Asian housemaids fear for future amid Cyprus slump
With recession-hit Cyprus facing an even deeper slump on the back of a draconian EU-IMF bailout, thousands of Asian housemaids, nannies and caregivers on the small Mediterranean island fear for their jobs and futures.
For years, Filipina, Sri Lankan and Vietnamese women have been a status symbol in Cypriot homes, working six days a week, often for very long hours, in exchange for room, board and 330 euros ($430) a month.
The island's overall unemployment is already around 15 percent and is expected to grow sharply this year and next, as GDP plunges a forecast 8.7 percent in 2013 and another 3.9 percent in 2014.
With the harsh austerity measures imposed by the deal to rescue Cyprus's failing banks and bankrupt government, businesses will close, many people will lose their jobs and those who keep them will see their incomes reduced.
So the luxuries of expensive cars, fancy holidays abroad and domestic help will become increasingly unaffordable.
Fely, a Filipina who has been working as a cleaner in offices and homes for the past five years, is already feeling the pinch.
"They cut my work hours by half," she said worriedly.
"One of my part-time employers told me I should stop coming... They told me if they settle this problem about their money at the bank they will call me again."
She was referring to the fact that the bailout deal included a "haircut" on deposits above 100,000 euros, meaning some businesses and individual depositors will lose large amounts of capital.
Cypriot immigration officials say there are around 35,400 domestic workers in Cyprus, but with increasing pressure on big bank accounts and soaring unemployment, some households are looking to share their "help."
"Domestic workers are considered to be a luxury for most of our citizens, so when you are in a financial crisis, the first thing that you need to cut is the luxury," said Riginos Polydefkis, a senior immigration official.
For those who lose their jobs, the outlook is stark.
To begin with, they have no right to unemployment compensation, and if they fail to find a new employer within 30 days of being laid off, they become illegal.
Polydefkis said the number of domestic workers, which peaked in 2010, dropped by a thousand in 2012, and by another thousand in the past two months.
"The number of domestic workers was more than the estimated needs, and I think that there is going to be a correction right now," he said.
Fely said: "We need to find a job somewhere, but we don't know where to go."
She is married to a Romanian she met in Cyprus, where their daughter was born three years ago. He has lost his job and will return to Romania with their daughter, while Fely stays on in hope of a turnaround.
Lynn is another Filipina. She has been laid off and is still looking for a new job.
Her plight highlights another dilemma for these women -- whether to stay on in Cyprus, taking ever more poorly paid and onerous jobs, if they can find them, or throwing in the towel and going home.
"If I go home, my children, 12 and 14, will drop from school because I will not be able to pay for them," said Lynn, who suggested she might go to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, where some of her friends have found work.
Doros Polykarpou, who works with KISA, an NGO offering support to migrant workers, spells out many of the problems these women face.
"Many of these people still have to provide for their family, so they are not able to leave the island despite the difficulties," and will be "willing to accept any condition at all in order to earn whatever money they can to support their families abroad."
And "more and more of these people are not being able to get their salary, or they are asked to work longer hours, for several employers, without extra pay."
Shemaine Kyriakides, the Philippine honorary consul in Cyprus, said: "I don't think the number will lessen too much, because it is hard work and I don't think a lot of other people would assume that for the amount they are paid."
The result, Polykarpou said, will be "more exploitation, more vulnerability, more undocumented people."
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| Migrant workers at a public park gather on their day off in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia on April 7, 2013 |
The island's overall unemployment is already around 15 percent and is expected to grow sharply this year and next, as GDP plunges a forecast 8.7 percent in 2013 and another 3.9 percent in 2014.
With the harsh austerity measures imposed by the deal to rescue Cyprus's failing banks and bankrupt government, businesses will close, many people will lose their jobs and those who keep them will see their incomes reduced.
So the luxuries of expensive cars, fancy holidays abroad and domestic help will become increasingly unaffordable.
Fely, a Filipina who has been working as a cleaner in offices and homes for the past five years, is already feeling the pinch.
"They cut my work hours by half," she said worriedly.
"One of my part-time employers told me I should stop coming... They told me if they settle this problem about their money at the bank they will call me again."
She was referring to the fact that the bailout deal included a "haircut" on deposits above 100,000 euros, meaning some businesses and individual depositors will lose large amounts of capital.
Cypriot immigration officials say there are around 35,400 domestic workers in Cyprus, but with increasing pressure on big bank accounts and soaring unemployment, some households are looking to share their "help."
"Domestic workers are considered to be a luxury for most of our citizens, so when you are in a financial crisis, the first thing that you need to cut is the luxury," said Riginos Polydefkis, a senior immigration official.
For those who lose their jobs, the outlook is stark.
To begin with, they have no right to unemployment compensation, and if they fail to find a new employer within 30 days of being laid off, they become illegal.
Polydefkis said the number of domestic workers, which peaked in 2010, dropped by a thousand in 2012, and by another thousand in the past two months.
"The number of domestic workers was more than the estimated needs, and I think that there is going to be a correction right now," he said.
Fely said: "We need to find a job somewhere, but we don't know where to go."
She is married to a Romanian she met in Cyprus, where their daughter was born three years ago. He has lost his job and will return to Romania with their daughter, while Fely stays on in hope of a turnaround.
Lynn is another Filipina. She has been laid off and is still looking for a new job.
Her plight highlights another dilemma for these women -- whether to stay on in Cyprus, taking ever more poorly paid and onerous jobs, if they can find them, or throwing in the towel and going home.
"If I go home, my children, 12 and 14, will drop from school because I will not be able to pay for them," said Lynn, who suggested she might go to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, where some of her friends have found work.
Doros Polykarpou, who works with KISA, an NGO offering support to migrant workers, spells out many of the problems these women face.
"Many of these people still have to provide for their family, so they are not able to leave the island despite the difficulties," and will be "willing to accept any condition at all in order to earn whatever money they can to support their families abroad."
And "more and more of these people are not being able to get their salary, or they are asked to work longer hours, for several employers, without extra pay."
Shemaine Kyriakides, the Philippine honorary consul in Cyprus, said: "I don't think the number will lessen too much, because it is hard work and I don't think a lot of other people would assume that for the amount they are paid."
The result, Polykarpou said, will be "more exploitation, more vulnerability, more undocumented people."
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