POEA urged not to allow 'illiterate' maids to work in Saudi


ABS-CBNnews.com


MANILA, Philippines – An organization of overseas employment service providers (OESPs) is urging the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to disallow the deployment of “illiterate” household service workers (HSWs) to Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) said they have asked POEA “to expressly disallow the deployment of ‘No Read-No Write’ HSWs.”
PASEI has also called the attention of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to the issue.
In a letter addressed to POEA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac, PASEI President Victor E.R. Fernandez Jr. said that their proposal is in line with the guidelines issued by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Manila regarding the procedural requirements for visas that are to be followed by accredited recruitment agencies.
“The prevailing rules and regulations in the Kingdom do not allow anyone who cannot read and write to enter the Kingdom to work,” according to Item 13 of the Guidelines issued by the Embassy.
PASEI is hoping that their proposal will be considered when POEA drafts the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) that will govern the recruitment and deployment of HSWs to Saudi Arabia.
“We believe... that aligning our recruitment rules and regulations with this clear and publicly announced policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be beneficial to our HSWs and protective of HSWs we will allow deployment,” Fernandez said in his letter.
Saudi Arabia had lifted a deployment ban against Filipino HSWs late September 2012 after agreeing to the Philippines’ demands of minimum monthly wage of US$400 and more protection for the Filipino maids.
PASEI is also encouraging POEA to require employers to “cover their HSWs with high-grade medical insurance... which premium cost more than SR1,500.00 per year or so in order to ensure there are in-patient benefits.”
Also, PASEI is urging the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to consider the OWWA Membership Automatic Renewal Loan (OMAR-Loan) plan. This will give HSWs an automatic loan of $25.00 to renew their OWWA membership even if they are unable to return to the Philippines.
PASEI is composed of over 650 recruitment agencies that are licensed by DOLE and authorized by POEA to recruit and deploy Filipino workers abroad.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

Biden said set to make push for demilitarized Palestinian state as part of new doctrine ---By LAZAR BERMAN

New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, who’s close to the US administration, says emerging doctrine would include Saudi-Israeli normalization, 2-state solution, and campaign against Iran US President Joe Biden’s administration is homing in on a new doctrine involving an unprecedented push to immediately advance the creation of a demilitarized but viable Palestinian state, The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman reported on Thursday. The plan, Friedman wrote, “would involve some form of US recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel.” White House officials “have been consulting experts inside and outside the US government about different forms this recognition of Palestinian statehood might take,” revealed Friedman. What he termed the new “Biden Doctrin
Read more

In Cairo, senior Hamas officials discuss hostage deal with Egyptian intelligence chief ---By TOI STAFF, AGENCIES and LAZAR BERMAN

Delegation said led by terror group’s Qatar-based political leader Ismail Haniyeh; Wall Street Journal reports Hamas demanding 150 security prisoners for each female soldier A delegation of senior Hamas officials arrived in Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on a possible deal that would see the release of hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. The delegation was led by Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, and included senior members Mousa Abu Marzook and Khalil al-Hayya, the Qatar-based Al-Araby news outlet reported, citing an unnamed Egyptian source. The Hamas officials met with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, to discuss the details of a hostage deal proposal that was presented to the Gaza terror group earlier this week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The outline of the deal was drawn up during a meeting in Paris last week in the presence of Israeli and US officials, as well as Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, a
Read more