The Philipines’ Senate has approved a bill establishing a "freedom charter" meant to improve the job conditions and uplift the quality of life of the country's more than 624,000 househelpers.

Under the proposed “Magna Carta for Household Helpers” authored by Sen. Loren Legarda, all domestic staff would be guaranteed the right to just and humane working as well as living conditions, among other freedoms.

The bill mandates that a notarized job contract would have to be executed by and between the employer and househelper before the start of any service. This would cover the specific job terms and conditions, including a provision for annual pay increases, indicating the amount mutually agreed and fixed by the parties. Under the bill, all househelpers would be entitled to statutory pay rates, a 13th month pay equal to one month's salary and mandatory coverage by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth), on top of existing protection by the Social Security System (SSS).

Househelpers would not have to work more than ten hours a day, and would be paid extra for any work they performed in excess of that. They would be entitled to at least eight hours of continuous rest every day, in addition to one-hour respites each for breakfast, lunch and dinner.