DOLE sees better working conditions for maids

MANILA, Philippines - With the passage of the Kasambahay Bill, there would be better salaries and working conditions for the more than two million Filipino household service workers (HSWs), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the country has just completed the ratification of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention on Domestic Helpers and at the same time Congress laid the groundwork for the enactment of a law in compliance with the Convention.

Baldoz said DOLE is now expecting the Kasambahay Bill versions of the Senate and the House of Representatives to be reconciled in the bicameral conference committee before the final approval of both legislative chambers and President Aquino.

The ILO Convention and the Kasambahay Bill when passed can provide better salaries, safe and healthy working conditions and more protection for HSWs.

The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) said when the Kasambahay Bill is passed into law, HSWs can enjoy five-day incentive leaves per year in addition to the existing one day off every week.

“This is a victory for our long struggle, for domestic workers to be recognized and be treated with dignity in law and practice like the other workers. Domestic workers will soon be covered by the Minimum Wage Law,” the FFW said in a statement.

FFW president Sonny Matula said the law would be an improvement on the existing labor laws since it would establish higher labor standards for domestic workers.

The National Domestic Workers Association of the Philippines (SUMAPI) also expressed joy over the passage of the measures since they would now be protected from different abuses.

“Finally, after 15 years of struggle, we are now in the cusp of extending basic rights and legal protection to almost two million domestic workers in the Philippines,” said Ma. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, president and founder of the Visayan Forum Foundation, Inc.

Aside from the DOLE, various labor unions have advocated for domestic workers’ rights. It led the campaign for the ratification of ILO C. 189 and the passage of the Domestic Workers Bill in both houses of Congress.

For its part, the Blas Ople Center pushed for a massive information campaign regarding the principles of the Kasambahay measure.

Center head Susan Ople said the “Kasambahay and the ILO Convention are landmark initiatives that recognize domestic workers as part of the labor force and thus entitled to basic rights and social benefits.”

She said the information campaign should include the employment contract to be drafted by DOLE to make it easier for the employer and the HSW to forge a fair and valid work contract.