DoLE: Direct hiring rules meant to protect OFWs

The new guidelines on direct hiring of Filipinos by foreign employers were intended to “strengthen the protection mechanisms for overseas Filipino workers," Labor Secretary Arturo Brion stressed on Saturday amid mounting calls for its scrapping. The policy was meant to reinforce the provision of the Philippine Labor Code that prohibits direct hiring of Filipino workers, except for selected employers such as diplomats, heads of international organizations and other employers as may be approved by the secretary of labor and employment, he explained. In a statement posted early Saturday on the website of the Department of Labor and Employment, Brion said “some people who are against the policy are trying to sow confusion among OFWs and foreign employers by giving false information about its implementing guidelines." OFWs, many of whom are professionals who have been recruited directly from the Philippines by their current employers, have been seeking the immediate scrapping of the new guidelines under Memorandum Circular No. 4, issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA). They view it as “anti-Filipino" in general and “anti-OFW" in particular, saying it would discourage foreign employers from hiring Filipinos because of the $5,000 repatriation bond plus $3,000 performance bond in hiring a Filipino worker. The performance bond will guarantee payment of the OFW’s salary for the duration of his or her job abroad. The repatriation bond will assure that in the event the OFW dies, he or she can be sent back to his or her country. “Contrary to what the critics say, employers will have to pay only the premium of the US$5,000 repatriation bond and performance bond equivalent to three months salary of the worker," Brion said. “The repatriation bond shall guarantee the actual cost of repatriation of remains of directly hired OFW following death from any cause, and actual cost incurred for repatriation from other causes such as violation or non-compliance with the contract among others. The performance bond shall guarantee compliance of the contract for its entire duration," he explained. “The bond shall be secured from any Philippine bonding company accredited by the Supreme Court. Premiums for the bonds shall be paid by the employer," the labor chief added. The new guidelines also require the foreign employer to provide medical insurance to the worker at an amount equivalent to those provided to nationals of the host country. Under the existing POEA rules, the general procedure for the recruitment and deployment of OFWs is through POEA-licensed recruitment agencies. These agency-hired workers are protected under existing regulations such as bonding requirements for licensed recruitment agencies, which guarantees compliance to the terms of the employment contract, particularly relating to money claims of the workers. Brion said legislation may be needed to amend the Labor Code if its provisions no longer serve their purpose. "If this law is no longer a wise law, then the appropriate step is to secure an amendatory legislation. In the meanwhile, we have to apply the current law, adjusted by our rules to the extent allowable," he asserted. “In direct hiring, recruitment agencies are not involved and compliance to the contract is therefore dependent on the capability of the foreign employer," he said. However, Brion said the DOLE is open to exemptions from the total implementation of the POEA guidelines on a per country, employer or workers classification based on the request of the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs). “The POLO should be able to justify such exemptions based on the existing rules and regulations in the host country providing for the protection of the workers in the area of repatriation and repatriation bonds. The POLO should likewise be able to inform DOLE of the mechanisms on the effective implementation or enforcement of such laws and regulations," he said. POEA records show that in 2007, a total of 26,753 OFWs in the household and other services were directly hired by foreign employers. The biggest employer of directly hired household service workers was Italy at 5,564 followed by Canada and Spain, while the Middle East hired the most number of non-household service OFWs on direct hiring basis. – GMANews.TV