Labor | PH, China to discuss legitimization of Filipino domestic workers

In response to the situation of up to 200,000 Filipino domestic helpers working illegally in China, a high representative from the Philippine government is set to discuss with mainland authorities the legitimization of these overseas workers.
The Macau and Hong Kong SARs long ago legalized such workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries. In Macau, according to the Filipino consulate, there are some 25,000 overseas Filipino workers employed in different sectors in the region.
In the mainland, it was only in July last year that Shanghai allowed foreign residents to legally hire domestic helpers from overseas. However, Chinese citizens are not permitted to employ them.
According to a South China Morning Post report, only five domestic workers had reportedly been approved to work in Shanghai by the end of last year.
Accordingly, Silvestre Bellow, the Philippines’ labor and employment minister, may join President Rodrigo Duterte in China.
“I intend to pursue my plan to visit China, maybe Beijing, and talk to the authorities on how to legitimize the stay of our overseas workers and at the same time look at the possibilities of bringing in more workers under legitimate circumstances,” the minister said.
The minister stated his belief that the Chinese government may perceive that legalizing the market will lessen the job opportunities available for mainlanders, but argued that the market was ‘big enough’ to accommodate the Filipino domestic workers who are already there.