Direct-hring rules won't protect OFWs - migrants' groups
Migrant worker groups in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia continue to press for the immediate scrapping of the new government policy on direct hiring, questioning its benefits on Filipinos overseas.
Migrante's chapter in Saudi Arabia (Migrante-KSA) slammed Labor Secretary Arturo Brion’s justification that the policy on direct hiring is aimed at protecting OFWs and ensuring their safety.
"How can a memorandum that seeks to enforce additional expenses on a system that has been proven beneficial to a lot of Filipinos working overseas meant to protect their interests?" asked Bob Fajarito, Migrante-Jeddah chairman.
“Brion is definitely out of touch with reality when he says the employers will take care of the burden, when numerous experience tells us this is not so," he said.
"In this age of neo-liberal globalization, only a handful, generous and maybe philanthropic employers would dare take on the additional $ 8,000 burden without passing it on to the worker," he added.
Militant groups have viewed the policy as “anti-Filipino" in general and “anti-OFW" in particular, saying it would discourage foreign employers from hiring Filipinos because of the $5,000 repatriation bond plus $3,000 performance bond in hiring a Filipino worker.
The performance bond will guarantee payment of the OFW’s salary for the duration of his or her job abroad. The repatriation bond will assure that in the event the OFW dies, he or she can be sent back to his or her country.
The statement stressed that according to Migrante KSA’s Rights and Welfare Committee, OFWs have been paying various fees for their employers prior to the issuance of the memorandum.
"With the memorandum in place, Brion would only legalize what employers in Saudi Arabia [have] been doing all along, charging their workers with expenses that employers should legally shoulder including iqama or work-permits, electricity and other utilities, accommodation, even medical insurance coverage," Fajarito said.
The group cited the case of two OFWs, Rahima Aiko and Zorayda Dukay whose employers denied them salary for seven months and are being charged SR 9,000 each for the employer’s visa and recruitment expense.
They also mentioned Syrel Morada, an OFW who was maltreated by her employer but is being charged SR 10,000 for visa and recruitment expenses.
Andrew Mangampo Ociones, Migrante-Saudi Arabia chairman, said that MC-04 will not only milk money from OFWs but also take the government’s burden on them should a problem emerge.
"The present administration is hell-bent on exacting as much from the outbound flight of its citizens and at the same time, provide legal cover to its chronic abandonment of OFWs when problem arises," he said.
Ociones explained that MC-04 is merely a follow up to a previous POEA Guidelines on the Deployment of Filipino Household Service Workers in 2007 which “bled OFWs with additional expense on training and other requirements. "
He also said that the $ 3,000 repatriation bond will take away the responsibility of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the safety of OFWs.
"The memorandum would effectively clear the recruitment agency of any hand on the repatriation of remains and OFWs in distress because POEA is pushing it to employers," Ociones said.
"But the employers would deduct the bond from the salary of the worker. So who's going to take responsibility for the OFWs in distress now?" he said.
Meanwhile, the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-Migrante-HK) dared the Philippine Consulate General to follow Singapore’s suspension last week of Memorandum Circular No. 4 containing the guidelines on direct-hiring.
“Congen Al Vicente should drop the nonsense that they are mere implementors of policies coming from Manila. We dare him to take a stand and defy POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Agency) MC-04 for the sake of Filipino migrants," said Unifil-Migrante-HK chairman Dolores Balladres.
She also criticized Vicente’s “lack of stand" on issues concerning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as evidenced by the immediate implementation of guidelines in Hong Kong.
"To our dismay and disappointment, PCG-HK was one of the first to carry out the provisions of POEA MC-04 as proven by their posting of new instructions on direct hiring on its website. Who is PCG-HK really serving?" she asked.
Balladares also mentioned the PCG’s failure to act on the list of OFW concerns her group submitted two years ago.
She said Vicente never acted on the petition against the implementation of “POEA Guidelines on Hiring of Filipino Household Workers, the re-institution of the authentication that has been suspended for a year in 2001, and the fee charged for an Overseas Employment Certificate."
"In a radio interview last Thursday, Labor Attache Romulo Salud even said that the rule has already been in place years ago and they are just currently implementing it. It’s a big lie. In 2001, then DoLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas issued Department Order No. 11 that revoked POEA MC-41, which also banned direct hiring, for Hong Kong OFWs," said Balladares. - Mark J. Ubalde, GMANews.
