Rome, Italy 23/01/2014
The modern day slaves |
The international uproar on Indonesian migrant domestic
worker Erwiana Sulistyaningsih who became the latest symbol of the deplorable plight of many migrtant
workers around the world raises a question: is the fault mainly on the
government of the host country? Many tends to think so, forgetting that the
government of the countries of origin has their share of the blame.
Let us see why
The maltreatments and abuses on migrant domestic workers is as
an offshoot of Hong Kong policies that have become increasingly anti-migrant
over the years.
Two such policies are often mentioned.
The first is the so-called two-week rule, which requires
migrant workers to leave Hong Kong within 14 days after their contracts are
terminated ahead of time.
It is the two-week
rule that she sees as the biggest bane
of migrant workers.
Under this policy, a domestic worker who loses her job has
only two weeks to remain in Hong Kong. If she chooses to use the time to look
for another employer, she is still not allowed to stay. She has to leave the territory,
and wait for the employment visa to be issued within the next six to eight
weeks. That means being jobless for about 3 months, and paying hefty agency
fees all over again. This rule has effectively silenced many migrant workers,
especially those who are desperate to hold onto their jobs, no matter how bad
the conditions are.
Also a heartbreaker for migrant workers is the one that
allows employers to virtually terminate work contracts at will. Under Hong Kong
laws, either worker or employer may terminate their contract for whatever
reason, by simply giving a month’s notice to the other.
As to be expected, it is the employer who usually cuts the
contract because domestic workers are often too saddled with debts to even
think of this as an option. The employer also has the choice of giving a
month’s salary in lieu of notice, so the worker could be sent packing
immediately.
Lacking job security and fearful of being sent back home
prematurely, migrant workers often find themselves having to bite the bullet
just to keep their jobs. Sulistyaningsih's may have been an extreme case, but
there are many others willing to bend over backwards just so they are not given
the sack.
Compounding the workers’ woes is the long-standing problem
with unconscionable, even illegal, placement fees charged by recruitment
agencies, which both the host Hong Kong government and the sending countries
have abetted.
The second is the one
that compels all foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to live with their employers.
These twin policies have caused untold suffering to many
FDWs in Hong Kong. It is the two-week
rule that she sees as the biggest bane
of migrant workers.
Under this policy, a domestic worker who loses her job has
only two weeks to remain in Hong Kong. If she chooses to use the time to look
for another employer, she is still not allowed to stay. She has to leave the territory,
and wait for the employment visa to be issued within the next six to eight
weeks. That means being jobless for about 3 months, and paying hefty agency
fees all over again. This rule has effectively silenced many migrant workers,
especially those who are desperate to hold onto their jobs, no matter how bad
the conditions are.
Equally forbidding for migrant workers is the one that
allows employers to virtually terminate work contracts at will. Under Hong Kong
laws, either worker or employer may terminate their contract for whatever
reason, by simply giving a month’s notice to the other.
As to be expected, it is the employer who usually cuts the
contract because domestic workers are often too saddled with debts to even
think of this as an option. The employer also has the choice of giving a
month’s salary in lieu of notice, so the worker could be sent packing
immediately.
Lacking job security and fearful of being sent back home
prematurely, migrant workers often find themselves having to bite the bullet
just to keep their jobs. Sulistyaningsih's may have been an extreme case, but
there are many others willing to bend over backwards just so they are not given
the sack.
Compounding the workers’ woes is the long-standing problem
with unconscionable, even illegal, placement fees charged by recruitment
agencies, which both the host countries government and the sending countries
have abetted. [ rappler.com/move-ph/balikbayan/48649-migrant-workers-abuse-hong-kong-government-policies]
Recruitment agency's part of the blame
Abuses of Migrant Domestic Workers in HK and elsewhere was
originated by POLO policy implemented ten years ago by the then Labor Secretary
Marianito Roque, invoking the oft-repeated excuse that workers are better
protected if they went through an employment agency, took away this “direct
hire” option. This resulted to a situation that everyone who files a new
contract with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) are forced to course
their documents through an agency, even if the parties know each other
personally, and no outside help is needed for the transaction.
Pushed to the wall by the heavy placement fees by the
recruitment agencies and the strict terms of their work contracts, it is easy
to see why many migrant domestic workers hesitate to speak out when they find
themselves in abusive situations. The workers are neck-deep in debt so they can
pay for the absurdly high fees required by the recruitment agencies. And to
make things worse, the government has relied on the agency in the protection of
the workers’ right in the country of destination, something that is nemical to
the interests of the money-lust of the agency.
Is there a solution
to this dilemma?
The junking of these three policies may help in
ammelioriment of migrant workers situation cannot be said to be a hundred
percent solution. Only the abolition of labor export policies which is
practically goadfing the workers into ‘forced labor’ or worse, a venue for human
trafficking, a step that could only be realized by massive reforms in the
socio-economic politics in the sending countries geared to creation of basic
industries and creation of significant agrarian reforms to give the workers enough
earnings to give the families a chance for a decent, dignified human life.
address unemployment and economic recovery follows..
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