DOLE: Safeguards in place for Saudi-bound helpers

With the recruitment of Filipino helpers to Saudi Arabia expected to resume in October, the Department of Labor and Employment assured safeguards are now in place to protect them from abuse and exploitation.

DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the safeguards are in the new Standard Employment Contract (SEC) between Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

"(W)e are very confident all Filipino overseas workers will get the protection they need and deserve should they find it still desirable to work in Saudi Arabia as HSWs," Baldoz said. http://www.dole.gov.ph/secondpage.php?id=3225

Earlier, the Saudi Arabia embassy in Manila announced the agreement for the resumption of the Household Service Workers (HSW) contract verification and authentication.

The Saudi government had disallowed the HSW contract verification and authentication in March 2011, compelling the Philippines to stop contract processing of HSWs.

Baldoz ordered Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head Hans Leo Cacdac, Overseas Worker Welfare Administration head Carmelita Dimzon, Philippine Labor Attaches to Saudi Arabia Albert Valenciano, Alejandro Padaen and Adam Musa, and National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) Director Restituto dela Fuente to work with licensed recruitment agencies on an information drive.

The campaign in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia will cover the major provisions of the new HSW SEC including dos and don’ts, pros and cons, and the risks and rewards.

Baldoz also directed the dissemination of a question-and-answer manual on the important provisions of this agreement.

"(This shows) we mean business when we say the deployment of HSWs is highly-regulated, with a very strong bias for welfare and protection," she said.

Undesirable training centers

Baldoz instructed Cacdac and Dimzon to work with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and look into the Comprehensive Program on Training, Assessment, and Certification for HSWs and review jointly the module on OWWA mandatory language and culture.

The aim is to make sure only those with the required competencies are certified and allowed to process their contracts.

She instructed the POEA to work with TESDA for a system of strictly regulating and monitoring the operation of training centers and weeding out the "notoriously undesirables."

Also, she asked the OWWA and the NRCO to vigorously promote the national reintegration program, including its livelihood components, such as the Balik-Pinay, Balik Hanapbuhay Program.

On the recruitment of prospective HSWs from the provinces, Baldoz also instructed the POEA, OWWA and NRCO to do a no-nonsense implementation of the Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for HSWs (pre-employment and pre-departure seminars).

They should ensure prospective HSWs clearly understand the unique culture of Saudi Arabia and its religion, language, customs and traditions, and laws and regulations so as to minimize cases that arise from cultural adjustment.

She said OWWA should re-visit the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar curriculum/module and intensify the close monitoring of its implementation by private sector providers.

OWWA, for its part, should itself directly provide the PDOS if necessary, she said.

Also, she said the POEA should further tighten the screws on erring employers, as well as recruitment agencies, both local and foreign.

Baldoz assigned DOLE Undersecretary Danilo Cruz, cluster head for employment, to be on top of all these sustained welfare and protection activities and measures for HSWs.

New provisions

She said the new SEC for HSWs, which contain 19 articles, spells out clear and specific provisions on salary (minimum $400) and the manner of its payment (bank account to be opened by the employer for the HSW in Saudi); rest hours (at least 8 hours of continuous rest) and rest days (at least one day per week); and paid vacation leave in the Philippines (30 days for every two years of service with free round-trip economy class air ticket).

It also requires the employer to provide the HSW suitable and sanitary living quarters and adequate food, or equivalent money allowance; to allow the HSW to rest if she is sick, to continually pay her salary, and to shoulder the HSW's medical expenses.

Also, it requires Saudi employers to provide free transportation from the Philippines and back upon the expiration of the HSW's two-year contract; to ensure timely repatriation, including during cases of termination in which the HSW is not at fault.

In case of death, the employer is required to repatriate the remains and belongings of the HSW to the Philippines as soon as legally possible and without undue delay. In the event of war, civil disturbance, or major natural calamity, or in case the HSW suffers from serious illness or work injury medically proven to render her incapable of completing the contract, the employer is also required to repatriate the HSW at the employer's expense.

Dispute settlement

Baldoz said one of the most important protection and welfare guarantee is the agreement and procedure on the settlement of disputes involving the HSW and the employer.

She instructed Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in Saudi Arabia to coordinate with their counterparts in the Kingdom, as well as with the Saudi foreign placement agencies/recruitment agencies to ensure the implementation of the agreement.

The new standard employment contract also contain eight special provisions that deal with the responsibility of informing the employer on the departure from the Philippines and arrival to Saudi Arabia of the HSW (the role of the Philippine recruitment agency and the Saudi recruitment agency); mutual respect; coverage of work (HSW to work solely for employer and immediate household); and payment of residence permit (iqama), exit/re-entry visa, and final exit visa, including renewals and penalties resulting from delays (the employer's responsibility).

There are also special provisions that prohibits any deduction from the salary of HSW; a provision clearly stating that the passport and iqama of the HSW shall remain in her possession; and a special provision the requires the employer to allow the HSW to freely communicate with her family and the Philippine Embassy or Consulate at her expense.

Talks on unfinished agreements

Baldoz said she directed the members of the Philippine side of the KSA-Philippines Joint Technical Committee to continue bilateral talks with Saudi officials on unfinished agreements and other areas of cooperation.

These include agreements the Saudi side had to implement, such as the setting up of welfare centers in the Kingdom, PH-Saudi bilateral agreement for HSW, mutual assistance in the settlement/resolution of disputes, and creation of Saudi government-owned mega-recruitment agencies.

She expressed optimism that with the goodwill generated by the initial agreements, the unfinished items, particularly the conclusion and signing of bilateral agreement on HSW, can be done before the end of the year. — LBG, GMA News