Overseas housekeepers who got here to South Korea underneath a pilot undertaking of the Seoul metropolitan authorities attend a listening to on the undertaking, on this file photograph taken Sept. 24, 2024. Yonhap
Overseas housekeepers employed regionally underneath a authorities pilot undertaking launched two years in the past have been severely underpaid and needed to do additional work that was not agreed upon, a survey confirmed Saturday.
In September 2024, the Seoul metropolitan authorities launched its international maid pilot program and allowed the entry of 100 individuals, principally from Southeast Asia, together with the Philippines, to work as housekeepers at greater than 150 households within the metropolis.
The undertaking, which led to December final 12 months, was geared toward tackling the scarcity of locals prepared to work as maids and to assist ladies in persevering with their careers.
Based on the survey, respondents mentioned they obtained a median of 1.92 million gained ($1,303) in month-to-month wages throughout the first six months of the undertaking.
The quantity is lower than half the common month-to-month fee obtained by South Koreans in 2024, which was 3.74 million gained.
When deducting prices, comparable to residential bills and insurance coverage funds, their internet month-to-month wages have been just one.18 million gained, the survey confirmed.
Some respondents mentioned they have been requested to work outdoors of their job descriptions, comparable to washing dishes, caring for pets and tutoring children in English.
“We should … reevaluate the worth of kid care, acknowledge the financial worth of housekeeping labor, and foster a virtuous cycle of offering prime quality housekeeping providers and jobs,” mentioned professor Lee Mi-ae of Jeju Nationwide College, who performed the survey.
The survey was performed on 21 housekeepers from the Philippines aged of their 20s and 30s and two of their translators from April to Might final 12 months, and printed in a journal by the Korea Affiliation for Immigration Coverage and Administration.
