressed their support to the IWSAP and vowed to continue the fight for workers’ rights and dignity, and further solidify the unity of informal and formal workers in Asia Pacific. 

The IWSAP also presented the Bangkok Commitment, a declaration of commitment to support the formation of IWSAP, its initiatives, and the collective work of building unity and solidarity among informal and formal workers in the region. The Bangkok Commitment has garnered 18 endorsements as of writing – a reflection of the urgency to come together for the rights and dignity of workers. 

Paving our path as one

To galvanize the IWSAP’s next steps, Elna Abila of KMPT presented concrete points of actions that the organization will take on in the future. She shared the plans on conducting research projects, capacity-building of partners and workers, and bolstering support to workers’ campaigns. 

With the conclusion of the launch, IWSAP is positive of what needs to be done and reaffirms its role in bridging the struggles of informal and workers in Asia Pacific. From hereon, the IWSAP is excited to propel more activities and events, contribute to broadening understanding on workers’ issues, and prop up initiatives and demands of workers in the region. 

See photos from the launch below!

IWSAP Launches the Workers’ Study Conference 2024 Results

Today, May 30, 2025, the Initiatives for Workers’ Solidarity in Asia Pacific (IWSAP) launches the results of its first Workers’ Study Conference (WSC) which was held in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2024. 

The WSC is an annual knowledge-sharing and discussion among workers’ organizations and advocates. It aims to showcase different situations of workers in the region as well as share different workers’ campaigns happening in different countries. The first WSC focused on informality and solidarity wherein panel presentations on informal work, gig economy, labor migration, and women in informal work took place and aided in comprehensively understanding the plight of workers from different countries in Asia Pacific. The WSC 2024 gathered a total of 30 participants from Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Hong Kong, and Pakistan.

The results of the first WSC highlights the glaring conditions of gig and platform workers, migrant workers, women in informal work, agricultural workers, and even refugees. They experience various forms of abuse and neglect from employers, agencies, and governments. Despite this, informal and formal workers continue to organize themselves and build campaigns to rally their demands for fair and just treatment.

Through the results of the WSC found in this document, it is hoped that we get to have a deeper understanding of informal and precarious work, and the intricacies of the challenges they face. 

To know more about IWSAP and have a quick background on the WSC 2024 Results, watch our video here.

Read and download the WSC Results! 

Read and Download

“Informal and Formal Workers, Strengthen our Unity for Rights and Justice!”: IWSAP and WSC 2024 Results Launch

The conditions of workers in Asia Pacific today are rife with systemic challenges experienced across geographical borders. Governments, multilateral institutions, and civil society have, over the years, reported the worsening state of jobs and working conditions for many workers in the region in the form of informality, low wages, workplace abuses, and discrimination along the lines of gender, migration status and many others.

Now is the time to combat these unjust conditions.

📢 This coming 30 May 2025, the Initiatives for Workers’ Solidarity in Asia Pacific (IWSAP) is holding a hybrid launch of the organization in Bangkok, Thailand. The launch aims to strengthen solidarity among formal and informal workers, workers’ associations, unions, and advocates along the lines of promoting the unity and rights of workers in the region. It will also give space in sharing the results of the Workers Study Conference 2024 where IWSAP gathered workers, grassroots organisations, unions and advocates to discuss the situation of informality and workers’ solidarity in different countries.

✊🏼 Together, IWSAP and its partners along with informal and formal workers across the region are hand-in-hand in drumming up the struggles of those left behind by the system. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡: 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚!

 

#IWSAPLaunch2025#BuildingWorkersSolidarity#FormalAndInformalWorkersUnite

 

Raise the voices of workers in Asia Pacific! Strengthen solidarity among all workers crippled by the neoliberal economic system!

 

On today’s celebration of International Labor Day, the Initiatives for Workers’ Solidarity in Asia Pacific (IWSAP) issues this statement in solidarity with all workers, workers’ associations, unions, and advocates in the region and around the world. IWSAP honors the struggle and sacrifices of workers from whom we owe all dimensions of progress we experience today. Yet, they remain to be one of the most exploited sectors of society.

