POEA exec reminds Pinoys about telltale signs of illegal recruitment

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration administrator Hans Cacdac reminded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to watch out for the telltale signs of illegal recruitment.

For those applying for jobs abroad, Cacdac recommends checking if one or all of the following signs of illegal recruitment ring a bell with your agency:
-- they ask for immediate payment even if you have concrete job offer yet
-- they have no headquarters, or they conduct house-to-house recruitment
-- they like to show pictures of beautiful houses, cars, or land titles, and tell you the same fate awaits you if you work with them

If the following sound achingly familiar, it would be wise to do a double-take as you could fall prey to victims of illegal recruiters.

In an interview on GMA News TV's "Kape at Balita" on Friday, Cacdac said the above signs were the most basic telltale signs of illegal recruiters.

In the same interview, he gave several reminders for Filipinos to avoid being victims to illegal recruiters and to ensure that they will be able to safely and legally work abroad.

Cacdac said it is wise to check the list of licensed recruiters through the POEA, the Department of Labor and Employment, or the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Potential applicants can also call hotlines of the agencies to ask or verify, as well as check the POEA website.

Placement fees

Cacdac also discussed the issue of placement fees, or the fees which OFWs pay their recruiters for services rendered, and said not all jobs need to comply with this.

The ceiling amount of placement fees is equivalent to a month's salary, he said.

Placement fees should only be paid when one already has a work contract to sign, clarified Cacdac. Paying cash upfront or immediately is prohibited.

Receipts regarding the matter should be authorized by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and in these, it should be indicated that the payment is for the purpose of placement fees.

Domestic workers and seafarers also do not need to pay placement fees, and Filipinos or their family members should report recruitment agencies who say or do otherwise.

Countries where OFWs do not need to pay placement fees, said Cacdac are Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Workers in the US also do not need to pay placement fees, said Cacdac, if they are in the H2B, or lower-skill type, category.

Basic skills

Aside from passports, Cacdac said potential OFWs should have basic skills before pushing through to work abroad.

"Kailangan may skills ka. Kasi maraming nagsasabing akala nila ganoon-ganoon lang magpunta sa abroad. but you have to have the skills and the talent," he said. - Gian C. Geronimo, VVP, GMA News

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