The GCSPF endorses the Statement: Reframe and Invest in Inclusive and Gender Sensitive Maternity Protection and Care System in the ASEAN Economy.
Toward an ASEAN “UNITED under One Vision, One Identity and One Caring and Sharing Community” - a future of ASEAN people life with dignity and ASEAN without inequality, we, 110 representatives from 60 organisations in Southeast Asia, regional and global level come together in Kuala Lumpur in May 25, 2025 to call for ‘’Reframe and Invest in Inclusive and Gender Sensitive Maternity Protection and Care System in the ASEAN Economy’’. Our Joint Statement will serve as a common agenda of our advocacy towards ASEAN and its State Members, especially on universal maternity protection to build up a transformative care economy in Southeast Asia.
To address the challenges regarding Persistent Gender Gaps in the labour market, Lack of social protection and maternity protection, Barriers to healthcare access, Workplace discrimination and the invisible unpaid care, Informality and the missing middle, and Policy gaps in ASEAN:
1. Recognise care services, social protection and safety protection as fundamental rights of all workers, including refugees, indigenous peoples (such as Orang Asal in Malaysia), stateless individuals, migrants, and workers in informal economy without exception and discrimination and guarantee that workers and their organisations can engage in dialogue and negotiation to monitor and advance care-related rights at workplace and policy levels.
2. Extend maternity protection to workers in informal employment, particularly the self-employed and ratify the ILO Convention 183 on maternity protection and ensure transition measures consistent with ILO Recommendation 204, covering informal, self-employed, and platform workers.
3. Expand the quality of child care, child allowances and / or family benefits for all workers financed by national budget through progressive taxation and fair employer contributions.
4. Recognise long-term care rights as integral to universal social protection and healthcare and encourage worker- and community-led initiatives, including cooperatives, unions, and local organisations, in building sustainable care systems.
5. Increase public investments to ensure especially accessible, adequate, and affordable public health care services to all people, especially mothers and newborns.
6. Align the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) programs in building a robust care economy and establish a tripartite plus review mechanism to ensure economic integration supports care economy and social protection goals.
Please endorse our Joint Statement before 31st October 2025, via the form: https://forms.gle/9TgW5Lekx3ZrW8Cq6
