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10/04/2010
The Chinese government has reiterated that there is no current demand for Filipino household service workers in China, saying opening this market to foreigners would endanger employment opportunities for locals.
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao cited the skills and competence of Filipino domestic helpers, but said there is no immediate plan for Beijing to allow their entry into mainland China.
“I haven’t heard of any confirmation that such an option
is feasible at this stage,” Liu said in a weekend press briefing. “(Filipino domestic helpers) are very diligent workers. They are professionals but… China is under tremendous pressure to provide jobs for the Chinese.”
The Philippines is a major exporter of household workers around the world, including in Hong Kong, China’s special administrative region. There are close to 150,000 Filipino domestic helpers employed in Hong Kong.
The Philippine Embassy in Beijing has consistently reminded Filipinos planning to work abroad that it is illegal for a foreign national to work as domestic helper in China and Mongolia.
Philippine Ambassador Francisco Benedicto said China and Mongolia’s border control and immigration authorities are stepping up their campaign to apprehend illegal workers and immigrants.
“Filipinos who are promised jobs as domestic helpers in China and Mongolia are always in danger of being arrested because foreign nationals are not allowed to work as domestic helpers in China and Mongolia,” Benedicto said.
He added the embassy has been informed by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Security Bureau that domestic service employment in China is closed to foreigners.
Benedicto said the embassy has received reports that illegal recruiters continue to victimize job seekers from other countries, which has resulted in the increasing number of foreigners coming and staying in China and Mongolia with inappropriate visa or working permit.
“Because they don’t have proper visa or work permit, foreign job seekers, including Filipinos, who have been victimized by unscrupulous recruiters tend to overstay, hoping to find jobs in China and Mongolia,” Benedicto said.
In China, foreigners who overstay or who do not possess proper visas will be fined up to 5,000 yuan or P33,000 and face detention and deportation. In Mongolia, foreigners who overstay are fined up to $30 per day.
“The embassy suggests that prospective overseas Filipino workers take steps to avoid exploitation such as demanding recruiters to issue official receipts, timely turnover of passports with appropriate work visas, draft employment contracts and contact details of employers,” Benedicto said.
Michaela P. del Callar