Recruitment sector pushes creation of workers bank

A manpower export industry leader has called on Congress to pass the bill creating an Overseas Filipino Workers Bank to assist "modern heroes" to set-up livelihood projects and small business enterprises after their stint overseas.

Jackson Gan, vice-president of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters, said the bank operations should be able to help all OFWs as they finished their contracts and decide to stay for good in the country.

FAME is an association of manpower agencies with 600 members.

Funds can be sourced from the P 8.6 billion trust fund where membership fees from OFWs are held in trust by Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Board.

"OWWA projects for OFWs have been far and few for the past years and many workers have been complaining that requirements for livelihood loans and placement fee assistance are too stringent and most of them do not have the collateral imposed by the OWWA fund assistance department," Gan said.

Gan thanked OWWA Administrator Marianito Roque for lowering to P42 to 1 dollar the computation for the OWWA membership fee or P 1050 starting this week.

Gan said that the lower fee will be able to help the more than 100,000 re-hires or balikbayan workers who are on vacation for the holidays.

He rejected the proposal of lawmakers for a refund of the fee to the workers.

"They do not realize that it is highly improbable to return the over-payment to the more than one million workers deployed this year. Many are re-hires who only return to the country every two years," he said - GMANews.TV

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