DOLE reports on status of Kasambahay Law implementation

From the Department of Labor and Employment

SSS-registered kasambahay now 105,000; DOLE-led convergence drafts protocol on rescue and rehabilitation of abused kasambahay

Citing a report of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE’s) Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns, Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz yesterday said the results of the first Inter-Agency Meeting on the Implementation of the Batas Kasambahay show that kasambahay estimated to have been enrolled with the Social Security System (SSS) has reached 105,000 as of October, up by 100,000 from the 95,000 registered kasambahay before the law took effect.

Also, the result of the meeting show that from June 2013 to June 2014, the SSS has organized task forces in each of the country’s 16 regions to disseminate information on the Kasambahay Law.

“The Unified Registration System for kasambahay has been operational since 4 December 2013, and the SSS has reported some glitches, but it is coordinating with the PhilHealth and PagIBIG to address them. Also, the PhilHealth reported during the meeting that it has registered an average of 2,500 kasambahay during the last three quarters,” said Director Ahma Charisma Lobrin-Satumba of the BWSC in her report to Secretary Baldoz.

Satumba further said in her report that government agencies concerned with the implementation of the Kasambahay Law, namely the DOLE’s BWSC, Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, non-government organizations and service providers, had held nine consultative meetings and had finalized the draft Protocol on the Rescue and Rehabilitation of Abused Kasambahay.

“I have been informed that the draft Joint Memorandum Circular on the Protocol will be signed soon at the meeting of the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster of the Cabinet,” said Baldoz.

The Joint Memorandum Circular outlines the system and procedures in the rescue and provision of assistance to abused kasambahay and lays down the duties and responsibilities of concerned government agencies involved.

During the first inter-agency meeting, Satumba said the BWSC has stressed the need to develop monitoring indicators and a database on implementation of the law.

On compliance with labor standards, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board reported during the meeting that requests for assistance (RFAs) involving kasambahay account for less than one percent of total cases handled by the NCMB and the DOLE, excluding cases li=odged at the National Labor Relations Commission.

“This year, the NCMB and the DOLE settled RFAs with monetary benefits amounting to P890,660 benefiting 121 kasambahay,” the NCMB told the inter-agency meeting participants.

The top three issues involved in RFAs filed, according to the NCMB, were non-payment of salary (26 percent); non-payment of SSS, PhilHealth, and PagIBIG contributions (19 percent) ; and underpayment of wages (14 percent).

On the adjustment of monthly minimum wage rates for kasambahay, the National Wages and Productivity Commission informed the meeting that the Rules and Procedures on Kasambahay Wage Setting was already published on 1 September 2014. It also said it is working with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority on the competency-based wage setting for kasambahay.

Baldoz commended the BWSC for initiating the inter-agency meeting, saying the DOLE and partner-agencies need to discuss regularly emerging and recurrent issues arising from the Kasambahay Law’s implementation.

“We need to address these issues together, and meeting regularly will strengthen institutionalized response and coordination for the smooth implementation of the Kasambahay Law,” Baldoz said.

dole.gov.ph