Aegile Fernandez
Programme Coordinator, Migrant Desk, Tenaganita, Malaysia
www.gn.apc.org/caramasia

Health Concerns of Filipino Migrant Workers in Malaysia

Some Statistics

1. Officially, there are 900,000 registered migrant workers. Unofficially, 1,000,000 undocumented migrant workers

2. Year 2001 - Officially, there are five countries sending labour to Malaysia: Indonesia, Thailand Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar

3. At present, migrant worker nationals (including undocumented migrant workers) in Malaysia are from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippines, Pakistan, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, South China, Africa.

Contract term - 3 years

-Mandatory medical examination every year.

-Renewal of work permit will depend on medical examination

-Communicable and other diseases tested for : HIV/AIDS, TB, STDs, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Leprosy, Urine Cannabis, Urine Opiates, Cancer, Epilepsy, Psychiatric Illness, Pregnancy

- Deportation within 24 hours for HIV/AIDs, failing one of the above medical tests

-All documented migrant workers are covered under the insurance scheme for accidents at work. Some companies have their panel doctors.

-Undocumented migrant workers are not covered for accidents or medical needs.

-The government is in the process of making it also compulsory for all migrant workers to be covered for medical, especially hospitalisation under an insurance scheme.

-Health is privatised in the country for all citizens. Migrant workers pay double fees for medical and hospitalisation.

There are a lot of write-ups, interventions on migrant workers focused on labour, but very little is done in terms of health.

A large intake of migrant workers took place in Malaysia in 1983 with the Filipina domestic workers. Seventeen years down the road, more rules and regulations have been laid down by the Malaysian government, but sad to say that interventions from sending countries has been inadequate.

Especially with regards to Filipina domestic, workers we are in the third phase (as we term it) of migration. The migrant workers have gone beyond just working - the longer they are in the country, the more familiar they become to the environment. Relationships begin with both the local community and among themselves.

This has led to many social problems within the host country. Some of the problems related to Filipina domestic workers are:

*Some leave their jobs (run away) and live together with Malaysian partners as a couple. Not married. Children are born. After a couple of years (3-5), the partners leave them and she is stranded with the children. Her work permit is expired by then and she is staying illegally in the country. In some other cases, the Malaysian partners take away the children, leaving the mother stranded.

*Some run away from their employer. They work without permit - the entertainment outlets. Some end up doing sex work. When a raid takes place, they are arrested and deported.

*Some don't want to go back at all. They end up marrying divorced men. Some marriages work out, while some have grave problems. Battering starts. The husband takes custody of the children, as the children hold Malaysian birth certificates.

*They have work permits. Sundays they go out with their boyfriends. Intimate relationships begin. They get pregnant and many go for abortions.

*There is an increase in the number of STD cases among Filipina maids.

Very little emphasis is placed on health problems. When they are sick, they tend to self-medicate for various reasons. They tend to seek medical help only when they are greatly sick or are in great pain.

There has to be an emphasis placed on health education. While labour is seen as a major cause (of health problems), over the years we have seen, as a host country, a sharp increase in health problems concerning migrant workers.

This information was distributed at the seminar 'On the Philippine Migration Trail: Migration and Reproductive Health', February 2001, Bangkok, Thailand