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Brunei's demand for Filipino maids declines

Xinhua, September 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Brunei's demand for Filipino domestic workers has been declined due to a memo issued in February by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office that no job order or contract will be verified unless salaries meet the minimum wage, set at 400 U.S. dollars for domestic helpers, the Brunei Times reported Thursday.

In the six months since the memo was issued, demand for Filipino domestic workers in Brunei declined by 23 percent, according to the Philippines' Department of Labor and Employment.

The Brunei Times quoted Philippine Ambassador Meynardo LB Montealgre as saying, " Yes, we have seen some decrease in the labor sector in terms of household workers, these are the labor market forces at work," the ambassador said on the sidelines of a recent diplomatic reception.

It's a choice of the employers to look for other nationals to take on the job if they cannot afford to pay minimum wage. Although the minimum wage has been in place since 2006, Filipino workers have said little has been done to enforce it, said the ambassador.

Contract substitution remains a prevalent problem, with workers receiving less pay than what is stated in the original work contracts they signed in the Philippines.

"This (minimum wage) policy has been ongoing since 2006 ...We do recognize of course there's no (minimum wage) policy yet here in Brunei Darussalam but this is the policy the Philippines government has been implementing since 2006," said Montealgre.

The embassy said the wage advisory would affect all new contracts beginning January 5, 2015. Workers whose salaries currently fall below the minimum wage threshold can renegotiate their salaries upon contract renewal.

In response to the memo, Brunei's Department of Labor said it had not endorsed a minimum wage for citizens of any country, and that salaries should be guided by market demand.

Although no laws exist in the country governing minimum wage for either local or foreign workers, Montealgre said the Philippine government is eager to conclude a labor agreement with Brunei that would outline basic working conditions for Filipino nationals, including number of working hours, rest days and other benefits.

According to the Fhilippine embassy, there are more than 22,000 Philippine nationals living in Brunei, with 4,600 of them employed as domestic helpers. Endi