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Phase-out plan upsets Filipino domestic workers

Filipino domestic helpers, comprising five per cent of the Philippines’ total workforce in the UAE, have expressed concern over the government’s plan to end the foreign deployment of household service workers (HSWs) in the next five years.

The HSWs include maids, family drivers, nannies, private tutors and gardeners.

The ‘marching orders’ given by Philippine labour secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Hans Leo Cacdac, was aimed at protecting Filipino citizens in ‘vulnerable occupation’ and providing prospective HSWs alternative job options, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“If there are available options here, we can reach out to other government agencies involved in employment facilitation,” Cacdac said.

However, domestic workers in countries such as Europe that are “high-paying and protective” will not be affected.

Domestic workers in the UAE expressed reservation about the phase-out plan.

Michelle Langas, 31, who has been working in the country for more than four years, said the deployment ban should be selective and not include all Filipino maids abroad.

Langas, who works for a Scottish family and has her own bedroom with TV, refrigerator and radio, and receiving a Dh1,700 wage for a 12-hour job, has no reason to complain. And going home is far from her mind because she always had good and caring employers.

“My first employer, an Emirati family in Fujairah, has never given me trouble. Every Sunday, my madam used to drive me to church. She is so kind, even her husband and children.”

Nerissa Salem, 29, who is employed by her compatriot in Abu Dhabi, deemed the plan to be ‘unfair’.

“Not all employers are bad. I have no problem with my employers, they give me a day off every Friday. My cousin in Qatar who is employed by an Indian family, she also gets a day to rest,” she said.

Other Filipino housemaids who work with families here, also have no complaint and are not considering going home to work or start their own business.

Reintegration of OFWs

In his labour and employment agenda, Philippine President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino Jr has called on the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) to facilitate the re-integration of returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) through favourable terms of investments, tax incentives, access to government financial institutions and other benefits offered to foreign investors.

“I cannot imagine running a business. I am not leaving my employer here,” expressed Christy Dumlao, 26, who work s with a British family. With Dh1,700 monthly income, she manages to save and sent money home and has also invested in carabao breeding.

Lolita Academia, 53, who has been in Dubai for the past 15 years, also intends to continue working here. She has been working with an Iranian family for the past 11 years and receives Dh1,200 per month.

“But they are a generous family. Their relatives give me gifts when they come and money when they leave,” she related.

Small number

According to Attorney Nasser Munder, Philippine labour attaché in Abu Dhabi, only a small number of housemaids in the UAE have problems and they often involve expat employers.

“Not even one per cent of the total domestic helpers in the UAE have problems, and these are not usually only the fault of employers, workers are also at fault,” he told Khaleej Times.

He cited that while non-payment of salary, mistreatment and maltreatment including physical abuse are often the issue with employers, housemaids on the other hand are sometimes lazy and create a problem by running away when they have a misunderstanding with their employer or co-worker.

The phase-out programme, which was expected to be finalised by the end of the year, has received support from other Filipino workers.

“I have seen some problems in working as a domestic help, and I believe the government is right in finding a way to take care of us and make us our own boss,” said Enelisa Penalba, 42, of her president’s re-integration programme.

“If the government is serious in helping returning overseas workers, I am one of those who want to stay at home and have a business of my own,” added Regina Garces.

Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, Grace Relucio-Princesa, confirmed that the embassy has yet to receive an official communication of the deployment ban. However, she expressed support for the plan, which she said is in the best interest of the HSWs.

“Indeed, there are places where our Filipino domestic helpers are not treated properly, paid and protected. Going back to the Philippines to see macro-finance opportunities through our national re-integration programme and Pinoy Wise Movement would be a better choice (for them),” she said.

Princesa espouses financial literacy of OFWs and their families that would eventually lead to making overseas migration a choice instead of just the only option.

The phase-out plan, which is currently in the “conceptual framework and development stage” will look at reasons for domestic work abroad, educational background, age, gender and region of origin.

At a glance

• According to POEA records, a total of 499,495 newly-hired HSWs migrated abroad in the past six years
• In the first half of this year, 72,355 HSWs were employed worldwide
• These figures do not include undocumented OFWs now working as household workers in countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Italy
• The UAE is among the top 10 destinations of the newly-hired HSWs
• There are 128,101 documented HSWs in the UAE; fourth among the top 30 countries, after Kuwait (second) and Saudi Arabia (third)
• From 2006 to 2011, the UAE ranked sixth in hiring HSWs posting an average annual increase of 42.2 per cent, after Bahrain (fourth) and Qatar (fifth).

lily@khaleejtimes.com

olivia@khaleejtimes.com