Aliping namamahay

The just-concluded International Labor Organization world conference in Geneva, Switzerland made history by passing a convention for the protection of domestic helpers. This historic document is a living testament to the civilized nations’ collective sense of outrage at the many injustices committed against the lowest ranking workers, the housemaids, or to use the so-called politically correct term, the household service workers. But no matter by what name we call these workers, the truth is, they are the most exploited, the most harassed, the most oppressed sector among the millions in the working class. By passing the said historic convention, the governments all over the world must have finally come to terms with their own respective national policies relative to the globally recognized social injustices committed against the housemaids.

 The Philippines, having gained the not-so-enviable status as the number one supplier of domestic helpers all over the world, has played a key role in the passage of that milestone document. We should congratulate the Philippine delegation headed by our Secretary of Labor, Rosalinda Dimapilis- Baldoz, and the congressional delegation led by Congressman Emil Ong from Northern Samar, and Chair of the House Committee on Labor and Employment. Our delegates worked hard in the preparation of the documents, in the plenary debates and ultimately in the floors of ILO where delegates from the developed countries were not, at first, inclined to support such a measure that were not only couched in motherhood beatitudes, but included specific provisions granting substantive rights to domestic helpers, including a weekly rest day, which is a mandatory labor standard that all signatory-nations are bound to uphold.

 The Philippines today must have at least a million domestic helpers, mostly deployed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Libya and other Middle Eastern nations. In Asia, the Filipino domestic helpers are more numerous in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei and Macau. Called by other names like nannies, governess, or caregivers, caretakers or by such glorified and fancy titles like household staff, or house personnel, they remain to be the most vulnerable class of workers, working up to 18 hours a day, with no provision for overtime pay, holiday pay or rest day pay. Their passports are often confiscated, they are required to surrender their hand phones and are usually held incommunicado. They are virtual slaves that are completely under the control and domination of their masters.

 If the Philippines is really serious in abolishing slavery in the Philippines, our lawmakers can either completely abolish the present scheme of stay-in household workers, or shift to an eight-hour stay-out system, so as to make the household staff virtually equal to office workers. In other words, abolish the aliping saguiguilids and change to the aliping namamahay style, where domestic helpers can go home to their families and have a life, not that of slaves but as free human beings, with rights and freedom. The historic document approved in Geneva is but a first step in the long and painful journey of our housemaids to a new promised land of freedom for all. By the looks of it, we still have a long way to go. At least, we have started.