Kasambahay Journal
Description of the Program
Achievements of the Program
Policy Advocacy: Magna Carta on Domestic Work and Interantional Domestic Worker's Convention
The Kasambahay Program is the national initiative of Visayan Forum Foundation that provides direct services and social protection; acts for the empowerment and promotion of self-help organizations; conducts advocacy for legislation and policies, programmes and related services; and offers a Resource Center that documents and consolidates material on child domestic workers.
The involvement of other social partners from government, employers and workers groups are crucial. The programme has three major components:
1. Direct Services and Social Protection;
2. Empowerment and Promotion of Self-Help Organizations;
3. Advocacy for Employment Policy and Programmes.
The Direct Services and Social Protection component consists the continued provision of:
a.) Immediate response to child domestic workers at risk. This involves providing immediate assessment, and removal and interception during trafficking if needed, while making medical, legal, psychosocial, and police assistance readily available by tapping available resources from government agencies, NGOs, workers and employers groups within the National Program Against Child Labor. Send your concerns through our email hotline here.
b.) Psychosocial services in temporary shelters which provide, apart from a place of help and safety in crisis for abused CDWs referred and reached out, the opportunity to develop deeper relationships between care-givers and among other initially distrustful CDWs, the opportunity to make informed choices in the future, and the opportunities to learn life skills that may help them engage in income generation. Eventually, they are reintegrated to their families or other foster institutions whichever is appropriate. A half-way house in the Manila port is also initially part of the program to help intercepted, stranded or run-away working children who are victims of trafficking.
c.) Systematic coordination with school administrations and other partners to assist CDWs who combine work and study, as a strategy to prevent them from sliding into other worst forms of child labor. This involves strengthening of existing efforts with the schools tapped in the previous programme period in the areas of improving curriculum, providing immediate assistance to students in need, improving Kasambahay centers in schools, and organizing activities in tandem with SUMAPI and teachers. The Batangas center also offers alternative classes and trainings.
Empowerment and Promotion of Self Help Organizations involves:
a.) Flexible outreach services for child domestic workers in schools, churches, recreational parks, ports, and waiting areas identified as areas of high concentration of child domestic workers. The outreach uses creative methods in counseling and orientation about legal entitlements, social security system registration, and other informational especially of newly recruited CDWs especially during transit. In particular, the program assists domestic workers to avail of social security (SSS) benefits by conducting regular registration sessions in the field during their days off.
b.) The program works for the formalization and registration of SUMAPI as a workers' group. Strengthening of organized core groups and chapters as a workers group to enhance a meaningful participation of the CDWs in crucial aspects of the program in line with the over-all strategy and advocacy agenda for CDWs in the Philippines. This involves workshops to process their experiences and perceptions at work; to improve leadership and advocacy capacities, and; to deepening reflection in life during school retreats. Core groups leaders and advocates are identified and trained to become advocates in their immediate spheres of action such as schools, communities, LGUs, etc.
Advocacy for Legislation and Policies, Programmes and Related Services: the long-term goal is to enable and consolidate the protective framework of domestic workers embodied through the Batas Kasambahay, and the institutionalization of services for CDWs in government and civil society service agenda for action. This entails a continued:
a.) Strong advocacy and awareness-raising campaign that promotes the acceptance of fundamental principles on children's rights, decent work standards and employment contracts, gender-sensitive and child-centered strategies. The advocacy campaign is directed to child domestic workers, parents, employers, communities, religious groups, media advocates, national government institutions, local government leaders, policy-makers, the general public and other civil society groups.
b.) Setting up a Resource Center that consists of a mini-library, website, and annual newsletter that combined, serve as a venue to document and consolidate materials on CDW issue for easy access and use by researchers, students, academicians and other interest groups
The long-term sustainability of the program primarily depends on how a sense of ownership and responsibility is institutionalized among various target groups through the program different activities. It is also this program's continuing intention to enhance long-term relationships between and among various stakeholders (government and non-government) that ensure the long-term sustainability in the mainstream. The issue of CDWs should thus be integrated into the national development agenda.
The Visayan Forum envisages entering into long-term working arrangements for joint action on domestic work. The recent extension of partnership with the Philippine Ports Authority to five years of continued operation of the halfway house for stranded domestic workers is an example. It is also working closely with the national Social Security System (SSS) and the National Health Insurance System (PhilHealth) where the Visayan Forum has been asked to assist in social security registration and remittances of domestic workers.
