On March 4, over 100 domestic workers and supporters gathered at the Bonifacio Hall of the Philippine Forum’s office in Elmhurst, New York to launch the Kabalikat Domestic Workers Support Network, a project of the Philippine Forum aimed at protecting the well-being of domestic workers in the New York-New Jersey area.

Kabalikat is a Filipino word that means “shoulder-to-shoulder.” The launching was timed in celebration of the International Women’s Day which is observed annually on March 8.

The Philippine Forum is a not-for-profit community organization geared toward raising Filipino-American awareness of their roots, rights and responsibilities. The Kabalikat Network will spearhead monthly activities to discuss domestic workers concerns on legal rights, health and well-being, spiritual needs, social life, family and finances.

“Domestic workers will have access to periodic immigration clinics, health services such as check-ups and mammograms, and computer lessons,” said Kabalikat co-coordinator Lorena Sanchez. “We also have fellowship activities such as line-dancing and sports and recreation for them and their children.”

“We need to develop a support system for them because they are one of the exploited, if not the most exploited, sections of our community here,” said Julia Camagong, co-executive director of the Philippine Forum.

The launching began with a poetry reading by Kabalikat co-coordinator Shirley Cuyugan-O’Brien, a former college history professor in the Philippines and currently working as a domestic worker in the United States.

Kabalikat New York attorney Cristina A. Godinez led a forum-discussion on migrant domestic worker rights.

“Unlike their counterparts in industrial and commercial establishments, domestic workers are isolated and scattered because they work in private homes,” Godinez said. “Most of them are undocumented and completely dependent on their employer for day-to-day subsistence.

“There is little or no economic value attached to domestic work. This notion is reflected in labor laws and regulations. These workers have been left out of certain worker protections. So-called casual employees like babysitters or companion to elderly, for instance, are not covered by minimum wage and overtime labor regulations, even if this type of work enables their employers to engage in other economically productive activities,” Godinez continued.

For more information, call (718) 565-8862 or e-mail philforum96@yahoo.com.