Recall of new age cap for housemaids sought

MANILA, Philippines — Saying the deployment of older domestic helpers abroad will not prevent abuses, the local recruitment industry has asked the government to recall the new policy increasing to 24 the minimum age for household service workers.

In a letter to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople, recruitment consultant Francisco de Guzman sought a review of the regulation.

“Increasing the minimum age requirement for household workers by just one year will not improve the preparedness and maturity of our overseas domestic helpers. There is no guarantee that it will reduce or totally eradicate the problem of abuses and maltreatment committed against them at worksite,” he said.

According to De Guzman, there is no evidence showing a direct correlation between the age of domestic workers and the commission of abuses against them.

“Increasing the minimum age in the deployment of housemaids abroad would not make a difference in terms of the protection of their rights,” he pointed out.

The country’s new age cap for domestic helpers overseas is higher than the existing International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions.

The DMW previously reported that the policy increasing the minimum age requirement for domestic helpers to 24 could affect some 2,700 overseas Filipino workers.