Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter |
About 100 foreign domestic workers from the Philippines as well as the other countries are going to start housework and childcare at homes in Seoul later this year on a trial basis said the Ministry of Employment and labor in a public hearing held at the Royal Hotel Seoul on Monday July 31,2023.
The Ministry of employment and labor disclosed their plan at a public hearing for the introduction of foreign domestic workers to meet the shortages of people willing to work as maids, tackle the low birth rate and help women continue with their careers.
"In a situation where the local workforce in the sector is shrinking and is aging seriously, demands are growing for using foreign workers to cope with the low birth rate and to prevent women's career discontinuity," said Lee Sang-im, a labor ministry official during the hearing.
The pilot project covers the entire city of Seoul allows foreign domestic workers to work for the duration of six months. Users includes working couples in their 20s and 40s raising children, single parents, and pregnant women, can get the facility to take advantage of this offer.
State authorized employment agencies will hire the domestic foreign workers from Southeast Asian countries including Philippines on E-9 visa, that will provide housework and childcare services while commuting to the home by contracting with the agency. They will be paid at least the legal minimum wage just like local workers, said the officials.
The countries eligible for the pilot project are those issuing licenses for domestic workers, such as the Philippines, that allow to work as domestic workers in the foreign countries after training them for six months at the vocational training centers.
South Korean government will verify the career and criminal records, relevant experience and knowledge, age, as well as Korean and English language skills of the foreign workers before allowing them to work. Foreign workers with criminal records, mental diseases or drug problems will be screened out.
The foreign workers will be provided with the Korean language training, culture and labor laws before or after entering the country. After being assigned to a domestic worker service agency, hygiene and safety education including child abuse prevention and safety regulations will be provided before their placement in households.
On average, domestic workers who commute to their employees’ homes will be paid an hourly wage of 15,000 won ($11), higher than the minimum wage of 9,620 won. Stay-at-home workers are paid between 3.5 million won and 4.5 million won for households in Seoul according to the Ministry’s plan.
The number of local domestic workers has gradually shrunk, and 92.3 percent of them are aged over 50, the ministry added.
The government is planning to start the services in the later half of the year 2023, but the proposal of pilot project is yet to be finalized and can be changed, the ministry said.
The final plan will be outlined in September or the policies can be adjustable next year based on feedback.
