First batch of Pinay domestic helpers to arrive in Japan this month

About 50 Filipino domestic helpers will be dispatched for further training in Japan this month before beginning their work in Kanagawa and Osaka in March, according to a report on Japan Times.

The first batch to be hired under a new government policy that encourages Japanese professional women to re-enter the workforce after childbirth will be sent out by Japanese companies Pasona Inc., Duskin, Bears, and Poppins.

The 50 Filipino housekeepers graduated from the training course provided by Magsaysay Global Services, which partnered with Pasona Inc. in 2016 to provide the workforce sought by Japan for their reintegration initiative.

Filipinos accepted through this program were given free training in "Japanese language, culture, hospitality, and housework, over the course of approximately two months," and will now undergo on-the-job and orientation training in Japan before they are deployed.

Poppins and Bears seek to hire more foreign workers for Tokyo after they were solicited by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Poppins will look for 12 people while Bears seeks to hire 10 to 15.

Major nursing care company Nichiigakkan also applied to hire 30 foreign housekeepers to meet their target of offering similar services by summer.

All foreign workers hired under Japan's new initiative may only cook, launder, clean, shop, and care for their employer's children and will not be allowed to engage in nursing care.

They can stay in Japan for a maximum of three years, will be paid on a full-time basis, work for eight hours daily with a day-off per week, and must be provided with accommodations.

Prospective housekeepers must be at least 18 years old, undergo training for at least 200 hours, have one year of work experience in housekeeping, and possess basic Japanese-language skills.

Plans to deploy Filipino domestic helpers to Japan were announced in 2014. However, several delays and stringent regulations delayed proceedings until 2017.

Selected candidates could earn as much as $1,500 or P66,000 in monthly salary excluding benefits, will live in an apartment with other domestic helpers, and will have day offs every week. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News