DOLE to penalize agencies charging excessive fees from Taiwan-bound OFWs
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today warned recruitment agencies charging excessive fees from workers applying for jobs in Taiwan as preparations are underway to investigate and file charges against erring agencies and their Taiwanese counterparts.
Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion issued the warning following reports from the POLO in Taipei on the proliferation of cases indicating that recruitment agencies illegally collected excessive placement fees from OFWs ranging from P50,000 to P190,000 each.
Brion also called on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been victimized by the erring agencies to file complaints with the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in Taiwan or with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
He said the POLOs in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaoshiung in Taiwan have been directed to gather more complaints from victims to uncover the agencies which charge excessive fees from Taiwan-bound OFWs.
The DOLE Chief said the erring agencies violate POEA rules which restrict recruiters to collect placement fees equivalent only to a month's salary of the OFWs, adding that violators will be meted with suspension and cancellation of their licenses. Their Taiwanese brokers, on the other hand, will be blacklisted.
Citing the POLO report, Brion added that about 80 percent of the agencies also allegedly required their victims who were unable to pay them the full amount while they were still in Manila to sign a loan agreement covering the unpaid placement fees or issue post-dated checks in favor of the agencies.
The DOLE chief said that the agencies collect the unpaid fees through their brokers in Taiwan who deduct monthly amortization from the OFWs' wages over a period of six months to one year as loan payment.
He said Filipino officials in Taiwan already made representation with Taiwan's Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) to stop the collection of amortization fees from OFWs by brokers and other third parties.
Nonetheless, the Labor and Employment Secretary said the DOLE and the POEA are bent on putting a stop to the illegal practice by charging erring agencies and their Taiwanese counterparts.
He noted that victims of erring agencies paid as much as NT$94,463 or about P119,049 which is six times bigger than the fees paid by OFWs in Taiwan hired under the special hiring program for Taiwan (SHPT).
Under the program, OFWs with proper skills and genuine credentials who pass all the requirements can apply for Taiwan jobs directly through the POEA.
Brion said that due to preference of employers to hire workers using Taiwanese brokers and Philippines recruitment agencies, deployment through the SHPT reached only 5,205 in the last 12 years. In 2007, only 600 OFWs were deployed to Taiwan as direct hires through the program.
He said that POLOs and POEA will endeavor to increase deployment targets under the program by 5 percent annually.
Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion issued the warning following reports from the POLO in Taipei on the proliferation of cases indicating that recruitment agencies illegally collected excessive placement fees from OFWs ranging from P50,000 to P190,000 each.
Brion also called on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been victimized by the erring agencies to file complaints with the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in Taiwan or with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
He said the POLOs in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaoshiung in Taiwan have been directed to gather more complaints from victims to uncover the agencies which charge excessive fees from Taiwan-bound OFWs.
The DOLE Chief said the erring agencies violate POEA rules which restrict recruiters to collect placement fees equivalent only to a month's salary of the OFWs, adding that violators will be meted with suspension and cancellation of their licenses. Their Taiwanese brokers, on the other hand, will be blacklisted.
Citing the POLO report, Brion added that about 80 percent of the agencies also allegedly required their victims who were unable to pay them the full amount while they were still in Manila to sign a loan agreement covering the unpaid placement fees or issue post-dated checks in favor of the agencies.
The DOLE chief said that the agencies collect the unpaid fees through their brokers in Taiwan who deduct monthly amortization from the OFWs' wages over a period of six months to one year as loan payment.
He said Filipino officials in Taiwan already made representation with Taiwan's Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) to stop the collection of amortization fees from OFWs by brokers and other third parties.
Nonetheless, the Labor and Employment Secretary said the DOLE and the POEA are bent on putting a stop to the illegal practice by charging erring agencies and their Taiwanese counterparts.
He noted that victims of erring agencies paid as much as NT$94,463 or about P119,049 which is six times bigger than the fees paid by OFWs in Taiwan hired under the special hiring program for Taiwan (SHPT).
Under the program, OFWs with proper skills and genuine credentials who pass all the requirements can apply for Taiwan jobs directly through the POEA.
Brion said that due to preference of employers to hire workers using Taiwanese brokers and Philippines recruitment agencies, deployment through the SHPT reached only 5,205 in the last 12 years. In 2007, only 600 OFWs were deployed to Taiwan as direct hires through the program.
He said that POLOs and POEA will endeavor to increase deployment targets under the program by 5 percent annually.
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