In a major step to strengthen protection and ensure fair treatment for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially the most vulnerable household workers, the Philippines and Qatar have signed a landmark labor agreement that created the first unified contract for Filipino household service workers.

In a news release Friday, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said the unified contract, the first of its kind, consolidates employment terms into a single agreement jointly recognized by both the Philippine and Qatari governments, addressing long-standing issues of inconsistent and substituted contracts.

“Isang contract na lang ang tatanawin ng Qatari at Philippine sides. Ito ang pagpapatalaga ng Terms and Conditions of Employment, makataong pagtrato sa ating OFW kasambahay (The Qatari and Philippine sides will only honor one contract. This is the appointment of the Terms and Conditions of Employment, humane treatment of our OFW domestic workers),” Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said in an interview Thursday evening in Pasay City.

“May annual leave, may weekly rest day, may rest period kada araw, may akma at sapat na sweldo, at merong access to justice o complaints mechanism kapag may nangyari, sakaling sa kasamaang palad nagkaproblema yung ating OFW na kasambahay (There is annual leave, there is a weekly rest day, there is a rest period everyday, there is a suitable and sufficient salary, and there is access to justice or complaints mechanism if something happens, in case our OFW domestic workers unfortunately encounter a problem),” he added.

Cacdac said the development followed his meeting with Qatar’s Labor Minister Ali bin Saeed bin Samikh Al Marri during a ministerial meeting in Doha on Wednesday.

He said Manila had an agreement with Doha nearly 20 years ago, which was followed by another agreement approximately 10 years ago.

“Pero ngayon talaga nagkaroon ng unified contract, ibig sabihin iwas na sa substitution ng contract (But it is only now that we signed a unified contract, which would avoid contract substitution),” he added.

Cacdac said Qatar hosts over 250,000 Filipino workers, many of whom are employed as domestic helpers.

He noted that the agreement fulfills President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to deepen bilateral labor cooperation with host countries that employ large numbers of OFWs.

Cacdac said the agreement would close the gap that leaves Filipino household workers vulnerable to unfair treatment, most especially by their employers abroad.

The DMW said that by ensuring that both the Philippines and Qatar recognize the same employment provisions, the contract guarantees that workers’ rights remain protected from the time of deployment to the duration of their employment. (PNA)