POEA Board to meet on exemptions to direct hiring rules
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said the Governing Board of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is set to meet on Friday to discuss possible exemptions to the new rules on direct hiring.
Brion said in an interview over dzMM that the labor attachés from the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) will be sending in their recommendations for the implementation or exemption of directly hired overseas Filipino workers in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
He said that if the attachés say there is sufficient protection for directly hired OFWs in their areas, the POEA Governing Board and Brion might consider making employers based in their places of jurisdiction an exception to the POEA rule.
He also said the supposed new rule was not really new but rather a stricter implementation of an existing rule.
"Di bagong policy, di lang naipapatupad ng tama…binabalik na lang ang tamang pagpapatupad…namihasa silang angkat angkat na walang binabayaran (It’s not a new policy. The old one just wasn’t implemented correctly. We are putting things right. Employers abroad were just recruiting OFWs without paying the corresponding fees)
Brion added "ang sinasabi natin those who can afford OFW bibigyan namin kayo. But if you cannot afford the salaries, ibigay (yung slot) sa ibang bansa (those who can afford to pay OFWs salaries and benefits, we will provide with OFWs. But for those who cannot afford to pay for OFWs with all their benefits, you better get workers from other countries.)
The call for exemptions escalated after Filipino professionals abroad began protesting the said POEA circular which tightened up on the direct hiring of OFWs. The POEA dictated that these professionals would now have to secure a $5,000 bond from their prospective employers and would have to undergo a pre-departure orientation seminar and a medical examination.
Whereas before these professionals negotiated their own contracts without intervention from the POEA, now everything would have to go through the overseas employment body.
Some of them have even started an on-line petition saying "the new policy is unfair, it brings undue administrative problems for the employers of future OFWs. Many Filipinos will lose out on employment opportunities abroad because of this restrictive and easily abused policy."
It went on "Para sa mga kinauukulan – Kung di rin lang kayo makakatulong sa pag-unlad at pag-asenso nang mga mamamayang gustong mag trabaho sa ibang bansa - sana naman ay huwag na kayong maging perwisyo."
"What's the sense in penalizing someone who made the effort on his or her own to get a job outside the country?" asked an advertising executive in Hanoi.
Isabelle, an OFW in the United Arab Emirates added "This is crazy!!! Our government is not thinking what will happen to the globally competitive OFWs around the world. Now our government are killing the heroes of our modern generation!"
OFW Menandro Dizon said "hingi ko lang maintindihan kung bakit mga batas na mas malaki ang negative effect ang binibigyan ng pansin ng POEA kaysa sa ibang mas mahalagang pangangailangan ng mga OFW. Ang gobyerno natin hanggang ngayon ay inutil. Ang pagtaas ng bilang ng mga OFW ay ebidensiya ng failure ng bansa na kupkupin sa loob ang mga Pinoy."
Besides, the advertising executive said, "right now, the Filipino's package makes him competitive with some Westerners and puts him above most Asians. If we (OFWs) become more expensive due to these new requirements, foreign offices might as well get a Westerner or 2 or 3 other Asians."
The Philippine government is "killing the goose that lays the golden egg."
"If they start messing with hard-to-get jobs and people's futures, they will antagonize a friendly/tolerant segment that keeps them afloat with non-stop revenue," the executive added.
The POEA’s new rules took effect last January 15, just after the advertising executive left for Hanoi.
Aside from mandating stricter documentation and processing requirements which would include posting a $5,000 repatriation bond per employee, employers are also required to post a $3,000 performance bond per employee to guarantee payment of the employee’s salary for the duration of the employment contract. The bonds should be secured from local bonding companies. Further, it said employers are required to provide their employees with health and medical insurance.
Brion earlier said the adoption of a stricter policy on direct hires is aimed at strengthening the protection of the OFWs.
In direct hiring, recruitment agencies are not involved and compliance to the contract is therefore dependent on the capability of the foreign employer.
However, Brion said the DOLE is open to exemptions from the total implementation of the POEA guidelines (MC 4, S2007) on a per country, employer or workers classification based on the request of the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs).
The POLO should be able to justify such exemptions based on the existing rules and regulations in the host country providing for the protection of the workers in the area of repatriation and repatriation bonds. The POLO should likewise be able to inform DOLE of the mechanisms on the effective implementation or enforcement of such laws and regulations.
POEA records show that in 2007, a total of 26,753 OFWs in the household and other services were directly hired by foreign employers. The biggest employer of directly hired household service workers was Italy at 5,564 followed by Canada and Spain, while the Middle East hired the most number of non-household service OFWs on direct hiring basis.
