MANILA, 1 February 2008 — A a new government policy tightening up on the direct hiring of Overseas Filipino Workers is under fire from those it is supposed to protect.
Under the new rule imposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), foreign employers who hire Filipino professionals are required to post an additional $8,000 bond — $5,000 for guaranteed repatriation and $3,000 for guaranteed salary.
Direct hires are also required to undergo a pre-departure orientation seminar and a medical examination.
Whereas before these professionals negotiated their own contracts without intervention from the POEA, now everything would have to go through the overseas employment body.
Some overseas workers have started an on-line petition saying, “the new policy is unfair, it brings undue administrative problems for the employers of future OFWs. Many Filipinos will lose out on employment opportunities abroad because of this restrictive and easily abused policy.”
Isabelle, who is based in the United Arab Emirates, said: “This is crazy! Our government is not thinking what will happen to the globally competitive OFWs around the world. Now our government are killing the heroes of our modern generation!”
“I can’t understand why our decision-makers are coming out with rules that have a negative effect on OFWs. Why is our government inutile until now?” said Menandro Dizon, adding that the rising number of Filipino migrant workers only shows a policy failure in the country.
An advertising executive based in Hanoi, Vietnam, said, “right now, the Filipino’s package makes him competitive with some Westerners and puts him above most Asians. If we (OFWs) become more expensive due to these new requirements, foreign offices might as well get a Westerner or two or three other Asians.”
Said Edgardo A. Melo, an executive at a petroleum company in Oman, said the new rule is based on the wrong assumption that name-hires are left without protection from potentially abusive employers.
“You won’t find an OFW hired directly who has been abused by their employer!” he said, adding that the the direct hiring system, in fact, allows an individual to negotiate better terms and conditions of one’s employment contract.
Bernie T. Cinco, another OFW based in the UAE, admonished those in government to consult first with sectors concerned before making any decision for them.
“We keep changing our laws because our decision-makers don’t do a thorough study first,” he lamented.
Joy Gabriel, from Muñoz City, north of Manila, worried that his wife may have lost the opportunity of getting hired abroad because of the new policy.
“What’s this? Our government cannot provide jobs and this is what those in government are doing,” he said.
