Protecting our care workers

On her second day of working in Hong Kong as a domestic worker, 28-year-old Rhodora Alcaraz found herself in an emergency. She was trapped in a burning apartment in Wang Fuk Court, along with her new employers’ 3-month-old baby and elderly grandmother. Instead of fleeing, she shielded the infant with her own body to protect him from the thick fumes until the firefighters arrived to rescue them. Alcaraz has since been recognized as a hero by both the Hong Kong and Philippine governments.

Others weren’t as fortunate. Nine Indonesian domestic workers and one Filipino are confirmed among the 159 people who perished in the apartment complex fire. Their deaths remind us of the courage embedded in the everyday labor of migrant domestic workers. Leaving their own families behind to care for someone else’s, these women take on risks to their physical and emotional well-being and often show devotion and loyalty that often extend far beyond what their contracts require.

Yet the same devotion that moves us can sometimes obscure the harsher realities of their lives. Despite the essential care work they provide that allows entire households and economies to function, many migrant workers remain undervalued, invisible, or deliberately dehumanized. In 2023, the charred remains of 35-year-old Jullebee Ranara were discovered in a desert in Kuwait. She had been allegedly raped, murdered, and burned by the 17-year-old son of her employer. An autopsy later revealed that she was pregnant.

One of the systems that has enabled such abuses is the Kafala system, a sponsorship-based labor arrangement used by many Middle Eastern countries. A worker’s legal status is tied entirely to their employer, so they need the employer’s permission to transfer jobs or to exit the host country. The severe power imbalance leaves many migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation, with domestic helpers being severely overworked and subjected to verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. It is also common for employers to delay wages and confiscate their workers’ passports and phones, leaving them with no means of escape.

Recently, the Saudi government replaced the Kafala system with a contract-based model that promises greater worker mobility and improved labor protection. Human rights groups have welcomed the announcement, while emphasizing that meaningful change will depend on strict enforcement and real accountability for violators.

Exploitation is not solely inflicted by foreign employers. Many Filipinos themselves run illegal recruitment schemes that prey on the desperation of workers seeking better-paying opportunities abroad. Since their employment arrangement circumvented formal migration channels, many of them became victims of involuntary servitude and debt bondage upon arrival.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has introduced several initiatives to help ensure a safer working environment, especially for domestic workers. The Know Your Employee protocol requires Filipinos to hold a video conference with their employers before deployment. The Kamusta Kabayan mobile application enables overseas Filipino workers to check in and answer questions about their safety and well-being. Extensive monitoring is needed to determine whether these mechanisms are truly effective in helping migrant workers report issues and to identify any barriers that remain to be addressed. Last August, the department raised the minimum salary of Filipino domestic workers to $500 from $400. DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac hopes this will encourage more workers to go through proper documentation, enabling better tracking and protection.

Alongside these efforts, targeted education campaigns are needed to equip potential workers to recognize exploitative arrangements, avoid too-good-to-be-true offers, and seek help early. Just as important is the work of sharing the lived experiences of migrant workers. Retelling survivor stories in more accessible formats like graphic novels provides a credible context for awareness campaigns and effectively conveys complex facts about trafficking. Social media sharing of women’s escape stories from abuse not only amplifies survivor voices and fosters understanding, but it also pushes back against a culture of impunity that thrives on silence.

Whenever we call these women heroes, we must ask ourselves what that truly entails. Do we honor their courage merely through public praise while ignoring the systems that endanger them? Do we celebrate the few who survive extraordinary situations while rendering the daily labor of the majority invisible? They do not need to be placed on pedestals. They need to be afforded the same fairness, dignity, and enforceable protections that we expect for any human being doing honest work. It is easy to romanticize the sacrifices they have made. What they need from us is to confront the injustices they face.

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eleanor@shetalksasia.com