OFWs with employment contracts and work visas issued after January 15 will be covered by the new guidelines. -ABS-CBN News
Brion said in an interview over dzMM that the labor attachés from the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) will be sending in their recommendations for the implementation or exemption of directly hired overseas Filipino workers in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
He said that if the attachés say there is sufficient protection for directly hired OFWs in their areas, the POEA Governing Board and Brion might consider making employers based in their places of jurisdiction an exception to the POEA rule.
He also said the supposed new rule was not really new but rather a stricter implementation of an existing rule.
"Di bagong policy, di lang naipapatupad ng tama…binabalik na lang ang tamang pagpapatupad…namihasa silang angkat angkat na walang binabayaran (It’s not a new policy. The old one just wasn’t implemented correctly. We are putting things right. Employers abroad were just recruiting OFWs without paying the corresponding fees)
Brion added "ang sinasabi natin those who can afford OFW bibigyan namin kayo. But if you cannot afford the salaries, ibigay (yung slot) sa ibang bansa (those who can afford to pay OFWs salaries and benefits, we will provide with OFWs. But for those who cannot afford to pay for OFWs with all their benefits, you better get workers from other countries.)
The call for exemptions escalated after Filipino professionals abroad began protesting the said POEA circular which tightened up on the direct hiring of OFWs. The POEA dictated that these professionals would now have to secure a $5,000 bond from their prospective employers and would have to undergo a pre-departure orientation seminar and a medical examination.
Whereas before these professionals negotiated their own contracts without intervention from the POEA, now everything would have to go through the overseas employment body.
Some of them have even started an on-line petition saying "the new policy is unfair, it brings undue administrative problems for the employers of future OFWs. Many Filipinos will lose out on employment opportunities abroad because of this restrictive and easily abused policy."
It went on "Para sa mga kinauukulan – Kung di rin lang kayo makakatulong sa pag-unlad at pag-asenso nang mga mamamayang gustong mag trabaho sa ibang bansa - sana naman ay huwag na kayong maging perwisyo."
"What's the sense in penalizing someone who made the effort on his or her own to get a job outside the country?" asked an advertising executive in Hanoi.
Isabelle, an OFW in the United Arab Emirates added "This is crazy!!! Our government is not thinking what will happen to the globally competitive OFWs around the world. Now our government are killing the heroes of our modern generation!"
OFW Menandro Dizon said "hingi ko lang maintindihan kung bakit mga batas na mas malaki ang negative effect ang binibigyan ng pansin ng POEA kaysa sa ibang mas mahalagang pangangailangan ng mga OFW. Ang gobyerno natin hanggang ngayon ay inutil. Ang pagtaas ng bilang ng mga OFW ay ebidensiya ng failure ng bansa na kupkupin sa loob ang mga Pinoy."
Besides, the advertising executive said, "right now, the Filipino's package makes him competitive with some Westerners and puts him above most Asians. If we (OFWs) become more expensive due to these new requirements, foreign offices might as well get a Westerner or 2 or 3 other Asians."
The Philippine government is "killing the goose that lays the golden egg."
"If they start messing with hard-to-get jobs and people's futures, they will antagonize a friendly/tolerant segment that keeps them afloat with non-stop revenue," the executive added.
The POEA’s new rules took effect last January 15, just after the advertising executive left for Hanoi.
Aside from mandating stricter documentation and processing requirements which would include posting a $5,000 repatriation bond per employee, employers are also required to post a $3,000 performance bond per employee to guarantee payment of the employee’s salary for the duration of the employment contract. The bonds should be secured from local bonding companies. Further, it said employers are required to provide their employees with health and medical insurance.
Brion earlier said the adoption of a stricter policy on direct hires is aimed at strengthening the protection of the OFWs.
In direct hiring, recruitment agencies are not involved and compliance to the contract is therefore dependent on the capability of the foreign employer.
However, Brion said the DOLE is open to exemptions from the total implementation of the POEA guidelines (MC 4, S2007) on a per country, employer or workers classification based on the request of the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs).
The POLO should be able to justify such exemptions based on the existing rules and regulations in the host country providing for the protection of the workers in the area of repatriation and repatriation bonds. The POLO should likewise be able to inform DOLE of the mechanisms on the effective implementation or enforcement of such laws and regulations.
POEA records show that in 2007, a total of 26,753 OFWs in the household and other services were directly hired by foreign employers. The biggest employer of directly hired household service workers was Italy at 5,564 followed by Canada and Spain, while the Middle East hired the most number of non-household service OFWs on direct hiring basis.
OFWs with employment contracts and work visas issued after January 15 will be covered by the new guidelines. -ABS-CBN News
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