Migrante's chapter in Saudi Arabia (Migrante-KSA) slammed Labor Secretary Arturo Brion’s justification that the policy on direct hiring is aimed at protecting OFWs and ensuring their safety.
"How can a memorandum that seeks to enforce additional expenses on a system that has been proven beneficial to a lot of Filipinos working overseas meant to protect their interests?" asked Bob Fajarito, Migrante-Jeddah chairman.
“Brion is definitely out of touch with reality when he says the employers will take care of the burden, when numerous experience tells us this is not so," he said.
"In this age of neo-liberal globalization, only a handful, generous and maybe philanthropic employers would dare take on the additional $ 8,000 burden without passing it on to the worker," he added.
Militant groups have viewed the policy as “anti-Filipino" in general and “anti-OFW" in particular, saying it would discourage foreign employers from hiring Filipinos because of the $5,000 repatriation bond plus $3,000 performance bond in hiring a Filipino worker.
The performance bond will guarantee payment of the OFW’s salary for the duration of his or her job abroad. The repatriation bond will assure that in the event the OFW dies, he or she can be sent back to his or her country.
The statement stressed that according to Migrante KSA’s Rights and Welfare Committee, OFWs have been paying various fees for their employers prior to the issuance of the memorandum.
"With the memorandum in place, Brion would only legalize what employers in Saudi Arabia [have] been doing all along, charging their workers with expenses that employers should legally shoulder including iqama or work-permits, electricity and other utilities, accommodation, even medical insurance coverage," Fajarito said.
The group cited the case of two OFWs, Rahima Aiko and Zorayda Dukay whose employers denied them salary for seven months and are being charged SR 9,000 each for the employer’s visa and recruitment expense.
They also mentioned Syrel Morada, an OFW who was maltreated by her employer but is being charged SR 10,000 for visa and recruitment expenses.
Andrew Mangampo Ociones, Migrante-Saudi Arabia chairman, said that MC-04 will not only milk money from OFWs but also take the government’s burden on them should a problem emerge.
"The present administration is hell-bent on exacting as much from the outbound flight of its citizens and at the same time, provide legal cover to its chronic abandonment of OFWs when problem arises," he said.
Ociones explained that MC-04 is merely a follow up to a previous POEA Guidelines on the Deployment of Filipino Household Service Workers in 2007 which “bled OFWs with additional expense on training and other requirements. "
He also said that the $ 3,000 repatriation bond will take away the responsibility of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the safety of OFWs.
"The memorandum would effectively clear the recruitment agency of any hand on the repatriation of remains and OFWs in distress because POEA is pushing it to employers," Ociones said.
"But the employers would deduct the bond from the salary of the worker. So who's going to take responsibility for the OFWs in distress now?" he said.
Meanwhile, the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-Migrante-HK) dared the Philippine Consulate General to follow Singapore’s suspension last week of Memorandum Circular No. 4 containing the guidelines on direct-hiring.
“Congen Al Vicente should drop the nonsense that they are mere implementors of policies coming from Manila. We dare him to take a stand and defy POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Agency) MC-04 for the sake of Filipino migrants," said Unifil-Migrante-HK chairman Dolores Balladres.
She also criticized Vicente’s “lack of stand" on issues concerning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as evidenced by the immediate implementation of guidelines in Hong Kong.
"To our dismay and disappointment, PCG-HK was one of the first to carry out the provisions of POEA MC-04 as proven by their posting of new instructions on direct hiring on its website. Who is PCG-HK really serving?" she asked.
Balladares also mentioned the PCG’s failure to act on the list of OFW concerns her group submitted two years ago.
She said Vicente never acted on the petition against the implementation of “POEA Guidelines on Hiring of Filipino Household Workers, the re-institution of the authentication that has been suspended for a year in 2001, and the fee charged for an Overseas Employment Certificate."
"In a radio interview last Thursday, Labor Attache Romulo Salud even said that the rule has already been in place years ago and they are just currently implementing it. It’s a big lie. In 2001, then DoLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas issued Department Order No. 11 that revoked POEA MC-41, which also banned direct hiring, for Hong Kong OFWs," said Balladares. - Mark J. Ubalde, GMANews.
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