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Pinoy Abroad

Denmark agency eyes reward for Filipino au pairs for not getting pregnant


Filipino au pairs in Denmark are set to receive as much as 6,500 kroner in cash bonus if they will not get pregnant during their two-year stay in the country.

This was based on the new initiative to be launched by Aupair Agency Denmark to prevent Filipino au pairs from leaving Denmark or going into hiding because of pregnancy.

A report on The Copenhagen Post said the new initiative will take effect on January 1, 2015.

“Filipino au pairs will do anything to stay in the country, so we think that it will become a gigantic problem,” Line Bale, the head of Aupair Agency Denmark, was quoted as telling Avisen.dk.

“Therefore, we’ve come up with a bonus that will be attractive for those who are only interested in money,” Bale reportedly said.

The Philippine Embassy in Norway, which has concurrent jurisdiction over Denmark, said a Filipino au pair must be “between 18 and 29 years of age, unmarried and without any children."

It added the au pair is "placed under a cultural exchange arrangements with a Norwegian or Danish host family for a maximum of two years.”

Under the new initiative, Filipino au pairs must pay 3,500 kroner to go to Denmark for work, and if they manage to avoid becoming pregnant within a two-year period, they will be refunded the 3,500 kroner and receive a 6,500 kroner bonus.

Au pair girls in practice, Avisen.dk reported, do not enjoy the same benefits as pregnant Danish women. When faced with pregnancy, they allegedly return home or hide.

Morally wrong

FOA, a Danish worker's union, criticized the initiative, describing it as "morally wrong" and a poor way to deal with the problem of au pair pregnancy, the Copenhagen Post reported.

One of its spokespersons even commented that the initiative was “illegal and discriminatory,” and may even face legal repercussions when launched.

Under the au pair scheme, the au pair is placed in an immersion program in cultural and language learning in the specific European country of destination.  

He or she shall live with the host family at par (au pair) or on an equal basis with the immediate members of the host family, shall be given pocket money, share in child care, light household chores and responsibilities previously agreed upon in an au pair placement contract between the au pair and the host family.

The Philippines implemented a ban on au pairs bound for European countries in 1998 due to isolated cases of abuse. In 2010, the ban was lifted for Switzerland, Norway and Denmark, and was lifted in all European countries in 2012. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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