DOLE vows protection for Pinoy au pairs

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has promised protection for Filipino au pairs following the lifting of the ban for such workers in some European countries. In a statement Sunday, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz stressed that the government is exerting “utmost efforts" to ensure the protection of all overseas Filipino workers particularly au pairs who had previously been banned due to a surge in cases of abuses. The government earlier lifted the 13-year ban on the deployment of Filipino au pairs in Switzerland, Norway and Denmark after these countries guaranteed protection for them and agreed to observe the deployment requirements set by the Philippines. In 1997, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) 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. Baldoz said that in the case of Switzerland, its government had committed to observe the stringent requirements of the Philippine government on their deployment, including the provision on repatriation and health insurance; supervision of their recruitment and deployment by the department and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA); and the issuance of au pairs’ work visas. She said Norway likewise committed to a provision on the repatriation of au pairs in case of death, illness, or injury, which is part of the country’s new official contract for au pairs since June 2010; cooperation in the preparation and conduct of a comprehensive pre-departure orientation seminar for Filipino au pairs bound for Norway; and DOLE and POEA supervision of recruitment and deployment. Denmark, on the other hand, had committed a provision on compulsory insurance for repatriation of au pairs by the host family, in case of death, serious injury or illness, as a condition for the grant of residence permit in that host country. ‘Au pair should be part of family’ 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 a French word which means “on par" or “equal to," to denote “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. A Filipino migrant group earlier called on the government to ensure protection for such workers, citing previous cases of abuse and dismal working conditions prior to the ban. Migrante-Europe said some of these abuses 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. Reform measures by DOLE Baldoz, however, said the department is now implementing several reform measures to guarantee OFW protection. She said these include instructions for the POEA, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO), and International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) to intensify their coordination efforts to protect and reach out to OFWs, particularly those in distress. She also cited Republic Act (RA) 10022, the amendatory law to RA 8042 or the Migrant Workers Act of 1995, which emphasizes bilateral and multi-lateral relations with receiving countries for better OFW protection. “This law requires the DFA to assess all labor markets in terms of protection to migrant workers in their national laws, bilateral agreements, ratified international conventions, and ‘positive concrete measures’ to protect the rights of OFWs," Baldoz said. She added that OWWA has set aside P100 million for a legal assistance fund, from which legal service fees for OFWs on site can be drawn. She also said department now requires insurance for OFWs, in addition to the life insurance benefits provided by the OWWA for its members. “There are many other reform measures that we are now implementing for the protection of OFWs, including our 24/7 case monitoring system that enables us to provide timely intervention or assistance to OFWs in all countries, as well as our non-stop repatriation assistance," said Baldoz. - KBK, GMANews.TV