RP to boost training for its maids

RP to boost training for its maids

PHILIPPINES: The Philippines will improve training for prospective Filipino maids to Hong Kong, including Cantonese language lessons, to help them compete with lower-paid counterparts from Indonesia, officials said on Tuesday.

Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas said a significant drop in the deployment of Filipino maids to Hong Kong was "saddening, but not alarming."

She said the government-run Philippine Overseas Employment Administration would enhance training for Filipinos seeking employment as domestic helpers, including Cantonese training similar to what Indonesian labor officials are providing.

The program will be in collaboration with private recruitment agencies, she added in a statement.

The labor department maintains a policy for Filipino workers "to compete on the basis of skills, not wages, including the low- end domestic work in Hong Kong," Santo Tomas said.

"It cannot lower the wages of Filipino DHs (domestic helpers) to the level being received by the Indonesians," she added. --AP