Capital city thirsty for housemaids
By Wang Zhuoqiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-03 06:35

Wang Yuan, anxious for days, has called a domestic service agent three times to request a nanny.

The present nanny for Wang's one-year-old girl is leaving for home in Sichuan Province two weeks before Spring Festival, which starts on January 29.

The holiday is a traditional time for Chinese people to have family reunions but it's a big problem for the busy working couple who don't get time off to cover for their nannies' absences.

"We couldn't live without a nanny, "said Wang, 32, an employee at a large State-owned enterprise. "My husband and I both often work 12 hours a day, with frequent overtime."

The Wang family is among the many households in Beijing whose nanny or maid is leaving the city on vacation.

According to China Homemaking Service Association, Beijing will have a shortage of 50,000 domestic helpers before the upcoming Spring Festival.

Over-dependence on migrant workers leads to the annual problem, according the association.

Of the 153,000 people working in this industry, 92 per cent are migrant workers. Most of them go home before Spring Festival and stay for several weeks.

Pan Xiulian is determined to go home after working as a nanny for three years in Beijing.

For the 45-year-old woman from Tongchuan in Shaanxi Province, a family reunion with her husband and 10-year-old son is more important than the paycheck.

Still, money keeps some homesick domestic helpers in the city.

"After all, they come to the city to earn money. Only more cash can make them stay," said Huang Chen, manager of the Beijing Shuxin Domestic Service Centre. The centre employs more than 400 housemaids and about a third of them will go home during the holiday season.

Liu Qinhua is one of Shuxin's staff members who is staying.

"I wanted to go home. But my son is expecting his tuition fee for next semester," said Liu Qinhua from Sichuan Province, 41. Liu works as a nanny for a family of three two high-income designers and their two-month old son.

She will be paid a double salary for three days during Spring Festival, in addition to her month salary of 1,000 yuan (US$125).

But some groups are trying to find solutions to the yearly dilemma. Turning to local unemployed and laid-off workers who will not leave Beijing during the holiday is a plan launched by the Beijing Homemaking Service Association last month.

The association has set up more than 100 hotlines based on local domestic service companies to attract more helpful hands from Beijing to join the business.

However, the response to the hotline has been chilly, as Beijingers still hold to the perspective that domestic help is a humbling occupation, said Huang Chen.

"We've got some calls from Beijingers. But none accept the job," Huang said.

"A domestic helper that knows professional skills is very respected by their employers," Huang said.

Wang Yuan, who has employed many nannies, still does not know who is coming to her door next week.

In such a frantic season, all she wants is a woman who can look after her daughter.

"Of course I want someone who is capable of giving my daughter good care and education," Wang said. "But under such circumstances, do I have a choice?"

(China Daily 01/03/2006 page3)