MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 23, 2013) – Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile was elated over the signing of a landmark Batas Kasambahay Bill by President Benigno Aquino, saying it benefit almost 2 million local domestic workers.
“I congratulate President Benigno Aquino III for the timely signing of the Batas Kasambahay bill which will benefit almost 2 million local domestic workers. This is a landmark piece of legislation that took Congress 15 years to enact into law,” Enrile, son of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He also praised fellow lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Senate who supported the bill during its evolution in Congress, and are equally happy with thisturn of events.
“This is just the beginning; our work is not over yet. We need to make sure that the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of this milestone measure will be properly enforced.”
“I therefore extend my hand to President Aquino in whatever capacity to help fulfil the true spirit of this new law. With the Batas Kasambahay now a law, the long-suffering sector of the country’s labor force – the local domestic workers – will finally enjoy social and legal protection,” said Enrile who is the original and principal author of the bill at the House of Representatives.
He said domestic workers, who are mostly female and underprivileged, can now expect to earn a minimum wage at no less than P2,500 a month in the National Capital Region; P2,000 a month for those employed in chartered cities and first class municipalities; and P1,500 a month for those employed in other municipalities.
Likewise, employers are required to prepare an employment contract in a language that is understood by the domestic workers who are mostly underage and under schooled. They should also be provided with adequate protection such as SSS, Philhealth, and Pag-Ibig.
“We made sure that this legislation conforms to the general provisions of the International Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, an international labor initiative that embraces the cause of domestic workers worldwide and affords them with a host of legal remedies and protection against abuses,” said Enrile, who is running for senator in the May polls under the United Nationalist Alliance. (Mindanao Examiner)
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