am I wrong (hope so) to think Filipina nannies get exploited?

[mrsshackleton]

I don't know dh has a couple of "friends" with live-in Filipina nannies who imho seem to be treated rather badly, they're paid around £300 I think (in central London) but work five and a half days (12 hours) and they are expected to do EVETYTHING. One couple has a rule that their poor nanny isn't allowed in the kitchen after 7pm so they can have it to themselves, which has made me really dislike them (always had my doubts). I don't know ... I just can't imagine a Polish/French/English nanny putting up with being treated like a semi slave but £1200 a month is a lot in the Philippines and they send all their money home as far as I can see. I just hate the way these people boast about how cheap their nanny is, find it distasteful. Anyway, rant over now just wanted to vent

I worked as a live in mothers help 12 hour days 5 times a week for £300 net

How did your 'friends' sort out the visa for the Filipino nanny? Did they take their nanny back with them from another country?

£1,200 a month is not a lot for the hours you are describing but it is a heck of a lot more this lady would be paid if she was working in Asia (where a lot of them end up). I know in Singapore, Filipino maids (and they are called maids there) get paid around £300 a month and some of them work 7 days a week.

So to work in the UK is the motherlode to them - provided they can get the visa.

And to answer your question - yes, I think the Filipino nannies/maids are exploited. Terribly. Many of them are mothers who have left their children in the Philippines so that they can earn money to send home.

I thought £300 live in was pretty much the going rate?

I think they do get exploited but if they are earning that kind of salary it's on a par with others (some of the exploitation is on other ways)

I am not sure non philippino mothers helps get any more then this amount. I suspect it is more to do with the way the woman are treated - it should be with respect not like a slave!

I didn't really mean the pay, as some have said it's more what they're expected to do in return and things like not being allowed in the kitchen after 7pm.
Have no idea how the visa was sorted out, I think the nannies I'm thinking of came through agencies. Has really put me off these people hearing the way they talk about them

Actually, the not being allowed in the kitchen after 7pm seems to be by far the least awful part of what you describe. Some Filipina maids/nannies are in the kitchen working well beyond 7pm .

The UK generally has very high standards for domestic servants. As other posters point out, a live-in Filipina probably has a much better deal in London than in any other major city in the developed world.

A couple of years ago we were on holiday in Padstow. Behind us in the icecream queue were a braying "hooray" family top to toe in Boden, together with their Filipina nanny. Dad was asking what flavours everybody wanted - the little girl asked "what about X?" (the nanny). "She's OK, she has a bottle of water" was the reply. So they couldn't even buy her an ice-cream?

I like Boden but that is awful....disgusting. Not at all what should be happening.

really hoping that nanny had already said she didn't want an ice-cream

if not, that's really feckin' terrible

that goes for whatever nationality the nanny is - I would want to be teaching my child to be considerate and think of others not just of him/herself.

Some friends of mine has a nanny from the Philipines. She is out and about with the family quite a lot. I suspect she would get people thinking odd stuff behind her back, too. My friends found her through a London nanny agency, she has all the qualifications, lived in the uk for a very long time, speaks perfect English, is paid the going rate. She is lactose intolerant, and happy to have her water. Sometimes it is easy to judge without proper knowledge about the situation.

Having said that, I wrote at length about the situation with filipino au pairs in some other thread, so will not repeat this.

Check this out: this is a BBC link that shows average salaries around the world. The Philippines have second lowest salary in the world - USD 249 a month. That is provided they have a job.

The link:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17543356

I knew a family who had two staff from the Philippines. One was like a nanny and the other a cleaner and cook . They were sisters i believe. They were paid £25k each, that's more than i was on for a management position at the time!

I don't think £300 is that low, especially when you get board and lodgings too. I also don't think there is anything wrong with not wanting the nanny in the kitchen in the evening when you want to relax and cook.
The few people I know with nannies (not phillapinas) all stipulate that the nanny eats with the children in the evening.

This thread is 4 years old!