Background

APWLD uses Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) to strengthen grassroots women’s movements to advance women’s labour and human rights in Asia and the Pacific. Starting in 2020, APWLD through the Women Organising Workers (WOW) programme worked together with seven grassroots organisations from five countries (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, Cambodia, and Indonesia) to document the impact of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Women’s Labour Rights as well as to enhance grassroots women workers’ movement in SEZ areas through capacity building, producing new knowledge tools and resources, identifying advocacy opportunities, and strengthening movement architecture during 2020-2022. For more information please check www.apwld.org.

The full two-year FPAR journey was completed. Ample stories and realities are documented with the collective effort of the FPAR partners and their communities. With all this solid evidence, the organisations are continuing their advocacy journey to demand structural changes. Inspired by the work and commitment of the partners and feminist movement, APWLD will continue to support partners by producing the regional report to consolidate their journey, stories, findings, recommendations, and analysis, amplify the grassroots voices, and influence policies and decision-making at multiple levels. This regional report is the publication of the collective evidence from the Labour FPAR partners who worked with the women workers in SEZ areas in the region, reporting the deficits and challenges to achieving women workers’ rights, as well as barriers to gender justice that confront women workers in the region. From the perspective of women workers and grassroots women organisations, this report also documents the struggles on the ground, and how the Labour FPAR can be used as a political tool to build the feminist movement to fight against exploitation and discrimination.

 

Profile of the FPAR Partners Organisation

BINDU/Bangladesh

Advocating women’s labour rights and gender-related issues, such as sexual harassment, and violation of human rights in SEZs in Bangladesh.

Stand Up Movement, Sri Lanka

Identifying the structural barriers for women in representations and leadership in trade unions.

Women’s Centre, Sri Lanka

Supporting the organisation to scrutinise women’s labour issues related to the violation of labour rights, harassment, and lack of legal protection for women workers in SEZ.

Women Wise 3, Philippines

Ensuring decent work and living wage in the SEZs, including investigating how women workers have been affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Federasi Serikat Buruh Persatuan Indonesia (FSBPI), Indonesia

Empowering women workers to voice out their gender injustices to create a change.

Karmojibi Nari, Bangladesh

Documenting the women workers’ situation concerning Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the SEZs.

Workers’ Information Centre, Cambodia

Empowering women workers to demand decent work and living wage agenda, particularly during the pandemic.

 

Objectives

  1. To present stories and evidence dissecting the impact of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Women’s Labour Rights including their resistance and struggles to reclaim their rights and voices;

  2. To develop a deeper structural analysis and understanding of women’s labour rights situation in SEZ in the region through the Globalisation, Fundamentalisms, Militarism, and Patriarchy (GFMP) framework;

  3. To promote Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) as an evidence-based documentation tool of grassroots women’s struggles against labour rights violations and a tool of grassroots feminist movement building at local to global levels;

  4. To increase the body of evidence and resources for feminist movement building and advocacy towards achieving women workers’ rights and human rights;

  5. Consolidate the FPAR journey as a tool for movement building and Development Justice.

 

Expected Outcome

  1. The report is expected to consist of approximately 23,000 words (45 – 50 pages). Please see a sample of the previous report here.

  2. The report shall provide an overview and analysis of grassroots women’s struggles for the feminist labour movement in Asia and the Pacific. This will also include summaries of each country’s FPAR substantiating the regional analysis, as well as the FPAR journey and reflections from 2020-2022.

  3. The report has to use persuasive and compelling language that critiques the State policy on SEZ in the region and its impact on labour rights violations and injustices.

  4. The report has to display the failure of the neoliberal development model by using the GFMP framework and connecting the struggles of grassroots women in different countries to assert their rights and to realise the feminist labour movement.

  5. The report must be easy to digest by using engaging headlines and subheadlines (avoid traditional research headlines like “executive summary” or “research result”). It shall follow the proposed outline that will be provided for the selected author.

  6. Key components to be highlighted in the report:

  • Partners’ profiles;

  • The highlight of case studies/stories from the ground;

  • Highlight FPAR stories of resistance and changes from the community;

  • Quotes from women in the communities including from the FPAR researchers;

Qualification Criteria

The APWLD team prefers a woman from Asia and the Pacific with a strong feminist lens and analysis on climate justice to be the author of the Labour FPAR regional report.

  1. Knowledge and experience in working with feminists and grassroots women’s movements in Asia and the Pacific;

  2. Knowledge and experience in using a feminist lens to analyse injustices to women workers, especially in SEZ areas, and its impact in the context of Asia and the Pacific;

  3. Knowledge and experience in conducting desk research to strengthen the analysis provided in the country-level reports and community women’s stories in order to shape regional analysis in the report;

  4. High-level report writing, desk research, and data analysis;

Tasks and Responsibilities

APWLD seeks support from the consultant to author the regional FPAR report with details as below:

  1. Produce a regional analysis derived from Labour FPAR stories and APWLD’s analysis on precarious work and labour rights violations in SEZs in the region;

  2. Collaborate with the APWLD team to design and finalise the outline of the regional report;

  3. Collaborate with APWLD, to finalise the outline, structure, and content of the regional report;

  4. Finalise the regional report within two (2) rounds of reviews, comments, and inputs from the APWLD team based on the proposed timeline;

  5. Regularly coordinate with APWLD on the support needed as well as any potential change or shift of the proposed timeline/tasks within the scope of work for the regional report;

 

Reporting Timelines

The consultant will start to work from May 31 – Oct 23 to accomplish all of the agreed tasks and responsibilities according to the timeline.

 

How to Apply

(1) Expression of Interest (no longer than 1 page);

(2) Curriculum Vitae (no longer than 2 pages);

(3) Sample of a similar publication or report authored by the candidate;

Deadline for submission: Monday, 10 May 2023 via email with the Subject Line: Expression of Interest to Author Labour FPAR Regional Report_(name of candidate) to Andy Cipta Asmawaty, Labour Programme Officer at andi@apwld.org cc Risca Dwi, Programme Associate of Labour and Migration Programme at risca@apwld.org.

Compensation

APWLD offers the author a compensation of 4,000,- US Dollars for the report writing.

Contact Details:

For any questions or further information needed please address to Andi Cipta Asmawaty at andi@apwld.org and Risca Dwi at riscadwi@apwld.org