By The SUN
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| AMCB leaders say they are hopeful of an increase after their pay was frozen for the past 2 years |
About 30 leaders of foreign domestic workers’ organizations staged a protest outside the Central Government Offices in Tamar today, Sunday, to press a call for a minimum wage of $6,014 and food allowance of no less than $3,023 for themselves.
The groups - made up of Filipinos, Indonesians, Thais and
Nepalis - said this was the amount that a non-government organization had come
up with in determining the “living wage” for all FDWs in
The current minimum wage of a FDW in
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, a spokesperson for the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body which organized today’s picket, said they plan to hold other protest actions and information dissemination on Sept 25, which is the last Sunday before the government makes its decision known.
In her speech, Balladares- Pelaez said, “We believe that our demand is righteous, and we know we deserve this.”
She pointed out that FDWs work an average of 16 hours a day,
and should be paid a salary that reflects their valuable contribution to
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The AMCB leader also said the amount that they are asking for is “not that big”, especially since their salary has been frozen for the past two years because of the pandemic, while inflation has shot up to 4.5% recently.
“We are hopeful that this time, the
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| The Nepali contingent had other demands |
Recent reports said that because of the drop in the number
of FDWs coming into
But the FDW population continues to drop, partly because of the “job hopping” tag given by the Immigration Department to some of those whose contracts are terminated prematurely.
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| PRESS FOR DETAILS! |
According to Immigration and some legislators who advocate sending home all FDWs whose contracts are terminated, these job-hoppers are taking advantage of the slight easing of rules due to the pandemic by choosing who to work for so they get paid more for working less.
But migrants reject this allegation, saying most FDWs in fact put up with abuse and other difficulties they are made to go through during their employment because they fear losing their jobs.
Many had to borrow heavily to come to
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| BASAHIN ANG DETALYE |
Separate delegations from the Filipino, Indonesian, Thai and Nepali
migrant communities also spoke at the rally, with each group being represented
by four leaders, the maximum number allowed under
Each group presented a signed petition explaining their demands, which were all accepted by a representative of the Labour Department.
The protest action came just days before the government is set to decide on the new minimum allowable wage for FDWs. The new wage is usually determined at the end of September each year, for implementation starting in October.
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PADALA NA!
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