Domestic Workers Convention Now! Enact Kasambahay Bill Now!
— May 24, 2011Some three million Asian migrants make significant contributions to the economies of both their countries of origin and destination each year. A large proportion of these migrants are women, most of whom are employed as domestic workers in households in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Gulf and Arab Countries of West Asia. These workers are employed in private households—workplaces that fall outside the realm of labour laws and regulation. As temporary migrants, they are already vulnerable to deception and abuse by unscrupulous employers and employment agencies by virtue of their immigration status; as domestic workers, these risks are amplified as their workplaces are largely shielded from scrutiny by the primacy given to the privacy of the home.
MFA supports the Kasambahay Bill, designed to protect and promote the rights of domestic workers employed in the Philippines. The passage of this bill is necessary, as it would establish standards within the Philippines that are in line with the protections we would like to see availed to Filipino domestic workers when they are employed abroad.
Read the full MFA Statement: Domestic Workers Convention Now! Enact Kasambahay Bill Now!