By Vir B. Lumicao
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| A worker dismissed last year due to the pandemic |
Migrant domestic workers worked longer hours and became more
vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse last year as a result of the pandemic.
This was disclosed by the Mission for Migrant Workers in its Service
Report for 2020 which was released Thursday, Apr 15, to coincide with the
church-based charity’s 40th founding anniversary.
“MDWs have been made to work longer hours, even during their
rest days. And more worrisome, there is a resurgence in violence against women,”
said Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, MFMW general manager.
“Though this pandemic has caused unwelcome changes for
everyone, we cannot deny the fact that it has been most unkind to MDWs,” said
Tellez. “Even before the pandemic, migrants had always been vulnerable due to
their visa status.”
According to data collated by MFMW, 17% of its clients
reported having been physically abused or assaulted last year, a 2-percentage-point
increase from 2019.
Six percent of the clients reported experiencing rape or
sexual abuse last year compared with 2% the previous year, said Abdon-Tellez.
Equally worrying, a whopping 34% of the workers who sought
help from Mission
reported they were not paid their wages. This was 10 times more than the 3% recorded
in 2019, and meant that one out of three MDWs did not receive any salary at
all.
The MFMW data also shows 69% of its clients had reported
ill-treatment, or almost 7 out of every 10. This was far higher than the 25%
posted in 2019.
“Many migrant workers suffer silently because if they lose
their job, they also lose their accommodation here because of the live-in
requirement,” Abdon-Tellez said.
“With greater economic instability due to the pandemic, the
workers are forced to suffer in deeper depths of despair,” she added.
She said migrant workers bore the burden of stress
undoubtedly experienced by their employers, especially the economic difficulty.
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| Tellez says many MDWs suffered 'in deeper depths of despair' last year |
Emphasizing the workers’ vulnerability was the finding that 2%
of MDWs reported getting entangled in money laundering while 4% were cyberbullied
or harassed online.
“These issues are connected to love scams, wherein
vulnerable women migrants are preyed upon by unscrupulous partners. This
underscores the loneliness MDWs feel being far away from home and unable to go
home for a visit,” said Abdon-Tellez.
Obviously the most common complaint of the MDWs was working
longer hours, with 98% of the clients reporting this kind of abuse, said
Abdon-Tellez.
“Related to this, almost 1 in every 2 (or 46%) is made to
work on her rest days, while more than 1 in every 3 (or 39%) are made to work
on their statutory holidays,” Abdon-Tellez said.
“Of course, this translates to even more overworked MDWs who
are also suffering from economic hardships. They are silent and invisible
sufferers, and that means more help should be extended to them. If only migrant
domestic workers had a live-out option, this could have been avoided,” she
said.
On a positive note, the MFMW has helped its clients recover
$3,230,624.47 in 2020. This is a 40% increase in claims compared with 2019.
Much of the settlements were the result of labor claims filed
by MDWs whose contracts were terminated by their employers because of the
economic hardship due to the pandemic.
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| The Mission also engages in advocacy work for migrant workers (File) |
The 2020 Service Report also features the MFMW’s response to
the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The MFMW referred 873 migrants to shelters, a 24% increase from
last year. It also distributed 137,057 pieces of face masks and 6,218 bottles
of hand sanitizers, with the help of fellow migrant advocates,” Abdon-Tellez
said.
“Many MDWs have trouble procuring their own supply because
either they are not included in the household they serve or due the prohibitive
prices of these essentials. This underscores the vulnerability of migrants,
especially in this pandemic,” she said.
The global crisis brought about the need for new services.
In 2020, the MFMW started serving new migrants, or those who just arrived and
were quarantined in hotels.
Being new here, they had no resources yet, and thus had to
put up with insufficient, repetitive and unhealthy food served them while under
quarantine. Many were also not given basic provisions such as water.
The MFMW provided 3,511 hot meals to them, Abdon-Tellez said.
She said there were also 415 migrants who were given meal
coupons good for two people or meal packs that could feed at least five people while
staying in boarding houses in-between jobs, or because they were stranded by
flight cancellations.
“We also provided other forms of support for those unable to
be accommodated in shelters,” Abdon-Tellez recounted.
She said that due to the pandemic, MFMW shifted some of its
activities online.
“Some of our 135 Life and Work Skills seminars and training
classes were done online to reach more migrants. We also had our Migrant
Festival online for International Migrants Day, as a celebration of MFMW's
services throughout the year,” Abdon-Tellez said.
The Migrant Festival may be accessed with these links: https://youtu.be/aELAkyavSjo or https://www.facebook.com/watch/275507625853776/201793074885968
“To cope with the new services arising from the pandemic,
the MFMW is calling on kind-hearted individuals, institutions, and corporate
donors to support its programs by clicking https://www.migrants.net/to-donate. A $100 donation will
feed and shelter a migrant for a day,” Abdon-Tellez said.
To download full version of “2020 Service Report”: https://www.migrants.net/reports
Support the Mission: https://www.migrants.net/to-donate
