Legarda Hails Senate’s Approval on Second Reading of Domestic Workers’ Convention

SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA HAILED THE SENATE’S RECENT APPROVAL ON SECOND READING OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO) CONVENTION 189, THE CONVENTION CONCERNING DECENT WORK FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS.
Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said that she is hopeful that the Senate will soon concur in the Convention through its approval on third reading.
“ILO Convention 189 is the manifesto that every domestic worker deserves. This Convention unveils the universal rights of the domestic worker including those working overseas,” she explained.
The Senator stressed that the Philippines should be at the forefront of the campaign to ensure decent work for the kasambahays, noting that domestic workers are mostly women and minors, and that they account for the highest percentage of workers being deployed for work abroad, reaching more than 100,000 in 2010 alone.
“Through this Convention we can provide stronger protection and greater support to our local and migrant domestic workers because the ILO Convention 189 obliges ratifying states to provide decent working conditions, just compensation and sufficient benefits to domestic workers,” Legarda stressed.
“The time has come for all of us to acknowledge the contributions of our household heroes into the global workforce, no longer as invisible hands but as domestic workers, equipped with the rights and benefits accorded others,” Legarda concluded.