Average Filipino Family Income About 20,000 Pesos A Month

[Thomas]

Average is 15-20.000p/month.

I suppouse you mean in Metro Manila. Workers earn MUCH less in province and I suppouse a big part of the employee are workers. 

 

Remember recently they made a special law for domestic helpers. Their minimum salaries 2500/2000/1500 p per month (depending of region) plus food simple lodging. If they had got at least that anyway, then such law wouldn't be needed.

 

The law about minimum salaries tell it's from around 5000p/month and up (depending of region and work type) and I know several who get LESS pay than that  =many employers don't follow that law.

 

But IF theese lower salaries aren't included when calculating average, THEN it isn't odd the statistics tell much higher than it REALY is...   :)

[MikeB]

Remember recently they made a special law for domestic helpers. Their minimum salaries 2500/2000/1500 p per month (depending of region) plus food simple lodging. If they had got at least that anyway, then such law wouldn't be needed.

That's not true, most of them were making more then the minimum, plus a lot of other benefits, long before the law. Finding an honest, reliable helper is like the holy grail, it makes no sense to underpay them. It's an unnecessary law that only hurts the Kasambahay themselves. 

[BrettGC]

That's not true, most of them were making more then the minimum, plus a lot of other benefits, long before the law. Finding an honest, reliable helper is like the holy grail, it makes no sense to underpay them. It's an unnecessary law that only hurts the Kasambahay themselves.

 

Yeah, my  ex-gf pays the nanny/housekeeper about 4k PHP a month, plus room/board/internet/phone in an air-con bedroom.  This was in AC, where everything is a little more expensive, but not quite as high as Manila.  I guess that should be tempered with the fact she is her cousin. 

[joeatmanila]

Thomas, I agree with you totally in all that you say. I personally have a helper, paying her 4000p/month and nothing else no SSS and other requirements according to the law. Ok, on special occasions she gets a gift of 1000p...from time to time...say her salary is 5000p all in all. and she is extremely happy since she is the most well paid helper in the entire subdivision. She has her own room 9m2, her own toilet, her own kitchen (and that's where she cooks even for us) , after 8-9pm and before 6-6:30 am no one calls her name. She has HEAVEN compared to others. My wife's cousin lives in a condo at st.mesa. It is this SM condominiums. We went to visit her, my wife insisted that I should see the place with the lavish lobbies and pools. Indeed it is nice. The condo though is 24m4 all in all. She lives there with a kid and a helper. the 24m2 is a kitchen rather small and a normal room plus a small toilet, that's it. Great views they were telling me but I was looking this tiny rat hole (on a price of 2.5millions) and I wondered where the helper sleeps. They told me when she and the kid go to bed, the helper places a blanket and a pillow on the floor in the kitchen and that is where she sleeps. Others sleep there where before were dogs etc etc.

The salaries I mentioned are applying to professionals, engineers, teachers, high ranked public officials, certain level bank employees etc. I did not bother mentioning the "mass" since in our countries the "mass" can be found on various stages of incomes and if I am allowed to state what my eyes witnessed at San Diego California...mass homeless, even special police department for homeless, yes called homeless police....Try also Greece now days, many eat from the garbage.

[Thomas]

 

Remember recently they made a special law for domestic helpers. Their minimum salaries 2500/2000/1500 p per month (depending of region) plus food simple lodging. If they had got at least that anyway, then such law wouldn't be needed.

That's not true, most of them were making more then the minimum, plus a lot of other benefits, long before the law. Finding an honest, reliable helper is like the holy grail, it makes no sense to underpay them. It's an unnecessary law that only hurts the Kasambahay themselves. 

That's not true   :)     Well. Your statement is perhaps true if you define "most" as just more than half of the domestic helpers,

but even if "most" is as much as 80 % - which I DON'T believe it is, because I have heared several saying they get less and only one said she got the minimum - but no SSS - even if that much as 80 %, then still 20 % DON'T get the minimum and then is the law - and follow up -  needed... 

