Labor union hails drop in job seekers abroad

Rene Martel
Manila Times

FOR decades a job in the Middle East or on a luxury line plying the ocean waves—with dollar denominated salaries of varying levels—has been seen by countless Filipinos as the panacea to a good life for their kith and kin left back at home.

 But the social and psychological factors caused by families been split apart because of economic necessity—and the sorry fact that overseas workers are often subject to physical abuse, and sometimes even worse—could be one reason why the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has welcomed the big drop in the number of Filipino domestic service workers deployed abroad.

“We consider this a positive trend. The aggressive overseas deployment of Filipino household service workers was ill-advised from the start,” TUCP spokesperson Alex Aguilar said.

Aguilar was reacting to a government report indicating that only 6,602 Filipino domestic helpers were deployed abroad from January 1 to August 13 this year. As it happens this is just a little over one-tenth the 57,923 who left for overseas jobs seeking the proverbial pot of gold in the corresponding period last year.

For some time now the TUCP has been urging the government to work towards a policy of purposely discouraging the foreign recruitment of household helpers and other unskilled workers.

Aguilar said domestic helpers are “extremely vulnerable” to abuse because they work and live in the employer’s home, have no special skills to protect them and are easily replaceable by other laborers from Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka, among other countries.

He further pointed out that domestic helpers do not have extra skills that would protect them from employer abuse, unlike nurses, engineers, sailors and other highly skilled workers with professional credentials.

“They are totally exposed to mistreatment, even cruelty, simply because their skills are readily replaceable,” Aguilar added.

Aguilar attributed the huge drop in deployment to the government’s order in December last year to double from $200 to $400 the mandatory minimum monthly pay for Filipino domestic helpers abroad.

Whilst this was a well-meaning and positive gesture on the part of the government, it is for all intents and purposes unenforceable overseas where individual countries have their own wage scales to adhere to.

 What is has done, however, is to cause lesser demand for Filipino domestic workers—which in an ironic way kind of way meets the demands of the TUCP.

Despite the increase, a considerable number of high-paying employers abroad still prefer Filipino domestic helpers over Indonesians, Indians and Sri Lankans who are willing to work for as low as $200 monthly.

This is because Filipinos are generally better educated, are more than fluent with the English language and generally score much higher when it comes to other relative factors like social graces and affability

Meanwhile, Aguilar said Filipino domestic helpers engaged by foreign employers who are willing to pay $400 to $700 monthly, or even more, should generally enjoy improved treatment and are more likely than not to be treated as extended families.

He said households that are willing to pay a premium for Filipino workers tend to be much better employers.

In Taiwan, the statutory minimum monthly pay for foreign domestic helpers is now $700. Domestic helpers make up the bulk of the estimated 90,000 overseas Filipino workers in that country.

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