2 Philippine domestic helpers arrested after weeks of absence from work

Two Philippine domestic helpers were arrested in the southeastern port city of Busan on Friday after weeks of absence from work without permission, according to a local immigration office. The two were part of 100 home helpers from the Southeast Asian country who arrived in Seoul on Aug. 6 under the Seoul Metropolitan Government's pilot project aimed at reducing child care burdens and boosting the birth rate. They left their quarters on Sept. 15, the second day of a five-day Chuseok holiday. They were supposed to return to work by Sept. 18 but did not. The Busan immigration office and police found they illegally got jobs in Busan and arrested them at their residences. The immigration office plans to investigate the helpers and order them to leave the country. The workers entered South Korea as part of a six-month project led by the Seoul city government to assign foreign nannies to households with kids or newborns to help with child care and housework, and began working on Sept. 3 after about a month of training. The remaining 98 people have been working normally. The city government said it will actively cooperate with the labor ministry to improve their working conditions, including changing the wage system from a monthly to a weekly payment system through talks with the ministry. Source: Yonhap News Agency