But I agree with you concerning the law could have been made some easier to follow.

[MikeB]

but even if "most" is as much as 80 % - which I DON'T believe it is, because I have heared several saying they get less and only one said she got the minimum - but no SSS - even if that much as 80 %, then still 20 % DON'T get the minimum and then is the law - and follow up -  needed

I responded to your 1st statement which pertained to salary only, not benefits like SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-ibig. I believe it would be very rare to find helpers paid less than the minimum required by the Kasambahay Law. The degree to which the law is hurting the kasambahay is greatly mitigated by the fact that the law, like many others, is widely ignored.

[Hewy09]

I find this all enlightening as most of my asawa's sisters are either married or supported by westerners on less than 20,000php/month. And with that they pay there domestic helpers 2000/PHP. They have never had difficulty finding helpers either.

One of my wife's sisters is in supported and works at a tile shop in management and makes less than 20,000php/ month and she is a single mother with her own house and a 18 yr old in university. She would not accept any help.

I know my Filipino family is on the poor side of the tracks and live on the kasibig floodway, for most of you would cringe at the living condition but this is typical/average Filipino living.

With that all said IMO the salaries most think are average are grossly exaggerated.

Sent from my iPhone. buhay ay mahusay na! magsaya.

[scott h]

agree with mike,,,we pay our maid 3500 per month. not counting 13 month pay, birthdays, xmas, taking home left overs to her family, etc etc etc. a good maid is hard to find, once you get one, do what ever it takes to keep her happy with her job lol. she lives in a multi family house in the poorer section of town. the whole extended family pools their earnings. whenever we need heavy lifting, yard work, or just something I don't want to do, we bring in one of her brothers to help. great country to live in for those of us who are just bone lazy :no:

Edited January 28, 2014 by scott h

[Dave Hounddriver]

agree with mike,,,we pay our maid 3500 per month.

 

Ditto.  I had many maids over the last 6 years and have paid them between 1500 and 4000 a month.  The only one worth praising was the one paid 4000 a month.  Many times I have seen filipino neighbors bragging about how they only pay their helpers half what I pay and they get much more work out of them. I can only guess at why that is.

[Thomas]

 

but even if "most" is as much as 80 % - which I DON'T believe it is, because I have heared several saying they get less and only one said she got the minimum - but no SSS - even if that much as 80 %, then still 20 % DON'T get the minimum and then is the law - and follow up -  needed

I responded to your 1st statement which pertained to salary only, not benefits like SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-ibig. I believe it would be very rare to find helpers paid less than the minimum required by the Kasambahay Law. The degree to which the law is hurting the kasambahay is greatly mitigated by the fact that the law, like many others, is widely ignored.

It has to be easy, because I have found a bunch among the rather few I talk to   :)     (I talked to FILIPINS, not foreigners.) Without counting any proper, just making a rough estimate, I believe it's around 20% of the workers who I know outside Manila. (Even two I know with jobs as Internet attendant and responcible position pawn shop handler aren't paid minimum salaries, so I suppouse there are a lot of less skilled jobs than that are paid under minimum salaries. They are affraid of complaining/demanding (but not to me, because I'm friend to them and not to their employers) there are houndreds of thousands Filipins wanting their jobs...

 

agree with mike,,,we pay our maid 3500 per month.

 

Ditto.  I had many maids over the last 6 years and have paid them between 1500 and 4000 a month.  The only one worth praising was the one paid 4000 a month.  Many times I have seen filipino neighbors bragging about how they only pay their helpers half what I pay and they get much more work out of them. I can only guess at why that is.

Well. I guess it can be hard to find to low paid domestic helpers employed BY FOREIGNERS. (In an other recent topic it was coment about foreigners have raised rent expectations very much, making many real estate owners asking in adds much higher rents than Filipins would even think of paying...)

Actualy it has to be easy to find to low paid, because I know several from