September 05, 2009 has marked the beginning of a significant cooperation between Babaylan-Denmark and The Filipino Working Group of Oslo, the result of which is a cooperation on a Conference focusing on au pairs in both Denmark and Norway.
Judy Jover, Babaylan-Denmark’s Chairperson and Jean Langerud , the overall coordinator and leader of 16 Filipino associations in Norway, met in Oslo recently and invited core women leaders for a dinner meeting. Raymond Kristiansen, editor of Au Pinoy was also invited to speak.
During the meeting, the current situation of the Filipino au pairs in Norway and Denmark was discussed, and, issues regarding the problems of the newly arrived nurses in Oslo was also tabled by the Philippine Nursing Association in Norway. Like Filipino au pairs, the Filipino nurses have been lured by recruiters and agencies into paying enormous amounts of cash for the promise of a-well-paying job in Norway. They however ended up doing menial jobs upon arrival because their qualifications did not meet the Norwegian nursing standards.
The gathering also reflected on the 103- page evaluation of the Au Pair scheme in Norway that has been published by FAFO as commissioned by the Norwegian government. The report shows that Filipino au pairs are the biggest group in Norway like they also are in Denmark. But unlike Denmark, Norway pays a minimum of 4000 NOK per month and requires the host family to spend 6000 NOK for language classes for the au pair, an improvement that Babaylan Dk has consistently tabled and endorsed especially in recent public discussions over the plight of au pairs in Denmark, eg. in the run-up to the elections for the European Parliament (see www.babaylan.dk).
The Oslo Filipinas also noted the recent disclosure in the Norwegian press that bilateral negotiations are being carried out between Norway and the Philippines. Whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Manila will lift its ban on the deployment of au pairs is keeping everybody in suspense. According to some reliable sources, the Phil. Government is asking that medical and life insurance as well as repatriation in case of death – issues raised on the demise of Dulca Acedo in November 2007, first ever recorded au pair death in Denmark- are now being discussed for inclusion in the au pair contract for au pairs in Norway.
The outcome of the Oslo meeting between Babaylan-Denmark and the Working Group of Filipino associations in Norway is the holding of an Au Pair Conference in Oslo on November 20th. The event will focus and update on the situation of au pairs in the two Nordic countries that continue to deploy au pairs inspite of the Philippine governmental ban.
Watch out for more information on this important upcoming meeting on this site. Details on registration and programme will follow.
INweb