By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

THERE will be a transition period up to March 1, 2007 for employers in the CNMI and other countries to pay new household workers from the Philippines $400 a month, even though the reforms on the deployment of Filipino domestic helpers took effect on Dec. 16, 2006.
On March 2, all documents to be processed for the deployment of Filipino household workers should reflect a monthly salary of $400 and a minimum age of 25.
The grace period of up to March 1 allows for the processing of documents of some 20,000 Filipino domestic helpers whose contracts were signed prior to the passage of the deployment reforms by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Governing Board, according to an official clarification by POEA on Friday.
Philippine Consul General to the CNMI Wilfredo Maximo reiterated that existing contracts for Filipino household workers in the CNMI will not be affected although the existing workers could negotiate with their employers for a higher rate after March 1.
“We are just going by POEA rules. The CNMI can always source their household workers from other regions if they can’t pay $400 for household workers from the Philippines (after March 1),” Maximo told Variety.
Almost all of the nonresident household workers in the CNMI are from the Philippines and are paid $300 a month or 96 cents an hour as provided for in the local law. This is below the commonwealth’s minimum wage of $3.05 an hour for most jobs.
Because the POEA policy does not affect existing domestic helpers’ contracts, it would be up to the current household workers whose contracts will be renewed to negotiate with their CNMI employers for a salary higher than $300 a month to be on a par with new household workers who are to be hired from the Philippines after March 1.
Maximo and other Philippine government officials met with Senate Vice President Pete P. Reyes, Ind.-Saipan, and Sens. Luis P. Crisostimo, D-Saipan, and Paterno S. Hocog, R-Rota, on Wednesday to discuss the POEA policy on the hiring of Filipino domestic helpers.
On Friday, POEA Administrator Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz clarified that POEA allowed the processing of the documents of some 20,000 Filipino household workers because the contracts had already been signed before the implementation of the new policy on domestic helpers on Dec. 16, 2006 and these accounts are covered by the board resolution for processing during the transition period up to March 1, 2007.
“The board allowed the deployment of these workers but not in accommodation to the requests of recruitment agencies”, Baldoz said in a statement.
Baldoz said the exemption for these accounts was for the new age and salary requirement only but the required training, skills certification, and language and culture seminar were to be imposed.
POEA will fully implement the policy after March 1, 2007, Baldoz added.