South Korea has launched a program based on which 100 Filipino domestic workers were assigned to different homes in the capital as a family support policy. Two of them were found a few weeks later in Busan, where they reported “excessive work and surveillance.” In Seoul, there is discussion about minimum wage levels and how to extend the program to the entire country.
Seoul (/Agencies) – Two Filipino women who had been hired as domestic workers within the framework of an international program and had fled the South Korean homes in Seoul where they worked, were found a few days ago in Busan. The two women had disappeared from the Gangnam-gu neighborhood on September 15.
Last week, a representative of the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers, Bernard Olalia, explained that the two women were distressed by “overwork and surveillance,” adding that they had been found on October 4. “There they were arrested along with their new employer and taken to the immigration authorities in Busan,” Olalia explained.
Both women were in a shelter in the Yeonje-gu neighborhood, South Korean media also specified. The Philippine authorities continue to affirm that in the event of deportation (as the South Korean Ministry of Justice intends to do) the two workers will receive the necessary legal and financial assistance from the government.
The Seoul metropolitan administration launched this pilot project in early August, modeled on policies already implemented in Singapore and Hong Kong. It was initially designed to last six months, then extended to all of South Korea next year, raising the number of Filipino workers to 500 in 2025 and 1,000 by 2028, with the aim of offering low-cost help to families and reducing the demographic crisis of the country, which is considered a true national emergency.
According to the Manila government, 100 Filipino women between 25 and 38 years old were assigned to 169 family units (priority was given to families with several children with double income or single-parent situations) specially selected by the metropolitan authorities.
The program has shown lights and shadows so far. More than 20 families dropped out, citing scheduling difficulties. Filipino workers, in meetings specially organized by the city of Seoul, also pointed out a series of problems, including the imposition of the curfew, which forces employees to return to their accommodation before 10 p.m., the distance of families’ homes, which means taking long train trips, especially for those who work in more than one home, which prevents them from returning to their accommodation to rest.
Others asked to be paid in two monthly installments, rather than one, and in several cases government payments have been delayed. For their part, many South Korean families consider that the workers’ salaries, of 2.38 million won (about $1,800), including social security, are too high for an eight-hour work day. According to some estimates, two South Koreans in their 30s should allocate 47% of their income to a Filipino employee.
However, these are salaries in line with the national minimums, which correspond to just over $7 per hour. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and some ruling party politicians had openly called for lower wages, clashing with the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, unions and feminist groups. “Salary levels should be determined based on skills and contributions, in accordance with market principles,” had stated Oh.
Add Comment