Why not tap China as “more promising” labor market for Filipino household service workers.
ACTS-OFW Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III asked yesterday the Philippine government to take advantage of the “explosion of demand” for Filipino household staff, especially nannies, in China’s first-tier cities.
“Demand is being driven by China’s rapid economic growth, which has lured some 600,000 expatriates to live and work there, as well as the growing number of upper middle class Chinese families who want their children to grow around English-speaking nannies,” Bertiz said in a statement.
He noted that expatriates – mostly from South Korea, the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany and France – bring in their own household staff, including nannies in several first-tier cities in China.
“Guangdong province has the highest concentration of Filipino nannies, partly because it also has the greatest number of resident foreigners working for international corporations,” he said.
Bertiz said based on unofficial estimates, there are some 200,000 Filipinos providing domestic work, including child care services, in the world’s second-largest economy.
“In the case of nannies, many of them are between 30 to 35 years old. They also serve as private tutors to their wards,” he said.
“Working and living conditions in China overall are better compared to the Middle East,” Bertiz pointed out.
“The problem with the Middle East is that they still have the kafala system, which China does not have,” he added.
Kafala system is a sponsorship system in which a worker can be moved from one employer to another.
International human rights groups criticized the Kafala system for creating the conditions for the exploitation of migrant workers, Bertiz said. (Charissa L. Atienza)
