Underage maids row spurs probe
By EUNICE del ROSARIO
Published: 26th March 2007
A MANPOWER agency is being investigated by the Philippine Embassy for allegedly bringing Filipina children as young as 15 to work as housemaids in Bahrain.
The Bahrain agency denied the allegation yesterday, saying it only brings in maids over the age of 30. Under Bahrain law, maids coming to work here from the Philippines must be at least 30 years old.
However, the embassy said maids had come forward and complained about the agency.
Officials found out that the majority of them were under the age of 23, with some being as young as 15.
Underage maids row spurs probe
By EUNICE del ROSARIO
Published: 26th March 2007
A MANPOWER agency is being investigated by the Philippine Embassy for allegedly bringing Filipina children as young as 15 to work as housemaids in Bahrain.
The Bahrain agency denied the allegation yesterday, saying it only brings in maids over the age of 30. Under Bahrain law, maids coming to work here from the Philippines must be at least 30 years old.
However, the embassy said maids had come forward and complained about the agency.
Officials found out that the majority of them were under the age of 23, with some being as young as 15.
The embassy said yesterday it was also investigating how the agency had been able to get the maids to Bahrain, since it was already blacklisted by the embassy.
“The agency is still on the embassy’s banned list, which comprises of more than 30 names of employers and manpower agencies currently barred from bringing Filipino workers to Bahrain,” said an embassy spokesman.
An agency spokesman said that all the maids it brought in had passports stating they were aged 30 and above.
“Is it our job to check if their passports are not fake?” he asked.
“That’s the Philippine government’s problem, not the agency’s.”
Last week, the embassy called on employers to be vigilant following the growing number of teenage Filipinos being flown here illegally to work as maids.
Illegal
The embassy said illegal recruiters are continuously ignoring and breaking the laws of both the Philippines and Bahrain.
“Currently, the embassy is housing four maids who are below the legal age,” said the spokesman.
“Two of them are 17 years old, while the other two are in their early 20s.
“All four were brought to Bahrain by the same recruitment agency, which has become notorious for bringing young girls to the kingdom from remote villages in the Philippines.
“These girls are untrained (to work as maids) and have never travelled outside the Philippines before coming to Bahrain.”
The majority of these maids manage to travel on fake passports, issued using false birth certificates stating that they are twice their real age.
The two 17-year-olds at the shelter admitted to obtaining fake passports in Manila, with the help of their recruiter.
All four under-aged maids also said they earned an average of BD50 a month, which is far less than the required $400 (BD151) salary imposed by the Philippine government late last year.
The majority of the maids brought to Bahrain illegally are inexperienced when it comes to working in a foreign household, said the embassy spokesman.
“Bahraini families then risk getting maids who are untrained if they rely on recruiters who are not accredited by the embassy,” he said.
“What they are getting are children, who are very vulnerable and employers are literally being cheated by illegal recruiters, who pose as legitimate manpower agencies,” he said.
Officials said there could be more teenage Filipina maids in Bahrain, but that only a few had come forward seeking help. Many of these girls borrow large sums of money from friends and relatives to pay recruiters to arrange their visas to enter the country.
The Philippines’ Department of Labour and Employment acknowledges that the problem of illegal recruitment of Filipinos begins at home.
A massive campaign is underway in the Philippines to help in the fight against illegal recruitment.
Families in the Philippines are being urged to make sure they are not sending their loved ones into danger overseas.
© Gulf Daily News