ECOP Director-General Jose Roland A. Moya, in his capacity as Secretary-General of the ASEAN Confederation of Employers (ACE), attended the 3rd meeting of the Regional Programme Advisory Committee (RPAC) on 23 January 2019 at Grande Centre Point Rajadamri, Bangkok Thailand.
TRIANGLE in ASEAN (2015-2015) is a partnership between the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Global affairs Canada (GAC) and the International Labor Organisation (ILO). The programme delivers technical assistance and support with the overall goal of maximizing the contribution of labor migration to equitable, inclusive and stable growth in ASEAN.
To ensure that TRIANGLE in ASEAN remains aligned with ASEAN priorities and regional frameworks, RPAC has been established to provide technical and strategic guidance to the programme. RPAC is chaired by the ILO regional Office, while the TRIANGLE in ASEAN acts as its Secretariat. ACE is a member of RPAC.
In his intervention, Moya thanked TRIANGLE in ASEAN for giving employers a voice in the RPAC. More specifically, he reiterated ACE’s support to the establishment of a regional employers resource center under TRIANGLE. It has been in consideration since 2017 and was most recently discussed again at the employers’ preparatory meeting for the 11th AFML in Singapore in October. With the concurrence of the other members of ACE, he said the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) whose secretariat he heads as Director-General, is prepared to host the platform. ACE sees this platform as timely and necessary, in particular, to manage the reputational risks related to compliance with ILO core conventions, especially forced labor, and to ensure companies’ awareness of good practices.
Moya also noted ACE’s appreciation for the work being done by the TRIANGLE in ASEAN, including the latter’s support to the bilateral dialogue between ACE and the ASEAN Trade Union Council (ATUC), the first one of which took place in Bangkok in 2016. ACE looks forward to the second ACE-ATUC dialogue. He proposed that it be convened on 4-5 April 2016 in Manila. He also suggested organizing an employers’ side meeting in conjunction with the ATUC-ACE dialogue to firm up the establishment of the employers’ resource center.
