GLOBAL PINOY THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE, THE
0 Comments | Manila Times, The, Sep 20, 2006 | by Macabenta, Greg B
Recent news about domestics in Singapore, many of them Filipinos, being subjected to unfair wage reductions on top of unreasonable deductions is just one more example of the hardships that overseas Filipino workers have to endure.
Going abroad and landing a job that earns a decent wage is like going through the eye of a needle.
In Singapore the wages of hapless domestics are docked for breakage, for unauthorized consumption of food and drinks, and for the fees imposed by employment agencies. They can go for as long as six months without receiving wages in order to pay off debts. It is virtual slavery.
But even that is not as heart-rending as the fate of Baby, a young girl from Albay. She had managed to go to Lebanon to work as a maid in a wealthy household, just shortly before the recent war broke out.
Baby’s employers were literally starving her, giving her only rice to eat and nothing else. The Filipino maid in another household in the same condominium complex learned about her plight and took pity on her. Behind the backs of their employers, Baby would lower a plastic bag to the unit below and her kababayan would fill that with food.
No longer able to stand the cruel treatment, Baby escaped and found employment in the home of an elderly couple. She was treated much better, but the fighting broke out. She and other Filipino maids found their way to the Philippine Embassy from where they were shipped back to the Philippines. All she brought home from her two months of torment was one dollar.
Yet, the rewards for the lucky ones are considerable, especially in Europe. At 10 an hour, which is a relatively low rate, but still almost equivalent to US$20, a maid in London can earn as much as P7,500 a day or just a shade below P200,000 a month.
It was thus with a deep sigh that I watched a Manila TV program showing young women taking a special course in order to become “super-maids.” They were being taught, not only the finer points of cleaning the house and doing other menial tasks, but also how to apply first aid in an emergency, and how to care for an infant.
It struck me that the only difference between what they would be doing in a foreign household and the duties of Filipino nurses in hospitals is that the latter need to take a government-qualifying exam.
But, like the domestics, nurses are being exploited, too-and the exploitation starts even before they leave for abroad.
The recent scandal involving the alleged leakage of test questions in the last board exams for nurses has revealed a racket in the review classes and another racket in the postexam ceremonials that generate big bucks for the perpetrators.
I had written an article about the fact that the alleged “leakage” could not have affected the results of the nursing test, because of the fact that out of 2,500 questions submitted by nursing board examiners, only 500 questions would eventually be chosen by a computer and printed close to the hour of the exams.
In other words, even if the questionnaires containing the 2,500 questions were to be released, those taking the exams would still not be sure of passing. Small wonder then that the passing rate was a pitiful 41.2 percent.
But I pointed out that the companies offering review classes and ostensibly leaking the test questions were raking in a lot of money. Cora Aonuevo, a professor at the UP College of Nursing, confirmed this in an e-mail:
“Dear Mr
singapore maid agency
