Two out of 10 workers in the Philippines experience violence and harassment in the workplace. Makabayan bloc’s bill aims to provide protection, which extends to workers in the informal sector.
HOUSE Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago, alongside women labor leaders and the rest of the Makabayan bloc, filed a bill this week that would create a sweeping legal framework to eliminate violence and harassment across all types of workplaces in the Philippines.
The measure, called the “Safe World of Work Act,” is designed to put into law the protections set out under International Labour Organization Convention No. 190, the only binding international treaty of its kind focused entirely on ending workplace abuse.
In February 2024, the Philippines deposited its ratification of the convention with the ILO, becoming the 38th country in the world — and the first in Asia — to do so. Despite that milestone, advocates say domestic legislation to enforce the convention’s protections has been slow to follow.
The bill’s urgency is backed by troubling data. A study by Lloyd’s Register Foundation and pollster Gallup found that 22% of women and 18% of men in the Philippines have experienced violence or harassment at work. Nearly half of women victims and 60% of men chose not to report the incidents, citing fear of repercussions and a belief that nothing would come of it.
Around 6.6 million Filipino women are working in the informal sector, where legal protections are especially limited, and where the proposed law would extend its reach. The bill covers not just formal employees but also gig workers, migrants, domestic workers, and job applicants.
It also takes an expansive view of what counts as a “workplace.” Under the proposed law, protections would reach beyond office walls, covering digital messages sent for work purposes, travel to and from the job, and any other situation tied to employment. Violence and harassment are defined broadly to include physical, psychological, sexual, and economic harm, including gender-based abuse.
Among its key provisions, the bill would require employers to put in place mandatory anti-harassment policies, establish accessible and gender-responsive complaint procedures, and protect complainants and witnesses from retaliation. Victims would also have access to legal, medical, and psychosocial support services. The measure includes special provisions for migrant workers and those in precarious or informal work arrangements.
The bill further acknowledges the link between domestic violence and the workplace, proposing paid leave and flexible work options for survivors — a recognition that the ILO’s own country office in Manila has called critical to the full implementation of Convention 190.
“Workers — especially women — should not have to endure violence or abuse at their jobs,” Elago said in a statement accompanying the bill. “This measure clearly upholds the right of every person to a safe and just world of work.”
The Philippine National Police recorded 12,046 cases of violence against women from January to November 2024, a figure widely seen as an undercount due to serious underreporting. Gabriela Women’s Party has long argued that existing laws, including the Safe Spaces Act and the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law, fall short because they lack accessible grievance mechanisms and do not protect workers in informal or contractual arrangements.
Elago said that a culture of silence and a lack of accountability has defined harassment cases at work for too long, and that the bill aims to change that by ensuring clear complaint mechanisms and adequate protections for victims.
The measure is the Makabayan bloc’s latest legislative push on workers’ rights. The group also recently filed a Magna Carta of Waste Workers earlier this year. Both bills remain pending in the House of Representatives. (Rights Report Philippines)
