PHL execs seeking entry of Pinoy workers, trainees to Switzerland

Philippine officials in Switzerland are working with government authorities about the possible entry of Filipino professional and technical trainees to the country.   Ambassador to Switzerland Leslie Baja took up the matter with Federal Office of Migration Director Mario Gattiker last January 17, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a news release on Tuesday.   "The embassy is also looking at the possibility of Filipino nurses entering as trainees, as Filipino healthcare workers who arrived in the 1970s are very well regarded in the country," the DFA said.   Bilateral trainee agreement The embassy noted Filipinos and Swiss nationals can work in each other's country for a maximum of 18 months and receive training in the field of their choice.     Last January 20, Baja also met with officials of APM Technica, a company manufacturing adhesives in a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) zone in the Philippines.   APM Technica regularly brings Filipino trainees to work in its company in Switzerland for 18 months. Au pairs   Last January 22, Baja met with about two dozen Filipino au pairs in Switzerland, most of whom graduated as nurses in the Philippines.   The au pairs stay for a maximum of one year and handle light household chores and child care.   More than 100 au pairs have been deployed in Switzerland since the ban was lifted in 2010, the DFA said. “Au pair" is a French phrase that means “on par" or “equal to."

Under the au pair program, Filipinos “live on an equal basis in a reciprocal, caring relationship" with their host families, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). 

The aim of the program is for the au pair, a foreigner, to be at par or equal to locals by being treated as a member of the family instead of a domestic servant.

In general, au pairs perform house work and child care. While they do not have formal salaries, they receive monetary allowance from their host families. - VVP, GMA News