The strength of institutionalization of the organization of domestic helpers, such as SUMAPI, ensures that self-help mechanisms and support groups of domestic helpers shall continue long into the future. The provision of work contracts, minimum work standards espoused through the Batas Kasambahay would guarantee the legal framework for ensuring minimum standards of work.Register your association with us and be recognized.
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE KASAMBAHAY PROGRAM
From 2004 to 2006, the International Labour Organization- International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) Manila partnered with VF in implementing a project within the Philippine Time-Bound Program (PTBP) for the elimination of the worst form of child labor. This is a key program in the overarching National Program Against Child Labor (NAPCL). It is the only partner of the ILO- IPEC that was approved to work in all eight areas: Manila, Bulacan, Iloilo, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Camarines Norte, Cebu, and Davao, and at the national level. It also worked in partnership with ILO for the DOMWORK Project (Mobilizing Action for the Protection of Domestic Workers against Forced Labour and Trafficking in Southeast Asia).
To date, VF and its local partners have reached out to and assisted 7,635 child domestic workers through temporary shelter, trainings, legal assistance, educational support and other forms of intervention. There were 1,668 highly-at-risk children who were also assisted and prevented from sliding into the sector.
Improved access to formal and informal education has also been achieved. Drop-out rates have been significantly reduced. Flexible education systems and creating supportive educational environment have also contributed to CDWs staying in school.
Today, there are more partners focusing on CDWs. From 2004-2007, VF has trained 1,800 multi-sectoral partners which include members of the academe, government agencies like the Departmetn of Education, Department of Labor and Employment, faith-based group, law enforcers, direct service provider, and barangay leaders. Trainings focused on organizing techniques, service linkages, rights-based approaches, and maximizing advocacy opportunities.
VFFI was also instrumental in convening domestic workers and social partners for the first National Domestic Workers Summit on September 21-23, 2005 in Manila where the Ten Point Decent Work Agenda for the sector and a Social Compact among partners were crafted. The executive branch echoed the call for greater recognition of the domestic worker when on April 24, 2006 the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued a Presidential Proclamation 1051, setting aside April 30th as a special day for the domestic work sectoVFFI, together with SUMAPI, were involved in liaising with the schools and educational institutions to create the necessary partnerships with 55 schools that covered all the sites, 42 of which have established flexible schooling initiatives and support mechanisms for CDWs while the remaining 15 have helped in providing tutorial services to students.
VF’s project has also led to significant policy changes in protecting and promoting CDW rights, primarily at a local level, as a result of the outstanding advocacy initiatives undertaken by VF and SUMAPI. There are five local ordinances enacted. This led to the development of kasambahay registration programmes that serve as a benchmark in their localities to benefit CDWs and their employers. The registration of CDWs in every barangay (community) serves as the key component for local government to make invisible CDWs visible.
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Policy Advocacy: Magna Carta for Domestic Workers and the Proposed International Domestic Workers' Convention
At the national level, the campaign for the passage of a Magna Carta for Domestic Workers (“Batas Kasambahay”) is already gaining approval. This proposed legislation is the core of VF’s legislative reform agenda for the sector. While there are already measures that encompass kasambahay concerns, there is still no bill like the Batas Kasambahay that provides appropriate measures to address the specific vulnerabilities of domestic work and to recognize the sector’s importance and contribution to nation-building
VF has effectively mobilized support for this piece of legislation that promises to uplift the conditions of the invisible, scattered and often neglected sector of Philippine society. One notable achievement of VFFI in this advocacy is gathering the one million signatures that call for the passage of this bill. A national survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations, a prominent social research institution in the Philippines, showed that a strong majority of Filipinos, roughly 9 out of 10, support the passage of the Domestic Workers bill.
At the international front, VF’s advocacy with international partners has also put forward the cause of the domestic work sector. The International Domestic Workers Convention that VFFI has been lobbying with partners has finally gained international attention as the Governing Body of ILO is set to discuss the decent work of domestic workers in the 99th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) scheduled in June 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland. The ILC session is expected to discuss the standard setting for the work conditions of the domestic workers and the development of ILO instruments which could take the form of a new convention, supplemented by recommendations.
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