OFWs in Libya warned vs. job offers for nurses in Malta

Overseas Filipino workers in strife-torn Libya were warned Wednesday against a possible illegal recruitment ploy offering work as nurses in Europe, specifically Malta.

The Department of Labor and Employment said it is not aware of any approved job order for nurses in Malta.

DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz cited information from the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Philippine Embassy in Rome has been receiving reports about a placement agency in Malta.

She said the agency, "though legitimate and accredited, is allegedly offering Filipino nurses in Libya jobs in the medical sector in Europe."

"The information says there are, to date, no approved job orders for nurses in Malta processed in our Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Rome so they better not fell into the trap,” Baldoz said in a statement.

The Philippine government is currently implementing mass repatriation of Filipinos in Libya due to the security situation there, but some Filipino workers have refused to leave the country for fear of unemployment back home.

Citing the DFA report, the DOLE identified the agency as Mr. Cleaning Contractor Services (MCCS), which hires Filipinos mainly as caregivers and hotel workers in Malta. It said the firm's representative in Libya is collecting fees from applicants.

Baldoz advised OFWs in Libya to verify with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Rome either through phone or email, if the job orders are legitimate.

She added that since the DOLE has no Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Malta, employment contracts for Malta are verified and processed by the POLO in Rome, which has consular jurisdiction over the country.

Baldoz also said that since Malta is a member of the European Union, the hiring of non-EU nurses follows the same process as Italy’s. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

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