DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/16 January) – Several government agencies will sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Monday creating a Task Force Kasambahay that will streamline services to ensure the security and welfare of house helpers in the Davao Region.
Rodrigo Roble, Kasambahay Regional Coordinator of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 11, said the creation of the task group will make it easy for house helpers to seek assistance from government if they experience abuse from employers such as those who do not give them the proper wages and fringe benefits.
Under Sec. 24 of RA 10361 or the Domestic Workers Act of 2012, the minimum wage of domestic workers shall not be less than P2,500 in the National Capital Region (NCR), P2,000 for highly urbanized areas and first class municipalities, and P1,500 for the rural areas.
The Task Force Kasambahay, composed the DOLE as chair, Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Department of Interior and Local Government, Home Development Mutual Fund, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Philippine Information Agency, will go after abusive employers who violate RA 10361.
Roble explained that there’s no such structure yet that streamlines the efforts of the agencies to address the concerns of the house helpers.
Under the law,a house helper who has rendered at least one month of service shall be covered by the Social Security System (SSS), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG.
With the task group, there will be a single entity that will look into the concerns of the workers, Roble said.
He said the task group will also be responsible in determining how many domestic workers are employed in the region.
He encouraged the workers to report cases of abuse by knowing of their basic rights as provided for in the RA 10361.
On January 31, DOLE 11 will host the Kasambahay Day at the San Pedro College where 150 workers in the region are expected to participate.
He said a forum will also be held to educate the workers on RA 10361. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews
