Philippine Housekeeping Managers Deployed to 142 Households... Entering 7-Month Pilot Project

100 Filipino Housekeepers Receive 160 Hours of Training Over 4 Weeks
Ongoing Applications Accepted from Seoul Families with Children Under 12
Care-Related Ambiguous Tasks and Wage Systems Still Controversial

Filipino domestic workers who entered the country on the 6th of last month have completed about a month of training and will start working in households from the 3rd. This is a pilot project scheduled to run until February next year, focusing on 'care' in managing household chores. However, controversies continue over unclear job scopes and the application of minimum wage, prompting calls to find improvements during this pilot period.

According to Seoul City, Filipino domestic workers will be deployed to a total of 142 households starting today. Initially, excluding duplicate and out-of-city applications, 731 households applied for the domestic worker pilot project, and 157 households were selected, but due to changes and cancellations, the final number of households receiving services decreased somewhat.

Photo of the commencement of the childcare housekeeping service. [Photo by Seoul City]

The selection of households prioritized single-parent, dual-income, multi-child, and pregnant families, considering households with children under 7 years old or those requesting longer service periods, as well as regional distribution. The Ministry of Employment and Labor, Seoul City, and service providers jointly decided on the selection. A thorough one-month training was also conducted. After arrival, until the 2nd of this month, the National Employment Service Association and service providers offered a total of 160 hours of job training and specialized Korean language education over four weeks, preparing the workers to provide care and household services to the selected families.

Over the next seven months, these workers will be responsible for basic childcare activities such as dressing children, bathing, and preparing baby food. However, tasks such as garbage disposal, organizing storage, pet care, and grease removal are designated as 'non-household tasks.' Since the top priority is safely caring for children, tasks that cannot be performed simultaneously while caring for children are prohibited.

However, there is controversy over the ambiguous scope of work. The addition of 'incidental and light household services for cohabiting family members' includes tasks like washing adult clothes, dishwashing, and floor cleaning using vacuum cleaners or mops, but these duties are not clearly defined. If additional consultation is needed during service, households cannot directly instruct the domestic workers but must go through the service provider's center, which is inconvenient.

The concentration of applications in the Gangnam area is also a concern. Interest is so high that the competition rate reached 5 to 1, with the most selected households located in Gangnam-gu (22 households). Next were Seocho with 16 households, and Songpa and Seongdong with 15 households each, with 33.8% of selected households coming from the three Gangnam districts. Applying minimum wage to foreign domestic workers has led to criticism that the service fee is expensive, and it is analyzed that demand is concentrated in the affluent Gangnam area. Households using the pilot service for 8 hours a day must pay 2.38 million KRW per month.

Although contracts for workers deployed in the pilot project were made according to the minimum wage, there is ongoing debate about what wage system will be applied to them afterward. The average monthly household income in the fourth quarter of last year was about 5 million KRW, meaning households must bear about half of an average household income. This is why there are criticisms that benefits only reach some families.

On the other hand, there are also criticisms that differential wages themselves constitute discrimination. Concerns continue that differential wages by industry and region for foreigners will spread, starting with domestic workers. In response, the government and Seoul City are discussing ways to bypass ILO (International Labour Organization) conventions and adding 'domestic worker' to the list of occupations eligible for the E7 visa, which is granted to skilled professionals.

Meanwhile, Seoul City will continue to accept applications at any time during the pilot project. Households wishing to receive domestic services can apply by signing up as members on the Home Story Life Substitute Housewife or Hubris Care Plus apps, which are service providers. Eligibility to apply is open at any time to Seoul residents raising children under 12 years old.

Filipino workers participating in the pilot project for foreign housekeeping managers are arriving through Incheon International Airport on the 6th. Photo by Airport Photographers Group

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.