Issues
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Recommendations/Existing Responses*
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Rights of Work
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Lack of standard terms of employment (wages, benefits, day-off) across countries since very few host countries are signatories to international labor conventions
This contributes to poor working conditions for domestic workers
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- Negotiation of bilateral agreements between the Philippines and host country; could be tied-in with trade agreements that are regularly negotiated
- Document and popularize “good practices” of recruitment agencies in negotiating and ensuring better terms of employment of domestic workers
- Another strategy is to work with other Labor Attaches or diplomats from other labor sending countries to collectively work for better terms
- To improve leverage during negotiations with other countries, the Philippines need to improve and clearly spell out the terms of employment of domestic workers in the Philippines through the passage of the Batas Kasambahay
- There is a need to promote counseling for prospective employers to orient them on their responsibilities and to level-off expectations
- Development and popularize of a “standard contract” for domestic workers that enumerates the minimum acceptable terms and conditions of work
- Explore possibility of working with chambers of commerce in the host country
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Lack of “full disclosure” on the terms of employment; terms in the contracts signed in the Philippines are different from the “real” terms
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- Pre-deployment orientation seminars should be handled by accredited, credible, and dis-interested institutions to ensure “full disclosure of terms of work
- There is a need to ensure that the contracts of each recruit are broken down and explained during PDOS; this means that one hour PDOS is not enough
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Difficulty in monitoring actual conditions of work of domestic workers
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- Explore legal channels that are made available by the host countries
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“Distressed” or repatriated domestic workers still incur debts from their recruiters (some are sued by recruiters); these happen because of exorbitant placement fees
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Lack of access to appropriate adjudication mechanisms between domestic workers and employers in conflict
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Employers control the mobility and freedom (of religion, assembly) of domestic workers thereby making them more vulnerable
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Employment
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Domestic workers with low-level of education (and, as a result, more vulnerable to abuse) are deployed in “most abusive” countries
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- Recruitment agencies to adopt ethical standards that will help govern decisions on who they should field (avoid deploying domestic workers who are minors and “no-read no-write) and where (avoid countries where they are aware that conditions of work are unacceptable)
- Country specific PDOS manual that will warn recruit on the difficulties of working in that specific country
- Orientation programs for “potential” domestic workers should be done before there was a decision to work overseas
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The need to improve our “supply” to ensure quality work
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- Need to work with local government units in order to fully tap their education and skills upgrade programs
- PDOS, PEOS, and providers of skills training should interface with each other and have a venue for regular interaction to ensure quality and appropriateness of training programs
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Social Protection
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Large number of undocumented domestic workers
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- DSWD to include migration and trafficking issues in parenting seminars and highlight the danger of
- Department of Education to integrate these concerns into the curriculum for both primary and secondary levels
- Massive information dissemination campaign at the grassroots level on “legal” and “safe” migration; this can be channeled through Migrant Advisory Information (MAIN) Desks at the LGU level or through Barangay Human Rights Action Centers
- As a consequence, there is a need to strengthen local structures such as MAIN and BHRAC
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Domestic workers are vulnerable (and fall prey) to trafficking, forced labor and debt bondage because of “illegal and irregular” recruitment practices ; forced labour situations still abound because practices such as confiscating of passports and other travel documents remain unabated
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- Interventions should happen here instead of waiting for the recruit to become exploited
- Anti-Trafficking Task Forces are being established in international airports and seaports to intercept potential trafficking cases
- Law enforcement agencies have established special Anti-Trafficking Units
- The Bureau of Immigration will be implementing the “snake queue” system to minimize “escort” systems
- Review existing regulations on recruitment for both domestic and overseas employment and ensure that anti-trafficking, forced labour, and debt bondage measures are integrated
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Domestic workers are vulnerable to abuses because of their invisibility and lack of familiarity with the culture and context of host countries
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- There is a need to establish partnerships with other available institutions in the host country that can help monitor conditions of work and lives of domestic workers (i.e. existing civic groups, church groups, industry associations)
- PEOS and PDOS should be country and job specific
- Establish a database of domestic workers so that we can have an idea on the countries that are considered “hotspots”; data can be integrated during PEOS so that recruit can factor in the risks before deciding to work in that “hotspot” country
- Data base should be handled by one agency, not segmented depending on the case, making it more difficult to gather information
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Domestic workers are prone to fall to other forms of exploitation such as prostitution, especially during times of distress such as breakdown of employer-employee relationship
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Counseling services, especially during HIV tests, are inadequate
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Domestic workers experience reproductive and other health problems, usually as a result of high level of stress
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- On-site counseling services should be established or should be made available especially in countries where there are huge number of female domestic workers
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Unwanted pregnancy and forced abortion
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Homesickness, loneliness, and social isolation
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- Values orientation and spirituality should form part of pre-employment orientations
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Difficulty/Lack of knowledge in accessing existing on-site services or other support services available to domestic workers in distress
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- Embassies/POLOs should establish resource centers or directories of existing services in host countries; network for more effective and timely responses
- The process of accessing these services should also be included in pre-employment orientations
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Domestic workers are not willing to pursue cases against recruiters and employers; they often desist after cash settlements
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- Establish a legal support network for migrant domestic workers
- There is a need to re-asses our justice system (both administrative and criminal) and make it more “domestic worker” friendly
- Cases filed by domestic workers should be re-assessed to establish bottlenecks and difficulties encountered in getting favorable resolution of cases
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Social Dialogue
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Lack of mechanisms to involve domestic workers in policy and decision-making and program development
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Children left behind
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Social costs in terms of impact to families, especially to children left behind such as materialism, weakening family ties, and evolving gender roles
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- Ensure that children are included in PDOS and PEOS
- Children should be part of the decision-making on whether to work overseas
- These orientation seminars should happen before the decision to work overseas is reached
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Lack of a comprehensive program to “re-integrate” returning migrant domestic workers
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- TESDA (in cooperation with TLRC and other similar institutions) should come up with a training program to help returning domestic workers identify their options and develop “useful” skills
- Government and NGOs should work together to form a “post-employment” program similar to those of seafarers
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Stigmatization and discrimination against returning domestic workers and their children
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- Stress on the importance of domestic workers through media campaigns
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