MANILA, Philippines — About two million overseas household service workers or domestic helpers are expected to benefit from the proposal of organized manpower agencies to increase their minimum monthly salary from $400 to $500.
The pay increase was proposed by the Coalition of Land-based Agencies for Domestic and Skilled Workers Inc. in a meeting over the weekend with Migrant Workers Undersecretary Bernard Olalia and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Deputy Administrator Jasmine Gapatan.
The group said that the increase is long overdue as the $400 minimum salary was made mandatory in 2006 or nearly two decades ago.
Records from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administrator showed that more than half of the more than 10 million OFWs are women, and many of them are employed as domestic helpers in Asia, Middle East, and in some parts of Europe.
The group said that the $100 raise would go a long way for the families of the domestic helpers abroad amid the rising cost of living in the Philippines.
It said that despite increasing competition from Indonesia, Vietnam, and other countries that deploy domestic workers, Filipinos are highly sought especially by employers in the Middle East for their English skills, dedication and work ethics.
It is estimated that around 172,000 Filipino women leave for abroad every year.
Republic Act 11862 or the Anti-Human Trafficking Law signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte only allows women who are 24 years old and above to work as domestic helpers.
