Safety nets needed with Kasambahay Law

Freshly minted in the halls of Congress and approved into law by P-Noy earlier this year, the Kasambahay Law’s all-important implementing rules and regulations (IRR) will soon be the crafted to come up with guide that will make sure that the law’s provisions are followed to a T.

The Department of Labor and Employment has set aside the whole month of April for dialogues with concerned stakeholders to iron out kinks and clarify vague provisions that could lead to disagreements about the rights of household workers and their employers.

Already, there have been some heated arguments in homes, not necessarily between the domestic help and the woman of the house, but among (or between, if there are only two) members of the house staff or among members of the family.

The law’s intent is relatively clear. Aside from the fact that it is one of the country’s commitments to comply with international accords, in particular, the International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 189 that covers international standards for the protection of household helpers, it provides rules that sets in stone the rights of house workers in the country.

Alipin

For too long, millions of household workers, mostly females, have been taken for granted. They have barely risen in stature from the days when they had been called aliping sagigilid or aliping namamahay, depending on their economic status.

(The former generally refers to a house slave whose rights are severely conscripted because they have been ceded to the household by their own families, usually in payment of some debt. The latter has better control of her fate, so to speak. Both however are open to abuse of many kinds.)

While Republic Act No. 10361, or the Domestic Workers Act, is regarded more as a social law, it has its ramifications on the micro-economy that governs many of the country’s households, particularly those belonging to the middle class.

The after effects of the law will also be felt by the families that rely on the meager salary of domestic household workers. The labor department has estimated the number of housemaids currently in employ at about three million, mostly coming from poor rural households.

Lay-offs

Domestic help employed by middle income families, those that have a total income of less than P40,000 a month, are expected to be hit hardest. If there are two employed, there will be pressure to reduce this number to just one if the additional cost of a 13th month pay, vacation leaves and other benefits such as SSS, Pag-Ibig and PhilHealth were to be summed.

For a household help receiving the mandated minimum wage of P2,500 in Metro Manila, the added burden of all the above-mentioned benefits could easily raise the cost of a house worker by at least P1,000 a month. And if there are two house helps employed, the additional cost could severely deplete the missus’ budget in running the house.

I’m not saying that the law should not be enforced; on the contrary, there is no better time to institute this social reform for our kasambahays than now. But the government must be prepared to face the consequences beyond simply coming up with an IRR or disseminating information to all concerned, especially household helpers, about their rights.

This simply means that government must have a plan on what to do with household workers that will be laid off, those who will be shipping out back to the provinces with just their suitcase of clothes and cellphone, with no inkling of how they will earn their next pay.

Professionalization needed

On the other hand, the remaining house worker/s will be under new pressure to conform to a minimum standard of deliverables. Let’s face it. When the government passed Batas Kasambahay, it “elevated” household workers to the formal rank of employee.

For anyone who pays a worker a minimum wage for services, especially if this is covered by a contract sealed and signed by both parties, duties are inevitably highlighted.

For example, the law stipulates that domestic workers are guaranteed eight hours of rest a day. This could be interpreted as keeping the household employ running for 16 hours during the day, which means rising as early as 5 a.m. and retiring to bed at 9 p.m., that is, if no siesta allowed. That’s a long day!

Of course, since a contract has been introduced in the relationship, expect a list of duties and responsibilities that could be as detailed as a Christmas shopping and gift list.

How a probinsiyana who had barely completed her elementary schooling and one used to the leisurely pace of rural life will be able to satisfactorily deliver her side of the contract could be more than a minor challenge.

Paradigm shift

The two mentioned issues are just some of the points that I have heard but are not addressed by the law. Nevertheless, these need attention by our government executives. The Kasambahay Law has changed the relationship between household workers with their employers, and this would cause some paradigm shifts, some of which could be painful on either party or even both.

Let us not forget that the underlying reason for the law is to give our household helpers a better life, not only by protecting their human dignity and stipulating a set of compensation and benefits for the amount of work they do, but also in preparing them to become more productive citizens of the land.

But as in any change that is introduced, there should be a wide net cast that will make sure that the path to righteousness will not be littered with too many casualties.  

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