Gov’t looking to cut down on maid exports in 5 yrs

MANILA, Philippines—There may be far fewer Filipinos working as domestics around the world in five years.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) head Hans Leo Cacdac said the government was seriously considering a “five-year phaseout program” of domestic workers to more than 180 countries worldwide.

Cacdac in an interview said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz had given him “specific marching orders to look at a five-year phaseout program” on the foreign deployment of household service workers, or HSWs.

“We’ve been directed by Secretary Baldoz to look into a broader program that will help prospective OFWs decide about other job options aside from being HSWs,” Cacdac told the Inquirer.

“It’s not a zero-deployment or total phaseout of HSW deployment because there are certain types of domestic work, like in some parts of Europe, that are high-paying and protective. During the five-year period, prospective HSWs would be given other employment options based on their skills other than being domestic helpers,” he explained.

The POEA chief asserted that “prospective HSWs, many of whom are professionals like teachers and nurses, can still find better higher paying and less vulnerable jobs here and abroad.”

But he hastened to emphasize that “there is nothing shameful about being a maid or a domestic helper.”

The HSW phaseout program is “just in the conceptual framework and development stage. Two weeks ago I convened the committee (to work on the program). Hopefully before the end of the year, we’ll be able to finalize the plan. It’s better to have a plan than not have one,” he said.

Cacdac said the POEA “still needs to look at the hard data. Who are the people who opt for domestic work abroad? What’s their educational profile? What are their ages, their gender? Where do they come from, what region or which part of the country?”

Also, “if there are options available here, then we can reach out to other government agencies involved in employment facilitation,” he said.

Develop OFWs’ skills

“The first step is to identify prospective OFWs’ skills, further develop these skills and then move on to the industries through those government agencies,” he said.

In the past six years, the Philippines deployed 499,495 HSWs worldwide, POEA records showed.

The figures, however, did not include undocumented OFWs working as domestic helpers in countries like Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Italy, among others.

From 2006 to 2011, the top 10 destinations for HSWs were Hong Kong, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Bahrain, Malaysia and Oman.

Cacdac said the POEA was “making an analysis of our statistical data on the profiles of OFWs employed as domestic helpers.”

“They do not represent a majority, but their numbers are increasing; I would say one-third of the newly hired. And for the first time in 2011, we hit the 100,000 mark. Usually, they averaged 60,000 to 70,000 a year. But last year, HSWs reached more than 142,000,” he said.

Vulnerable occupation

A check with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa), a Department of Labor and Employment-attached agency like the POEA, showed that “as of July 31, 2012, a total of 1,251,021 Owwa members were employed as HSWs.” Owwa has over 5.52-million members.

According to Cacdac, “something must be done by the government to make sure that everybody knows the realities of working abroad, especially those in a vulnerable occupation like domestic work.”

“And that includes setting high standards for the hiring and deployment of HSWs, as well as the protection of their rights,” he added.

Asked about the Philippines’ image as a maid-exporting nation, Cacdac said: “That is a very sensitive issue.”

“We are more concerned about ensuring that all departing OFWs will have legitimate, decent and dignified work abroad–our mandate–plus providing them adequate protection of their rights,” he said.