Philippines begins deployment of home-based caregivers to Israel

Published July 29, 2021 2:46pm The Philippines has begun to deploy home-based caregivers to Israel following a labor agreement signed by the two countries in 2018. Forty-eight caregivers left for Israel on Tuesday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Thursday. They are part of the first batch of 377 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were supposed to be deployed last year, but there was a delay in the processing of their documents and their flights because of the COVID-19 restrictions, according to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Bernard Olalia. “We are now processing the documents of the qualified applicants for the second round of recruitment, and this time, we are looking at more than 1,000 OFWs who will undergo the usual process of selection, hiring and matching with their respective employers in Israel,” Olalia said. Aside from caregivers, household service workers, and nurses, Israel has a high demand for various jobs in the sectors of technology, services, hospitality and manufacturing, the DOLE said. Olalia said the deployment of OFWs to Israel was pursuant to the labor agreement signed by DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III and former Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Machluf Deri. “We took the initiative to address the concern and request of Israel for caregivers. Since we cannot disregard the fact that there are illegal recruiters here and there, Secretary Bello continues to remind OFWs to avoid dealing with bogus recruiters and under-the-table transactions that require placement fees of about P500,000,” he said. In late May, the DOLE temporarily suspended the deployment of OFWs to Israel following an armed conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants. The Philippines lifted the suspension on July 14 in light of the improving security situation in Israel. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News

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