As the 2024 report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) reveals, there remains persistent issues related to poverty and informality in Asia Pacific in which a big proportion of workers are still “engaged in low-quality, informal employment despite decades of economic growth.” Zooming in, ILO reports that two in three workers were in informal employment in 2023, a very insignificant improvement over the course of 10 years. Likewise, unemployment continues to worsen in the region as it was projected to remain roughly unchanged in 2024 and 2025, at 4.2%, which corresponds to 87.7 million out of work last year.  

These data are very much present on what is happening on the ground. The trend of work informalization in many sectors of society has led to heightened exploitation that severely violates workers’ rights. Platform work through apps like Grab and Uber have increased the already precarious conditions that workers have been facing everyday. Platform workers in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Zealand have to carry the burden of low wages and overwork to be able to provide for themselves and for their families. 

Agricultural workers in South Asia also face tremendous economic insecurity because most of the time, they are not covered by labor and social protection laws. Vendors and public transportation workers are also constantly displaced and seen as eyesore by their own governments who favor private enterprises instead of the safety and livelihood of their own citizens. 

Critical intersections such as gender and migration also contribute to the declining conditions that workers confront wherever they are. Migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, for instance, receive lower wages compared to their counterparts and are not able to enjoy enough rest days and social protection despite their crucial role in keeping the economy alive. Female drivers of ride-hailing apps in Asia Pacific are forced to work in dangerous environments that puts them at risk of road accidents and sexual harassment. On top of these, women workers are also expected to provide care work and emotional labor for their own families. True until today, the double burden carried by women workers further curtails their right to self-determination.

All of these issues circle back to the stubborn prominence of neoliberalism that, for decades now, have been the culprit of multiple crises that worsens rights violations against workers and stunts the economic power of those who work day and night.

Amidst all these, this year’s Labor Day calls for a celebration of the historical and militant struggle of workers in the Asia Pacific region and across the globe. Workers, formal and informal, in different parts of the region are ever-ready and headstrong to face battles as a collective force. 

Especially in a time of intensifying economic problems, rising fascism, repression, and wars, formal and informal workers, workers’ associations, unions, and organizations are in the best position to assert their voices and reclaim their power from those who oppress them. Through the collective strength and grit of workers, the status quo will surely be overturned.

Our organization, IWSAP, shall contribute in propelling the workers’ movement through rigorous programs that will help in linking and raising the issues of workers wherever they may be in the region. Through future research and education initiatives, and engagements with governments, multi-stakeholder spaces, and unions, IWSAP is with the broad ranks of workers who want just change in the system.  

As we mark today’s Labor Day with the undying dedication of all workers to their just cause, we must also strengthen our support to their struggles, call for workers-centered policy reforms, social transformation and accountability from governments and big businesses who work in cahoots together to undermine labor and human rights. 

Ultimately, formal and informal workers, workers’ associations, unions, and advocates alike must strengthen solidarity among our ranks. The key ingredient to fighting all forms of abuse and oppression is the collective action that we foster. Beyond the vibrant protests during Labor Day, what is more crucial is to continue establishing strong fronts of grassroots resistance and alternative spaces that will pave the way for the creation of a people-centered and workers-centered society.

#LaborDay2025 #FormalAndInformalWorkersSolidarity

Workers United!: The success of the 4-day Nexperia strike in the Philippines

Nexperia workers during their 4-day strike

After four days of a labor strike that started from March 5 to 8, Nexperia workers and the Nexperia Philippines Workers Union (NPWU) succeeded in obtaining their demands from the management to reinstate two union leaders back to work, to increase the salary of the workers to more than PHP 50.00 (less than USD 1), and to not make any retaliatory actions against the workers who participated in the strike. These calls have been the long-term asks of the workers who have been engaged in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that Nexperia undermines, pushing the workers to finally hold a strike.

