Fishermen are exempt from placement fees –POEA

Fishermen are considered seafarers and are exempt from having to pay placement fees.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration stressed this Monday as it canceled the license of a manning agency that charged such fees from fishermen it deployed to Taiwan.

POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac imposed the sanctions on the manning agency after finding it violated POEA regulations governing the recruitment of seafarers twice.

Under the rule, “[A]gencies shall charge from their principals manning fee to cover services rendered in the recruitment and deployment of seafarers. However, manning agencies shall not charge any fee from the seafarers for their recruitment and deployment services.”

Cacdac said charging or accepting money, goods, services, or any fee from seafarers may mean the cancellation of license and refund of the fees charged or collected from the seafarer.

The POEA said manning agency's first violation stemmed from a fisherman's complaint that the agency required him to pay a placement fee of P75,000. This forced the fisherman to take a P75,000 loan from a lending company.

But the complainant also said the company had him sign a written statement showing he did not pay a placement fee. He said he had to sign the document for fear of losing the job.

While the fisherman worked aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel, he sought repatriation after two months, citing his employer's alleged breaches of contract.

Meanwhile, a second case against the same manning firm stemmed from its collection of P80,000 from another applicant who wanted to work as a fisherman in Taiwan. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Unknown said…
Good news for every Filipino seafarers. Every shipping company should be aware of this new policy.
July 13, 2015 at 3:24 PM
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