Migrante to govt: Protect au pairs in Europe

Following the lifting of the ban on the deployment of Filipino au pairs to selected countries in Europe, a Filipino migrant group asked the government to ensure protection for such workers, citing previous cases of abuse and dismal working conditions prior to the ban. In a statement, Migrante-Europe called on the Aquino administration to ensure that the rights and welfare of Filipino au pairs are protected and cases of abuse are prevented and addressed, unlike what happened during previous administrations. “The ban was the Philippine government's way of washing its hands off the abuses suffered by Filipino au pairs. The Aquino government should now start initiating a monitoring system and concrete programs to protect au pairs. "It should regulate au pair agencies in the Philippines extorting unjust fees, propose a magna carta for Filipino au pairs, and seek bilateral talks with countries receiving Filipino au pairs," said Grace Punongbayan, Migrante-Europe coordinator. Punongbayan said prior to the ban, Migrante called on the Philippine government through its embassies in Europe to look into cases of abuses and oppressive working conditions reported by Filipina au pairs. Some of these abuses, according to Punongbayan, include working as long as 16 hours a day; physical and verbal abuse; house detention; confiscation of passports and other documents; forced deportation before the contract ends: and, in some cases, rape, specifically in the Netherlands and Belgium. The government, however, responded by merely banning deployment of au pairs to Europe, instead of helping victims seek redress from the abuses they suffered, Punongbayan said. 13-year ban The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration on Thursday announced that the deployment ban for au pairs for Switzerland, Norway, and Denmark has been lifted after 13 years and after those countries guaranteed to protect au pairs and agreed to observe the deployment requirements set by the Philippine government. In 1997, the Department of Foreign Affairs banned the deployment of Filipino au pairs to Europe, following a surge in cases of unfair compensation, excessive working hours, discrimination, sexual assault, and other forms of maltreatment. An au pair is a domestic assistant working for a host family for a fixed number of hours, and in a manner where he or she is supposed to be treated as part of the family. The title comes from the French word “on par" or “equal to" that denotes “living on an equal basis in a reciprocal, caring relationship with the host family and the children," the POEA said. An au pair should thus not be treated as a servant and should only take on light tasks, such as bringing the children to and from school, cooking, cleaning, and babysitting. Stories of abuse According to an article posted by the Filipina Au Pair Network, some 1,200 Filipinos went to Denmark as au pairs in 2007. Most European states, including Denmark, did not honor the deployment ban and issued visas to Filipino au pairs. It likewise reported that some Filipina au pairs in Denmark experienced earning as little as 6.50 kroners per hour (about P52), as opposed to the standard hourly rate of 100 kroners (about P800); working up to 100 hours a week instead of the prescribed 30 hours maximum; and clean the houses of host families’ friends and relatives. While the lifting of the ban will not eliminate cases of abuse, Migrante said it will allow Filipino au pairs to go overseas legally and give them access to Philippine posts for assistance when in distress. “With the lifting of the ban on the deployment of Filipino au pairs to Europe, prospective au pairs can now freely exercise their right to go abroad as au pairs, freed from illegal recruiters, fixers and immigration extortionists, and can demand assistance from Philippine embassies in times of need," the group said. — VS, GMANews.TV