S. No. 2618

AN ACT INSTITUTING POLICIES GOVERNING THE HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRY, ESTABLISHING A STANDARD OF PROTECTION AND PROMOTING THE WELFARE OF HOUSEHOLD HELPERS.

In 1995, it was estimated that there were around 866,000 maids in the Philippines, 36% of them where from 15 to 24 years old and about 14,000 were below 15 years old. There could be more than a million maids working in the country now. They are massive group of workers wrapped in sliced, relegate by law, custom, and convention to the informal sector of the labor force, and deliberately excluded from legal protective rights accorded to other members of society.

Domestic work is a legitimate form of occupation, therefore house helpers should be accorded due recognition and protection under the law. This bill, the Magna Carta for Household Helpers, seeks institutionalize the benefits and protection needed by this sector in order to uplift their present status. The seeks to level out a manifest inequity suffered by this significant section of the labor force, by providing the necessary structure that would uphold their dignity and protect their rights arid privileges as workers.

In recognition of the valuable services provided by household helpers, and to honor this group of workers’ silent sacrifices to productively contribute to social development, the immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

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