Digital platform posts record growth in hired Filipino domestic helpers

By Roderick Abad, Business Mirror, 12 Oct 2019

THE Philippines remains one of the top preferred destinations for household helpers as the demand for them underwent an unprecedented increase in Saudi Arabia, reported a leading ethical platform for servant recruitment.

HelperChoice.com received more than 10,000 new job adverts in less than three days alone, following the recent launch of a new service by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Labor and Social Development.

Called “Maaroufah,” it aims to facilitate the employment of maids from the Philippines at a fast and affordable rate.

Under this new system, the hiring process now takes up to 45 days and allows the beneficiary to obtain a visa for a Filipino domestic worker. Also, it reduces the placement charges by 50 percent.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that 24.4 percent of the total 2.3 million overseas Filipino workers globally are based in Saudi Arabia.

Apart from the new service by the ministry, the platform currently implements an ethical charter to be signed by all new employers looking for a housemaid on the platform.

This is to ensure protection and good working conditions for all foreign household helpers willing to work in the largest oil-exporting country.

For instance, it requests all prospective employers to provide Internet access to their maids to guarantee continuous contact with the HelperChoice.com team if in need of assistance.

The web site will also enforce in 2020 direct salary payment via its platform so as to guarantee a monthly wage meeting the legal requirement of $400.

In 2015, the ministry decided to facilitate the hiring of domestic workers from other countries by digitizing the process through their own local labor recruitment portal, called Musaned.

With this web site, employers are able to employ a domestic worker without the need to visit a recruitment agency. They can obtain a domestic worker e-visa in three days as long as they meet the financial, social and legal criteria.

At present, the web site processes around 90 percent of applications for domestic worker visas in the country.

Established in 2012 by two French in Hong Kong, HelperChoice has become the leading platform connecting foreign domestic workers and families in Asia and the Middle East.

This social enterprise was acquired by European-based group Yoopies in 2019, making it the global leader outside of the United States in domestic jobs recruitment.