Kasambahay bill a gift to domestic workers in PHL, abroad — govt execs

Legislators exerted extra efforts in 2012 for the ratification of the Household ‘Kasambahay’ Bill, especially after several cases of violence have prevailed at home and abroad.

In July this year, Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada wanted Congress to alter the provisions of the proposed ‘Kasambahay’ Act to make it congruent to the standards of the International Labor Organization Convention 189.

Estrada said the issue of domestic work was gaining ground in the ILO and long before the conference adopted Convention 189.

He thought it was necessary that Congress considered the standards set forth by the newly-ratified Convention.

Later on, a disturbing case of domestic helper, Bonita Baran, who almost completely lost her vision after her employer pressed a hot iron on her face, came about and prompted Estrada to make an appeal, saying cases of abuse and maltreatment of domestic workers “must be stopped and prevented”.

She was finally allowed to go home on May 22, when she had gone blind from her employer’s repeated punches to her eyes.

For three years she was allegedly abused by her employers before being sent home.

The ‘Kasambahay’ Bill, also already passed in the Senate two years ago in December 2010, is a landmark legislation which defines the labor rights, increases the minimum wages and provides regular employment benefits for the domestic household workforce.

Estrada also recently co-sponsored proposed Senate Resolution 816 concurring with the ratification of ILO Convention 189, which sets the minimum standards for decent work for domestic workers and provides them with the same protection accorded to other workers.

Last Sept. 5, the House of Representatives passed the third and final reading the landmark ‘Kasambahay’ Bill (House Bill 6081 or the Domestic Workers Act 2012) that seeks to uplift the plight of some 2.5 million domestic helpers in the country.

Its version has been passed by the Senate last December 2011.

The main proponent of the Bill in the Lower House, San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito, earlier said “after 15 years in the making, Congress will finally enact a Bill that would protect household workers from physical and emotional abuse.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Loren Legarda last Nov. 18 also stressed the importance of the immediate passage of the ‘Kasambahay’ Bill in protecting Filipino domestic workers.

She added the measure will complement the International Labor Organization Convention 189, the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

Legarda, sponsor of ILO Convention 189, said the treaty will be more effective with the passage of the ‘Kasambahay’ Bill.

She added the proposed ‘Kasambahay’ Act, when approved, will guarantee the ‘kasambahays’ (domestic helpers) will gain more benefits and be better protected as all household working arrangements between employers and helpers shall be duly documented.

For Legarda, the ILO 189 and the proposed ‘Kasambahay’ Act are two important measures that will pave the way for treatment of ‘kasambahays’ as workers, not servants.

The Philippine ratification of the ILO Convention 189 was formally registered last September 5.

The Philippines is the second country to ratify the Convention, which is significant as the treaty will enter into force a year after it has been ratified by two countries.

This convention will benefit 3.4 million Filipino domestic workers in the Philippines and abroad by ensuring that, first and foremost, domestic workers, like other workers, enjoy the same basic rights, such as reasonable hours of work, weekly rest, clear information on terms and conditions of employment, and freedom of association.

The ‘Kasambahay’ Bill was already approved on third reading by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The two versions of the Bill shall be reconciled in a bicameral conference committee meeting.

It was ratified by the Senate last Nov. 27, which sets the monthly minimum wages of domestic workers at P2, 500 for those working in the National Capital Region.

Here, house helpers working in chartered cities and first-class municipalities will receive a minimum wage of P2, 000 and P1, 500.

Once signed into law, household workers can immediately sign up as members of the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) and avail themselves of multi-purpose, calamity and housing loans.

As of now, the ‘Kasambahay’ Bill awaits President Benigno Aquino III’s signature.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz also expressed her desire to have the president sign the bill as a Christmas gift to all domestic helpers.

The ‘Kasambahay’ Bill is a step closer to becoming a law after the bicameral conference committee managed to reconcile conflicting provisions, particularly on wage rates.

Once enacted into law, the bill would provide all ‘kasambahays’ a comprehensive package of benefits that include better salaries, work conditions, and other benefits that will entitle them 13th month pay, 14-day paid vacation, and maternity or paternity leave among others. – PNA/Philippine News