Are au pairs being exploited as 'cheap' housekeepers?

Researchers uncovered exploitative practices behind this arrangement

Are au pairs being exploited as 'cheap' housekeepers?

Au pairs who visit Australia on a working holiday are being forced to work as “full-time housekeepers but being paid like babysitters,” a new study showed.

Young holidaymakers in the country traditionally sign up to become an au pair for a chance at cultural immersion. An au pair stays with a host family for about six months to a year, babysitting and doing light housework on the side in exchange for free lodging and some “pocket money”.

But researchers from the University of Technology Sydney and Macquarie University uncovered exploitative practices behind this arrangement.

Three in five au pairs on average are being made to work 36 hours per week while nearly one in 10 render more than 50 hours weekly, the study “Cultural Exchange or Cheap Housekeeper?” revealed.

The au pairs claim they are forced to cover other household chores such as cooking and cleaning apart from their regular childcare duties.

A third of respondents who have had contracts terminated report being given only 24 hours to find new lodging.

“The demand for au pairing is often explained by Australian families' need for affordable childcare,” co-author Laurie Berg from the UTS said in a BBC report.

“But we found that the majority of families were taking advantage of a large supply of working holidaymakers to get cheap housekeepers as well. So au pairs are working as full-time housekeepers but being paid like babysitters.”

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