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Minnie Chan

Mainland to restrict  foreign maids' influx

The demand for Filipino domestic workers has expanded in mainland cities, especially in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, where many expatriates and Hong Kong people  live.

To meet the demand, many agencies have applied for 'private English tutor' visas for Filipino maids, according to media reports.

But the maids' popularity has led to warnings of a crackdown against foreigners  working illegally.

Qi Xiaolin , deputy director of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, said yesterday that the immigration authorities had  caught many foreigners working illegally  in the city.

He added that   action would be taken to punish them and their employers.

'We will strengthen our capacity to crack down on illegal foreign workers in Guangzhou,' Mr Qi said.

'According to our immigration law, all foreigners  who work  without  official approval will be fined and sent back to their countries.

'Employers who hire  foreigners illegally  will not only be fined up to 50,000 yuan, but also have to pay  the repatriation costs.'

He stressed that foreigners  could  work on the mainland only  with the approval of labour and public security agencies.

'First,   they need to apply for a work visa from our labour department,' Mr Qi said.

'Then they can  start work only when public security organisations issue them a residence permit.'

Mr Qi said about 3 million foreigners entered Guangzhou every year, with many  staying on illegally.

The mainland's Labour Law  allows for only two kinds of foreigners  to be employed  -  professionals and staff  who do jobs that cannot be filled from the domestic labour market.

Beijing is grappling with an excess  of labour,  with a particular surplus in the domestic staff market and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has stressed that it will not open the country to foreign housemaids.

But the founder of one Guangzhou Filipino housemaid agency said the mainland's domestic helpers could not compete with   their counterparts from the tropical archipelago, even though  overseas staff  were paid up to 3,500 yuan a month, more than three times the rate given to  mainlanders.

'It's very difficult to find a reliable housekeeper in Guangzhou amid the rapid economic development over the past 20 years,' the agency's boss  said.

'Many employees  suspect their housemaids are  stealing because almost all the women are poorly educated and from  deprived rural families. Unlike mainland maids, most Filipino maids are  graduates.

'They can also be excellent English tutors for the kids and  are welcomed by middle-class families because they are much  tidier.'



Demand soars for Filipino domestics