Philippine caregivers arrive at Incheon International Airport, Aug. 6, as part of Korea's pilot project to supply foreign caregivers to domestic households. Joint Press Corps

The Philippine government urged Korean authorities to ensure that Filipino caregivers in Seoul receive the minimum wage, Thursday, stressing that equal treatment under Korea's Foreign Employment Act was a key condition of the bilateral pilot project.

"The Filipino caregivers are classified as EPS workers and, as such, are accorded equal treatment including minimum wage under Korea's Foreign Employment Act. This is an important condition of the pilot project between the Philippines and Korea, which the Korean government proposed to the Philippines," the Philippine government told The Korea Times in a statement.

The Employment Permit System (EPS), operated by the Korean government, brings in a steady number of foreign workers — mainly from Southeast Asian nations — to meet labor demand in industries like agriculture, fishing and manufacturing.

"The caregivers are a skilled workforce and came prepared. They are professionally trained and certified as skilled caregivers by the Philippine government," it said, adding that an orderly and fair system of the Filipino caregivers under the EPS is a manifestation of the value that care work is given by both countries.

This statement, made through the Philippine Embassy in Seoul via its Migrant Workers' Office, is seen as a de facto opposition to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's argument that Filipino caregivers should be excluded from the local minimum wage system.

Under the trial program launched by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor, 100 domestic helpers from the Philippines, who arrived on Aug. 6, began their duties earlier this week in 142 households across the capital. This followed the completion of their four-week training in Seoul.

As per the agreement, the caregivers are guaranteed a minimum wage of 9,860 won ($7.37) per hour, as stipulated in Korea's Labor Standards Act. Based on an eight-hour, five-day workweek, the workers should earn 2.38 million won per month. The minimum wage will rise to 10,030 won next year.

But the Seoul mayor expressed concerns that this wage could burden households, as the project aims to provide affordable child care and housekeeping services amid a decline in the number of local caregivers.

During a recent National Assembly seminar on Aug. 27, Oh said, "The foreign domestic caregiver scheme was intended to address cost issues related to local caregivers, which exacerbated the low birthrate. However, the current scheme does not reflect this original purpose."

Oh also compared the costs for foreign domestic caregivers in other regions, noting that in Hong Kong, the cost is at least 830,000 won per month, while in Singapore, they are paid up to 710,000 won.

Rep. Na Kyung-won of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), who hosted the seminar, supported the notion of differential wage schemes for certain foreign workers.

Seoul has requested that relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Justice, engage in discussions to ensure that the costs of Filipino caregivers' services are lowered to what they consider reasonable levels.