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A Filipino caregiver holds an infant at a home in Seoul. (The Seoul Metropolitan Government) |
Two Filipino caregivers who disappeared from their accommodations in mid-September after starting work in Seoul were later found in Busan after being reemployed as cleaners, according to the Philippine government’s Department of Migrant Workers.
During an interview on Oct. 9 with the Philippine news program 24 Oras, Bernard Olalia, undersecretary of the DMW, said that the two caregivers claimed to have had difficulties due to “overwork and overwatch.”
“(The caregivers) were able to find another job offering employment as a cleaner,” said Olalia. “That was where they were caught, with their new employer. They were brought to the immigration authority in Busan.”
Since September, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has operated a six-month foreign caregiver pilot program with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The program aims to offer city residents affordable childcare as well as help with light and incidental housework. The initiative, limited to Seoul-based households, initially employed a total of 100 Filipino national women aged 24-38.
However, on Sept. 15, the program began to face problems as two Filipino caregivers disappeared from their accommodations in Yeoksam-dong, central Seoul. The two were located around the first week of October, when the Busan Immigration Office reported on Oct. 4 that the police had arrested two Filipina caregivers at a local accommodation facility.
According to the city government, program regulations stipulate that any caregiver who runs away from their position will be classified as an unregistered foreigner. In line with such regulations, the police arrested the two Filipina caregivers because their new cleaning job in Busan was seen as illegal employment.
Han Leo Cacdac, the secretary of the DMW, added during a press conference in the Philippines on Oct. 7 that the two caregivers are currently in the custody of Busan’s immigration authorities for further investigation and will receive legal assistance from the DMW. South Korea’s Ministry of Justice also added that it plans to “deport the caregivers after further investigation,” though whether they will be deported or not is yet to be confirmed.
In the meantime, other Filipino caregivers in the pilot program continue to fulfill their employment obligations. According to Cacdac, the others have been “advised to take responsibility for their obligations and to complete their duties by not violating South Korea’s immigration laws -- unless they are being abused.”
Cacdac added, “It’s a pilot program, and we expect certain challenges, issues and problems along the way, which are now being carefully addressed by both sides. (…) We are equipped to address these issues and concerns as we have for the last 20 years through the Employment Permit System.” The EPS is designed to allow employers who have been unable to fill positions with Korean nationals to legally hire an appropriate number of foreign nationals under the administration of the Korean government.
Meanwhile, the Seoul city government has stated that it has made changes to the caregiver pilot program based on problems that have emerged and that the changes will be implemented starting this month.
Some of the changes include abolishing the curfew policy, which required caregivers to return to their accommodations by 10 p.m., placing the caregivers' accommodations as close as possible to their workplaces for those who work at two or more households a day, and providing them with a place to rest in between jobs.