This historic win of Nexperia workers is a clear and concrete manifestation of workers’ resistance against the domination of big businesses, along with the grit of advocates and mass organizations in amplifying campaigns of workers to the broader public.

Who is Nexperia in the Philippines?

Nexperia is a global semiconductor company headquartered in the Netherlands, leading in the production and development of the said commodity for automotive, industrial, mobile and consumer applications. As years-long practices of such corporations, Nexperia brings its factories in several countries where production costs are low. At the same time, the company amasses large profits each year while its workers, such as in the Philippines, are given very low wages for the excessive amount of work they have to exert everyday.

In cahoots with the Philippine government’s labor department, many local and transnational corporations are given leeway to do business without proper regard to labor policies. In the case of Nexperia, the company has been notorious for violating labor rights such as freedom of association and being given proper wages and benefits. Even in this context, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the Philippines continues to give permission to the company to do business as usual. Until the days of the strike, DOLE continued its collusion with the company as it served a motion of assumption of jurisdiction – a mechanism that disallows strikes to happen so as not to disrupt essential industries that are “vital to national interest.” But the workers and union members argued that Nexperia is not “indispensable to national interests”, citing such a scheme as an instrument to violate workers’ rights to unionize.

The workers who did it all

Behind the victorious win that the Nexperia workers gained in their 4-day labor strike was the union they formed years ago who have tirelessly supported its members through CBAs and battles with the company. The NPWU is one of the oldest unions in the Philippines who continue to struggle against the exploitative dominance of the companies over workers. And along with other unions and workers’ organizations, NPWU has been a part of the rich history of militant unionism in the Philippines.

The conclusion of Nexperia workers’ successful strike is a solid reflection of tireless organizing and education of workers about their rights and welfare. The work stoppage has actually resulted in a big loss to Nexperia’s profit accumulation. This is a great proclamation of the power of the workers to change not just the course of production, but to boost the strengthening of their ranks against exploitation. Through persistent organizing and collective support among workers, rights advocates, and mass organizations, strikes like the one done by Nexperia workers will forever be remembered by the working class.

 

Initiatives for Workers Solidarity Hosts Inaugural Study Conference on Informality and Solidarity in Asia-Pacific

The Initiatives for Workers Solidarity (IWS) in Asia and the Pacific recently organized its inaugural Workers Study Conference (WSC) in Bangkok, Thailand. Held from 23-24 November 2024, the conference focused on the theme: “Workers Study Conference on Informality and Solidarity: Solidarity Amidst the Changing Nature of Work in Asia and the Pacific.” It brought together 39 participants from 29 organizations across 15 countries in the region.

The WSC marked the first major event hosted by IWS Asia and the Pacific. During the two-day gathering, panelists shared insights on informality and solidarity, delving into evolving and traditional forms of informality while exploring strategies for fostering solidarity among workers in the region. Participants included representatives from informal workers’ organizations, such as delivery app riders, plantation workers, and fisherfolk, as well as groups that provide support to these workers.

Organizers noted that while informality is pervasive across Asia and the Pacific, defining it consistently remains a challenge. They emphasized that perceptions of informal work vary widely across countries and sectors, reflecting the complexity and diversity of the issue. It was also highlighted that while there is no universally agreed-upon definition of “informal work,” a shared characteristic among those engaged in such work is the lack of access to social protection.

IWS Asia and the Pacific is a Thailand-registered organization committed to uniting workers in the region. Its mission is to protect workers’ rights, promote their well-being, encourage worker cooperation, and strengthen labor solidarity within the sector and across communities.

IWS-AP kicks off work for movement-building and solidarity

On November 24, the Initiatives for Workers Solidarity – Asia Pacific was launched in a solidarity program that closed the Workers Study Conference on informal labour.

Participants of the study conference from 29 organisations across 15 countries and territories in the region (Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand) witnessed the launch. Also present were staff of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) office in the region.

