In pursuit of the aspiration to improve the working conditions of domestic workers, Republic Act No. 10361 or the Domestic Workers Act of the Philippines was enacted in January 2013 and became enforceable in the same year upon the issuance of its implementing rules and regulations (IRR). The Domestic Workers Act or Batas Kasambahay basically mandates that household workers be entitled to certain rights and privileges such as the mandatory benefits of weekly rest periods and coverage in social security programs that had long been lacking. With this, the welfare of more than 1.82 million domestic workers (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2019)1 are deemed to be promoted under this regulation.
The advocates of this law fought for more than a decade before finally achieving social legislation that affirms the rights of domestic workers. Just like in many other countries, domestic workers in the Philippines have historically suffered from lack of protection of their labor rights and frequent abuses of their human rights. In recent years, intensive research and advocacy focusing on the issues of domestic workers have strengthened the need to establish mechanisms to promote their well-being.
