China is planning to hire household service workers or HSWs from the Philippines and offer higher compensation, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Philippines said on July 30.
DOLE Undersecretary Dominador Say said that Chinese officials came to the Philippines' labor department in order to discuss the possibility of deploying Filipino household service workers to five major cities in China.
"It will be limited to five major cities, among them Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen. They are looking at the possibility of a P100,000 monthly pay for the HSW to be hired," Say said in a local media outlet interview.
"They will not have approached us if they are not serious with their desire to hire Filipinos," Say also shared, adding that China was already considering bringing in 100,000 foreign domestic workers each month to the country. DOLE is reportedly waiting for the result of the said discussion so that deployment can start immediately.
According to the Labor Undersecretary, Chinese employers prefer Filipino household service workers as they are proficient in English which allows them to help teach the kids in the household. With the increase of affluent families in China and more children enrolling into bilingual schools, English-proficient domestic workers from the Philippines are becoming more popular than the local cleaners.
"Filipinos are also peaceful compared to other nationalities," Say further added.
If the negotiations will be approved, Filipino workers will likely choose to work in China instead of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The proposed monthly compensation in China is higher that the salaries offered in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
Currently, Chinese netizens are forbidden to employ foreign maids while foreign residents in Shanghai can employ them into their households.
