[News Today] FILIPINO DOMESTIC HELPERS GO AWOL

[LEAD]
Two Filipino domestic workers involved in a government and Seoul city pilot project have been missing since the Chuseok holiday. The government is now considering reforms, suspecting wage dissatisfaction as the cause of their disappearance.

[REPORT]
Two domestic workers from the Philippines, out of the 100 who arrived for a government and Seoul city pilot project, have not returned to work in Seoul and are out of contact.

The labor ministry said the two women left their accommodation in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, with their belongings on September 15 during the Chuseok holiday, and have been unreachable since.

If foreign workers miss work without notice for 5 days or more, employers must report it to a related labor authority.

Under this rule, the provider of the domestic helper service is expected to file a report regarding the two missing workers on Thursday.

If their whereabouts remain unknown after the report is made, they will officially become illegal aliens.

The government suspects they left the job because they were unhappy with the low wages.

Though minimum wage is applied, Filipino helpers work fewer hours than other foreign workers in Korea hired under the employment permit system who mainly work in the manufacturing sector.

400-thousand won, or 300 US dollars, is also deducted to cover for their accommodation.

Insecurity about future employment could have also played a role as the pilot project runs through February.

The government and Seoul city have notified the Philippine embassy and asked for further training and guidance with the helpers. It will also review whether to change wage payment from a monthly to a weekly scheme.

There was also controversy last month when the allowance the workers got for training was paid beyond the pay day.