OFWs in UAE cautioned vs signing contracts without POLO presence
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have cautioned Filipino jobseekers against signing labor contracts immediately upon arrival there.
Online news site Khaleej Times reported that Filipinos should sign contracts in the presence of representatives from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.
"Most employers take advantage of the UAE Labor Law that honors only labor contracts signed in UAE. They prepare this contract with a salary lower than what is originally offered in Manila through government-authorized manpower recruitment agencies," Labor Attaché Nasser Munder said.
If they are pressured or threatened, Munder said they should identify the persons responsible and report the matter immediately to the POLO.
He issued the advice amid rising complaints from Filipino expatriates of glaring differences in their salary and other benefits originally offered to them in the contract signed in Manila.
Upon arrival at UAE, Filipino expatriates are expected to sign the UAE labor contract reflecting the same terms and conditions on salary, work period and time, overtime and other benefits.
"What happens is that most employers change the terms without informing us and compel the employee to sign by threatening to send them back to Manila if they didn't sign," Munder said.
"Before signing the contract, they should inform us rather than coming to POLO to complain after the signing and experiencing difficulties in their job site," he added.
Munder said that before the UAE employers hire Filipino workers through manpower recruitment agencies in Manila, their job order passes through the UAE Labor Minister and the Philippine Labor Attaché for approval.
"After it is approved, it is forwarded to Manila for the manpower recruitment agency chosen by that employer to start processing the papers, which include the signing of a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) standard labour contract," he added.
He also advised Filipino jobseekers to scrutinize all employment documents that they are bringing to the UAE to avoid substitution.
"It is observed that some workers in the Manila airport, who are carrying brown envelopes supposedly containing their employment documents, have been instructed by manpower recruitment agencies not to open their envelopes until they have reported to their employers,"
he said.
Munder admitted the POEA does not maintain a Labor Assistance Counter at the international airports in the Philippines.
Thus, he said so no one can identify fake travel or employment documents of overseas Filipino workers.
Meanwhile in Manila, Vice President Noli de Castro advised those planning to work abroad to be wary of tampered travel documents, saying such is a tell-tale sign than an illegal recruiter is at work.
Radio dzBB’s Lito Laparan said De Castro – who is also Presidential Adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and chair of the Task Force against Illegal Recruitment (TFAIR) – expressed alarm over the reported increase in Filipinos falling prey to illegal recruiters using the modus operandi.
The report noted that many of the illegal recruitment victims bound for Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Lebanon that were rescued by the task force recently were found to have fake travel documents.
De Castro then said the government will continue its efforts in cracking down illegal recruiters as he advised those planning to work overseas to ensure that all their documents are legitimate. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV
Online news site Khaleej Times reported that Filipinos should sign contracts in the presence of representatives from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.
"Most employers take advantage of the UAE Labor Law that honors only labor contracts signed in UAE. They prepare this contract with a salary lower than what is originally offered in Manila through government-authorized manpower recruitment agencies," Labor Attaché Nasser Munder said.
If they are pressured or threatened, Munder said they should identify the persons responsible and report the matter immediately to the POLO.
He issued the advice amid rising complaints from Filipino expatriates of glaring differences in their salary and other benefits originally offered to them in the contract signed in Manila.
Upon arrival at UAE, Filipino expatriates are expected to sign the UAE labor contract reflecting the same terms and conditions on salary, work period and time, overtime and other benefits.
"What happens is that most employers change the terms without informing us and compel the employee to sign by threatening to send them back to Manila if they didn't sign," Munder said.
"Before signing the contract, they should inform us rather than coming to POLO to complain after the signing and experiencing difficulties in their job site," he added.
Munder said that before the UAE employers hire Filipino workers through manpower recruitment agencies in Manila, their job order passes through the UAE Labor Minister and the Philippine Labor Attaché for approval.
"After it is approved, it is forwarded to Manila for the manpower recruitment agency chosen by that employer to start processing the papers, which include the signing of a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) standard labour contract," he added.
He also advised Filipino jobseekers to scrutinize all employment documents that they are bringing to the UAE to avoid substitution.
"It is observed that some workers in the Manila airport, who are carrying brown envelopes supposedly containing their employment documents, have been instructed by manpower recruitment agencies not to open their envelopes until they have reported to their employers,"
he said.
Munder admitted the POEA does not maintain a Labor Assistance Counter at the international airports in the Philippines.
Thus, he said so no one can identify fake travel or employment documents of overseas Filipino workers.
Meanwhile in Manila, Vice President Noli de Castro advised those planning to work abroad to be wary of tampered travel documents, saying such is a tell-tale sign than an illegal recruiter is at work.
Radio dzBB’s Lito Laparan said De Castro – who is also Presidential Adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and chair of the Task Force against Illegal Recruitment (TFAIR) – expressed alarm over the reported increase in Filipinos falling prey to illegal recruiters using the modus operandi.
The report noted that many of the illegal recruitment victims bound for Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Lebanon that were rescued by the task force recently were found to have fake travel documents.
De Castro then said the government will continue its efforts in cracking down illegal recruiters as he advised those planning to work overseas to ensure that all their documents are legitimate. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV
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