The Aquino administration should use the Kasambahay bill as a benchmark for negotiating labor bilateral pacts with other countries, House leaders said Wednesday.

Reps. Walden Bello of Akbayan and Emerenciana de Jesus of Gabriela Party-list made the call in light of the announcement of Administrator Hans Cacdac of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration that the Aquino administration is hoping to seal bilateral pacts with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Lebanon in 2013 for the protection of overseas Filipino workers, especially household service workers.

Under the amended Migrant Workers Act, the Philippines can only deploy workers with countries which have a bilateral labor pact with Manila so as to prevent abuses from foreign employers, especially on household service workers which aren’t skilled workers or professionals.

The Kasambahay bill, which is waiting for President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s signature for it to become a law, provides for a fixed monthly salary worth at least P2,500 for household service workers, on top of benefits from Philheath, Social Security System and Home Development Mutual Fund as well as an annual service incentive leave of five days with pay and 13th month pay, provided that they have already rendered at least one year of service.

“As much as possible, we should push for provisions approximating those of the Kasambahay bill. There should be provisions providing for $400 dollar minimum wage as well as setting maximum hours of work and aggregate rest periods,” Bello, Chairman of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, pointed out.

“The pact should provide security of tenure and its mandatory benefits like medical and overtime pay,” De Jesus added.

De Jesus, however, warned the government against depending on overseas jobs to employ the citizenry.

“What is still sad is that employment abroad is still the solution by our government with regards to jobs for our workers,” de Jesus lamented.