Philippine Domestic Workers' '10 PM Curfew' to Be Lifted

On the morning of the 24th of last month, Kim Seon-sun, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Women and Family Office, is speaking at a meeting of stakeholders involved in the pilot project for foreign domestic workers in Seoul, held in the conference room of Home Story Life in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Amid ongoing controversy surrounding the pilot project for Filipino domestic workers, authorities have decided to abolish the personnel verification procedure that sparked the 'curfew' controversy. According to Seoul City on the 5th, the city and the Ministry of Employment and Labor have decided to stop verifying the number of Filipino domestic workers during nighttime. Previously, companies participating in the pilot project set 10 PM as the curfew time for returning to accommodations and verified the number of domestic workers accordingly.

This decision follows a human rights infringement controversy that arose after domestic workers expressed dissatisfaction with the curfew and related issues during an emergency meeting held by the city and the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 24th of last month.

The authorities are also considering changing the wage payment method. They are discussing splitting the monthly wage, currently paid once a month, into biweekly payments. A Seoul City official stated that out of 98 domestic workers, about 30 expressed a preference for receiving their wages biweekly.

These measures appear to be aimed at preventing further attrition of domestic workers. The Seoul City official said they would reflect the opinions raised during last month’s meeting as much as possible to prepare improved treatment measures.

Meanwhile, two Filipino domestic workers who left their accommodations in Seoul on the 15th of last month were found in Busan and are scheduled to be deported after investigation.

Currently, 98 Filipino domestic workers are working in 169 households in Seoul. Over the past month, 24 households canceled the service midway, while 51 households newly applied and were matched.