Aaron Ceradoy, General Manager of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)

Aaron Ceradoy, General Manager of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), gave a brief background on the conceptualization of the IWS-AP. He relayed that, while the concrete unity to establish IWS-AP was reached in a meeting of various networks and organisations convened by APMM in November 2023, the inspiration could be traced from various expressions of cooperation of trade unions and migrant organisations for worker’s rights that have been done for years in several countries in the region.

Noel Colina, Workers Study Conference Coordinator

WSC coordinator, Noel Colina, then shared projected activities of the IWS-AP under its programs: Labour Rights Advocacy and Campaigns, Workers Education and Research, and Labour Cooperation and Network Building. He said that as first of many initiatives, IWS-AP shall pursue recommendations of the concluded WSC.

A solidarity social followed the brief launch program.

International Migrant’s Day: Unity among migrant and local workers in the Asia and the Pacific

The Initiative for Workers Solidarity in Asia Pacific (IWS- Asia and the Pacific) commemorates this year’s International Migrants Day (IMD) by supporting the call for unity among migrant and local workers in the Asia and the Pacific.

The IWS – Asia and the Pacific firmly believes that migration is a human right. Forced migration due to lack of jobs and livelihoods in migrants’ home countries must be abolished. Capitalists are taking advantage of migrants’ desperation for survival; luring them with false promises of better lives, only to trap them in dirty, dangerous and demeaning jobs under conditions of extreme exploitation, stripped of freedom and dignity. While sending governments are treating them as mere sources of revenues and depriving them of needed support and protection.

Migrant workers in the Asia-Pacific are subjected to discriminatory policies, denied fundamental rights, and treated as second-class citizens. Local workers are also exploited by large companies and corporations, enabled by  their governments. Migrant workers are leveraged to drag down the general level of wages and threatens all workers’ rights and undermines our dignity and humanity.

Employers and their enablers in government resort to racism, scapegoating and anti-migrant rhetoric to cover up the worsening economic crisis in the Asia-Pacific— unemployment, impoverishment and severe lack of social services, to name a few—caused by their adherence to neoliberal policies. The capitalists will tell local workers that migrants are taking their jobs, when in fact, it is the capitalists who are undermining our value and seeking out cheaper sources of labour from poorer countries, which the capitalists also plunder for resources. Their propaganda against migrants is aimed to divide the workers and prevent unified actions  for workers’ rights.

We support the unity of local and migrant workers across the Asia-Pacific, to achieve our common goals of obtaining our rights, benefits and security in all types of work. Together, we can build a world where both local and migrant workers are treated with the dignity and respect we deserve. We can create a future where our rights are protected, our voices are heard, and our contributions are valued. Let us stand in solidarity, support one another, and pursue our rights as working people.

NEXPERIA bosses sack four union officials

Four union officials of the Nexperia Philippines Inc. Workers Union-NAFLU-KMU were sacked by the bosses last December 18, 2024. The union officials, including the president of the union were escorted out of the shop floor by company security. The sacking followed the retrenchment of more than 500 workers of the company in the past year in accordance with the bosses plan for cost optimization and automation.

The union and the bosses are currently in the middle of the collective bargaining negotiations. According to the union, the move by the bosses is clear union-busting, and forcing the union to accept a mere 29 cents USD increase in daily wages. The union has vowed to go on strike against the move by the bosses and has requested support and solidarity in their current fight.

NEXPERIA is a semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, managed by a Dutch team. It is a subsidiary of the partially state-owned Chinese company Wingtech Technology. Xuezheng Zhang is the current Chairman and CEO of Wingtech. In 2023, NEXPERIA announced a total revenue of US$2.15 billion. In a 2022 news report, Wingtech was named as a supplier to Apple for its Mac Mini and Macbook components, as well as components for electric vehicles. They also provide electronic products for mobile phones, computing devices, consumer electronics, and other mobile devices.