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| Filipino maids in HK earn only a quarter of the reported salary of their counterparts in China |
This was according to Philippine Labor Undersecretary
Dominador Say, who told newspaper reporters in the Philippines yesterday, July 31,
that Chinese embassy officials had visited the Department of Labor and
Employment to discuss the matter.
The initial deployment will reportedly be limited to five
major cities in China , including
the capital, Beijing , Shanghai
and Xiamen .
However, reports in Hong Kong indicate Shanghai has already allowed foreign
residents to hire foreign domestic workers as early as July 2015. The first FDW
to be hired was reportedly a Filipino, who was paid US$1,000 a month.
USec Say said that the Chinese delegation was “looking at
the possibility of a Php1000,000 monthly pay” for the FDWs to be hired.
He also said a delegation from China will visit the country in September
for further negotiations on the matter.
Philippine Labor Attache to Hong Kong Jalilo dela Torre told
The SUN he has not been officially informed about the Chinese delegation’s
visit.
His office has long been besieged with complaints from
Filipina domestic workers who are brought into China
by their Hong Kong employers to work there
illegally.
On July 24, a Filipina hired in Hong
Kong reportedly fell from a building in Shenzhen, two days after
her employers took her back in the city for a holiday. The helper’s kin said
the Filipina maid resented being brought there and had planned to break her
contract.
Interviewed separately by the South China Morning Post, Say reportedly said he could not remember
the name of the leader of the Chinese delegation, but that “he should be a
commercial counselor, who came for his research.”
He also told SCMP that China was looking at hiring 100,000
FDWs every month, but that would include not just Filipinos, but also workers
from other countries.
Say told reporters in Manila
that the reason the Chinese want to hire Filipinos is because of the latter’s
English proficiency. Say also said the Filipinos are seen to be “peaceful”
compared to other nationalities.
The Chinese visitors also reportedly mentioned improving
ties with President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration for the decision to hire
Filipinos instead of other nationals.
“They will not have approached us if they are not serious
with their desire to hire Filipinos,” Say reportedly said.
He said labor officials would wait for the outcome of the
September meeting with the Chinese delegation to determine when the deployment
can start.
During an earlier visit to China , Philippine Labor Secretary
Silvestre Bello IIII said an estimated 200,000 Filipino domestic workers were
working illegally on the mainland.
Those who overstay their visas face fines of between 5,000
and 20,000 yuan (US$743-2,973), and in the more serious cases, even
imprisonment of between five and 15 days. – from reports in Manila
and Hong Kong
