Alternative employment offered for Pinay maids abroad

MANILA, Philippines - Filipina domestic helpers abroad were urged yesterday to consider other employment opportunities.

The government is offering alternative employment for women seeking to work as household service workers (HSWs) abroad.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said a wide range of better and higher paying employment opportunities abroad is available for millions of Filipino HSWs.

“Filipino HSWs are now well equipped with skills that our country can be proud of,” she said.

“What we intend to do is to move them from the typical household jobs and we wish to see them flaunt their skills by working in establishments in positions that require similar and needed skills.”

Baldoz said HSWs could consider working as massage therapists in spas, salons, offices of physicians and chiropractors, fitness and recreational sports centers and hotels.

The average income is about $6,351 per month or higher, she added.

Baldoz said it’s time for millions of Filipino HSWs working abroad to slowly reinvent themselves as home-based workers and become establishment-based service workers.

“Knowledge and skills are acquired mainly through years of experience; but I encourage them to at least obtain additional training, so they could vie for more opportunities and enjoy career growth,” she said.

Baldoz said HSWs could also work as caregivers or seek employment in resorts, restaurants and other tourism-related establishments as room attendants, waitresses, cooks and kitchen helpers.

Salaries for food and beverage workers range from $3.51 to $7.65 in the US and between A$10.10 to A$15.02 in Australia, she added.

Baldoz said the basic pay excludes allowances, bonuses, overtime pay and other benefits or incentives such as customer service tips.

She has directed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to lay the groundwork for a paradigm shift to improve the employment and lives of Filipino HSWs, she added.

Baldoz said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has implemented numerous reforms in the past four years to help HSWs.

“We have continuously adopted reform policies that will upgrade the skills of our HSWs,” she said.