Until today, an issue that continues to challenge many stakeholders is the increasing problem of human trafficking for the purpose of abusing victims into forced labor. While there are many existing international standards and laws on human trafficking that have gained substantial attention and action that have lead to significant impact in the ground, there is still a wide gap between human trafficking and the understanding of the various modern faces of forced labor.
One of the many modern faces of forced labor in the Philippines that remain the least comprehended is the abuse of workers in the domestic work sector. Domestic workers, or household helps, are one of the most vulnerable and susceptible groups that tremendously face abuse, discrimination, …show more content…
In this line of work, there is a conintuous increasing demand for exploitable and cheap household help, at the same time, there is a lack of legal laws and protections for domestic workers, and an absence of agencies to monitor such. Similar to the Philippines, exploitation of domestic workers in the USA is easy because a number of laws prevent these domestic workers from having a voice. For example, domestic workers, or household helps in the US, are not considered regular employees under the National Relations Labor Act (NRLA), this in turn restricts their ability to organize or form a union in order to request or demand higher wages, benefits, and better treatment. Secondly, immigration policies in the US also play an important role in indirectly supporting forced labor through one of their law which states that domestic workers, or household helps, brought to the country by their employers should remain with their employer during the course of their stay in the US, or else they may face deportation. This immigration law discourages domestic workers from reporting abuse and exploitation, and in turn, places a lot of power in their
One of the many modern faces of forced labor in the Philippines that remain the least comprehended is the abuse of workers in the domestic work sector. Domestic workers, or household helps, are one of the most vulnerable and susceptible groups that tremendously face abuse, discrimination, …show more content…
In this line of work, there is a conintuous increasing demand for exploitable and cheap household help, at the same time, there is a lack of legal laws and protections for domestic workers, and an absence of agencies to monitor such. Similar to the Philippines, exploitation of domestic workers in the USA is easy because a number of laws prevent these domestic workers from having a voice. For example, domestic workers, or household helps in the US, are not considered regular employees under the National Relations Labor Act (NRLA), this in turn restricts their ability to organize or form a union in order to request or demand higher wages, benefits, and better treatment. Secondly, immigration policies in the US also play an important role in indirectly supporting forced labor through one of their law which states that domestic workers, or household helps, brought to the country by their employers should remain with their employer during the course of their stay in the US, or else they may face deportation. This immigration law discourages domestic workers from reporting abuse and exploitation, and in turn, places a lot of power in their