harrassing helpers

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  1. #11

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    Well I'm not sure - there have been a couple of quite high profile cases where employers have been locked up for physical abuse of their maids, so I don't see why there couldn't be some for financial abuse.

    By the way, would whoever knows how to set tags against a thread correct the spelling of Philippines in the tags attached to this one?


  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Not sure I follow your logic there... I have a degree in computer science - how does that prove my competence to iron shirts?Absolutely. One of the better features of living in Hong Kong.
    Well, I just think it's taking the p*ss to ask them to pass a certificate to prove they can iron a shirt, wash-the dishes, scrub the floor. These girls do a great job wherever they go. Personally, I would not employer a domestic helper just because she held a certificate.

    I cannot believe the government of the Banana Republic of the Phils truly believes it's overseas heroines can earn a better wage (and thus remit more Dollars) just because they hold a certificate in household competence? Nine times out of ten the employer will take the cheapest option and that is exactly what will happen.

    With regard to taking bad employers to court, I think that too many helpers are afraid of a) potential costs in so doing and b) losing their jobs. This money is their lifeline often with many people back home depending on it. Girls I have spoken to all say that it is too easy for an employer to conterclaim any legal action by saying that the helper was not up to the required standard and that thsi alone deters many from taking matters further.

    At the moment many girls just break their contracts and go back home if they are unhappy. However, now of course they face even more hurdles if they want to come back.

  3. #13

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    Shilo : someone needs to raise money for elections.

    Anything that is designed to piss off their largest source of income is in my opinion a corrupted move to fill someone's swiss bank accounts.


  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by shilo507:
    Nine times out of ten the employer will take the cheapest option and that is exactly what will happen.
    Empirically this is true, but it seems very strange to me. This is the country with the highest density of Rolls Royces in the world. People will pay a huge premium for a top of the range car, TV, etc. Why not for a maid? Personally, although as usual the Philippines seems to be making a terrible job of the implementation, the idea is fundamentally worth a try - The Philippines is trying to move the market position of its helpers up market. They don't want to take on the Indonesians on price, and they know they're not up to competing with English Nannies at the very top end of the market, so they're trying to create a middle market with certified competence and mid-range prices. It makes sense to me, and personally, if I was coming to Hong Kong and had the choice of a maid about whom I knew nothing for, say, $3000 per month, and one about whom I knew nothing except that she had a recognised & reliable certificate of competence for, say, $3500 per month then I would take the latter. One incompetent ironing session could ruin clothes worth far more than I would save by taking the "cheaper" option.

  5. #15

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    Thats the thing though its all about image and status.

    Rolls Royce's, Prada, Gucci, LV, Rolex, etc etc speaks volumes in this city, Its ostentatious and it shows to people that you have money and status.

    whereas if you have a maid thats not seen as a status thing as hey you could be paying her $10k a month and nobody would even know as theres nothing to show for paying more.


  6. #16

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    Points taken but I would say it is more about raising revenue in the Philippines than protecting domestic helpers. Also, there is a risk that Pinay maids will find themselves priced out of the market by domestic helpers of other nationalities. It may also encourage under-payment e.g. a girl could agree to work for less than the minimum wage just to get the job.

    You have to remember that the Philippines has lost huge amounts of nurses and doctors over the last 5 years to Europe, North America, Middle East, Australia. What tends to happen is that many of the women who go these countries remit money for a while but then stop once they get married to Westerners and have their own children in the West. Eventually many will renounce their Philippine nationality, get a British passport etc through marriage and stop paying Philippine tax. Lowly paid maids in Asia/the Middle East who already have husbands and children back home depending on them have no such option and are an easy target.


  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    Whereas if you have a maid thats not seen as a status thing as hey you could be paying her $10k a month and nobody would even know as theres nothing to show for paying more.
    Jimbo has a point there. Although HK people do have the money to afford better trained and therefore more expensive maids but they are not willing to do so. You can brag about your Alfred from Dulwich but you cannot brag about your Benita from Mindanao.

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by shilo507:
    a girl could agree to work for less than the minimum wage just to get the job.
    That agreement has no standing in law. The minimum wage means just that - you cannot legally agree to a lower wage. One of the points of catching and prosecuting a few of these employers would be that they would be forced to back pay all the missing money.
    Quote Originally Posted by shilo507:
    stop paying Philippine tax.
    In fact OFWs are exempted from Philippines income tax (as are citizens of any country (except the USA) when working overseas). Hence, as you say, the attempt by the Philippines government to impose other taxes on them (the exit tax, this new training/certification tax and so on).
    Last edited by PDLM; 01-02-2007 at 01:24 PM.

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by KnowItAll:
    someone needs to raise money for elections.
    True, the national elections are coming up, and incumbents are looking for ways to increase their coffers ... fast.

    Incidentally, does anyone from here know what is being done by the DH-groups here in HK to fight against this law? I only get to hear of the protests when they get shown on the news. I'll be doing an internet search on it, but first-hand information will be highly appreciated.

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Hence, as you say, the attempt by the Philippines government to impose other taxes on them (the exit tax, this new training/certification tax and so on).
    By the way, just to correct that bit about the "exit tax", OFWs are exempted from paying the travel tax (PhP1700) and the terminal fee (PhP550) everytime they leave the country, for as long as they acquire a clearance certificate (worth PhP100) before leaving. The clearance certificate can be had, though, after paying fees amounting to PhP2200 (which is good for 2 years).

    Ok, I'm digressing from the topic. Back to the original programming..