Pinoys warned vs ‘mushroom picker’ jobs in Poland

The government has warned Filipinos against seeking employment in Poland as mushroom pickers due to alleged inhumane working conditions there. The Philippine Embassy in Poland issued the warning Saturday, saying it is asking the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) not to issue clearances for such jobs. “There are approximately 86 Filipino women deployed or working as mushroom pickers currently in Poland. Majority of these workers are not happy with their jobs due to very low wages, unfavorable working conditions and/or substandard accommodations," Philippine Ambassador to Poland Alejandro del Rosario said in a statement posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs Web site. He said they have received reports that some Filipino jobseekers had even fallen prey to “lending companies" that charge a placement fee of about $4,000 (P185,340). In debt before work “With a placement fee of about US$4000, the bulk of which is normally financed by ‘lending companies’ charging exorbitant interest rates, the deployed mushroom picker is deep in debt even before he or she starts work," Del Rosario said. Del Rosario pointed out Filipino mushroom pickers in particular are employed under disadvantageous circumstances.These workers are not directly employed by the mushroom companies but through a Polish recruitment agency who subcontracted their services. He said that since the mushroom company is not directly responsible to the workers, it is not concerned with their welfare. Per kilo basis Also, workers are paid on a per kilo basis, which is dependent on the available mushrooms for picking and the orders received from customers, Del Rosario disclosed. “Rates per kilo depend on whether the mushroom is of first, second or third class quality. In effect, there is no fixed wages for a mushroom picker. Workers’ monthly earnings vary from US$150 to US$500," he said. Del Rosario added workers are given the task of cleaning the production sites and its premises, and they are not paid doing this job. He also said the workers live in substandard accommodations, with more than 30 individuals sharing one dilapidated bathroom with limited supply of hot water. He said the Filipino workers wake up as early as 3 a.m. to queue and bathe. Second warning Saturday's warning was actually the second. Last January 29, the Embassy also issued a warning to Filipinos on accepting jobs in Poland in light of the 35 workers now languishing in a small hostel for a month in Warsaw. The 35 arrived during the last week of December 2009 and it was only on January 26 that 16 of them found employment as promised by a Polish recruiting agency. On December 8 last year, the Embassy repatriated 10 of the 19 mushroom pickers. Several of these OFWs complained that they did not receive the $600 (P27,801) salary per month indicated in the manpower request form from the Polish recruitment agency. They also claimed that they only received a net pay of $180 (P8,340) a month, based on a certain production quota. - Jerrie Abella/KBK, GMANews.TV