PHL urged to ratify domestic workers’ convention

Migrant and labor groups from Asian countries urged the Philippines, one of the world’s leading deployers of domestic workers, to pioneer the ratification of the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention (C189).

Speaking at the Asia Regional Conference on the ILO Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers hosted by the country on Tuesday, William Gois of the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) said the Philippines will mark a turning point in the advocacy if it becomes one of the first countries to ratify C189.

Gois said the country should “not only ratify the convention immediately,” but “engage other countries to enter into the framework… to ensure that the rights of domestic workers are protected.”

The Philippines headed the ILO committee on domestic workers during the conference in Geneva, Switzerland last June, when majority of the 183-member tripartite labor body supported the adoption of the convention.

Since then, it has been seen as one of the “first countries to signify immediate ratification of C189,” which will provide household workers with the same basic labor rights as others, such as:

• freedom of association;
• right to collective bargaining;
• decent working or living conditions;
• normal hours of work;
• rest periods; and
• paid annual leave.

Issues to resolve

Meanwhile, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Hans Cacdac said in the conference that the delegation sent to Geneva “got back to work,” bearing in mind what transpired last June.

Cacdac cited the 63 abstentions from the employers’ group, which he said reflected one of the “issues that we need to resolve.”

“We still need to consider the arguments that will be raised by employers group, at least in the Philippine context,” he told participants from about 20 countries in Asia and Europe.

The undersecretary also highlighted the abstentions from the governments of Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, which “represents 30 percent of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries.”

According to Amelia King-Dejardin of ILO-Geneva, the convention is important for Asia because it is the source of 41 percent of domestic workers worldwide.

“We are a big origin of migrant domestic workers, so if Asia cannot push for the ratification of the convention… then we would have lost our ground [regarding] the protection of migrant workers,” Dejardin said, adding that Asian “would have no moral ground” over the matter “if we cannot take care of our own.”

‘Multi-stakeholder support’

Last week, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it is “currently carrying out an action plan” to drum up “multi-stakeholder support” on the ratification.

In a statement released Oct. 18, DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said C189 is “an international treaty that the Philippines… is committed to honor and adhere to.”

Baldoz added that they are “rallying public support for the passage into law of the Kasambahay bill, a national law required of ILO member-states that have voted for C189.”

“Generating this support is crucial in our efforts to enhance the policy environment toward the protection of our domestic workers,” Baldoz said in a separate statement issued Oct. 11.

Meanwhile, Sen. Loren Legarda filed a resolution early this month, which called on the Aquino administration to ratify the Convention, which she said would benefit “our local and overseas Filipino domestic workers.”

Arab region’s support

The Domestic Workers Convention is seen as “a landmark accomplishment” in the employment sector, especially for countries like the Philippines, which contributes much to this line of work.

The convention won over majority of ILO’s member-countries, including those in the Arab region, which has drawn media interest because of several reports of domestic work abuses.

In an interview with GMA News Online, Dejardin said C189 needs two countries to ratify it before it comes into force, adding that it will buy the Philippines ample time to adjust its laws to comply with the minimum protection of the convention.

The ILO-Geneva representative also said they see the Arab region’s vote as “a positive development, though “it’s going to take perhaps a bit of time.”

She cited Jordan and Lebanon, which she said have moved to protect domestic workers under the law.

“There is an effort and we see it as a positive one. The ILO is behind this,” she said. “I can cite Jordan and Lebanon as indications of a positive thing and we hope that [they] will eventually influence other countries in the region.”

Domestic workers

Last year, 96,583 Filipino domestic workers were deployed worldwide, mostly to Arab locations like Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics said that as of January, almost two million private household in the Philippines with employed persons.

According to statistics from the ILO, there are about 53 million domestic workers, around 83 percent of them women or girls.

However, the organization admits that the count can rise as high as 100 million because many workers in this field are unregistered. – VVP, GMA News