Domestic workers

The government is “licensing modern slavery” with its visa rules for domestic workers, campaigners say. Since April 2012 they have been tied to one employer upon entering the UK – meaning they cannot move jobs.

SINGAPORE – They gathered in pretty much the same fashion that those flash mobs would when readying to break into a sing-and-dance number in a public place.

LONDON – The harrowing stories of abused Filipino domestic workers came to light at a recent conference in London, where Filipino activists led a discussion on vulnerable women in Britain and the controversial debate on UK immigration policies.

Every few years, the city of Hong Kong is rocked by news that another foreign domestic worker has been badly abused by her employer. Last month, 23-year-old Erwiana Sulistyaningsih told authorities that she had been beaten daily, hit with mops, rulers, and clothes hangers until she could no longer walk.

Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers staged a protest in Taipei Sunday, seeking mandatory days off and salaries equal to those of their Taiwanese counterparts.

HONG KONG — Working long hours away from home for low pay and little time off, life is tough for foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong, but for some the city has brought sexual liberation unheard of in their home countries.

The Department of Labor and Employment in Negros Oriental yesterday reported a low turnout in the registration of “kasambahays”, or domestic helpers, and employers, that was held at the Quezon Park in Dumaguete City Sunday.

SINGAPORE: A migrant workers’ group has called for greater protection of the mental well-being of foreign domestic workers (FDWs). The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) said current laws in Singapore are not adequate in addressing the issue of mental health of FDWs.

KUALA LUMPUR: David Yee charges each Filipina RM8,500 for helping them to work here as domestic helpers. “That includes proper documentation, airfare, insurance, medical examination and fee for the Filipino middleman,” he explained.

Dozens of local manpower agencies say that their businesses are on the verge of closure because of a shortage of visas for Filipina domestic workers and increasingly strict rules on recruiting those from Indonesia. The agencies complain that recruitment charges for domestic workers have gone up by 40 percent and there are more restrictions on…

MANILA, Philippines — Saudi Arabia has issued regulations listing the rights and obligations of migrant household service workers and their employers, the Department of Labor and Employment said Thursday.

When it comes to recognising the rights of domestic workers, Asia is lagging behind. About 40% of domestic workers globally are employed in Asia, but most of the region lacks legislation to protect them.

THERE are at least one million under-aged domestic workers in Filipino households although the Philippines is the second country to ratify the International Convention on Domestic Workers, which went into effect a year ago in September.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has reviewed the progress made on the situation of domestic workers worldwide.

The Middle East depends heavily on domestic workers but trails other regions in adopting critical reforms to protect their rights, the International Domestic Workers Network (IDWN), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and Human Rights Watch said today. The groups released a report assessing progress since the 2011 adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, a…

MONTEVIDEO — Unions representing domestic workers met here Saturday to urge countries to ratify a year-old international convention that sets minimal labor standards for domestic workers.

The organization’s executive body discusses the measures that countries have adopted since the adoption of the ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, as well as the steps that are needed to achieve decent working conditions for the world’s 53 million domestic workers.

LONDON – A group of domestic workers led by an award-winning Filipina activist is joining UN talks this week urging the UK government to improve their rights in the country by implementing recommendations from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Household workers in Hong Kong, rejoice! The minimum allowable wage for foreign domestic helpers in China’s special administrative zone has been increased by HK$90 or 2.3 percent, the Philippines labor department said.

The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates drew closer to forging a bilateral agreement that would ensure the rights of Filipino domestic workers in the UAE.

Disappointed unions say new minimum wage is still only HK$150 more than it was 15 years ago and predict it will deepen shortage of recruits Domestic helpers who sign contracts from today will get an additional HK$90 a month after a government decision that upset the workers but pleased their employers.

It is Sunday, and a chorus of Tagalog and Bahasa Indonesia greets shoppers at the Lucky Plaza mall along Singapore’s Orchard Road. Hundreds of foreign domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere come here every Sunday to catch up with friends and send money home via the many remittance shops. They make up the…

LONDON – A group of overseas Filipino workers launched a new organization which aims to support the needs of domestic workers in the UK from immigration advice to social networks.

Hong Kong is facing a shortage of foreign domestic helpers from the region. Hong Kong (CNN) — Beaten with bicycle chains, burned with hot irons and bashed with a shoe, the case of Indonesian domestic helper Kartika Puspitasari — whose Chinese employers were jailed this week over the assaults — highlights just how tough Hong…

MANILA, Philippines – A group of local recruiters has declared a moratorium on the deployment of household service workers (HSWs) to Singapore.

The Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) of the Philippines has announced the launch of an electronic system to ease registration for household domestic workers and help ensure their welfare.

But aid group believes figures are tip of iceberg with many victims too scared to lodge complaints The first time “Maria” was raped, she didn’t tell anybody. “The first thing that came to my mind was that I didn’t want to lose my job.”

MANILA, Philippines – Domestic workers need not put up with abuses and exploitation just to keep their jobs.

MANILA, Philippines—Household service workers (HSWs), better known today as the kasambahay, need not endure sufferings at the hands of abusive employers.

Many women from developing countries who migrate to richer nations in Asia and other regions for jobs as domestic workers experience abuse, illness, mental health problems and limited access to medical care, an extensive new review of more than two decades of scientific studies confirms.