Study flags protection gaps for Filipina caregivers in Asia-Pacific
MANILA, Philippines — As populations age across the Asia-Pacific, countries such as Japan, Singapore and Australia are becoming increasingly dependent on Filipina caregivers, nurses and domestic workers to sustain their care systems, but protections for these workers have failed to keep pace, a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies found.
The study, “The Future of Work in Aging Societies: Filipina Migrant Workers in the Asia-Pacific Value Chains,” said care work should no longer be viewed simply as overseas employment but as part of regional value chains that connect training institutions, governments, recruitment agencies, employers and migrant workers in sustaining the care economies of aging societies.
As labor shortages deepen and demand for long-term care rises, the Philippines has emerged as a major supplier of skilled care workers.
Singapore employed about 250,000 foreign domestic workers in 2021, half of whom were Filipino women.
More than 3,000 Filipino nurses and caregivers have been deployed to Japan under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, while Australia employs an estimated 10,000 Filipino health care professionals.
Women also make up the overwhelming majority of the country’s care workforce, with more than 85 percent of those enrolled in and graduating from caregiving training programs being women.
The study attributed the continued demand for Filipino care workers to their English proficiency, caregiving skills and cultural adaptability.
However, although Filipina workers have become indispensable to health care, elder care and domestic care services abroad, many continue to face insecure employment, long working hours, language barriers, limited opportunities for career advancement and unequal access to labor protections, health care and social security benefits.
The authors said the growing dependence of destination countries on migrant care workers has not been matched by stronger protections for those workers.
While overseas employment creates jobs and generates remittances, the continued migration of caregivers and health care professionals may also contribute to shortages in the country’s own health and care sectors, creating what the authors described as a “care deficit.”
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