10T massage workers may lose jobs in 2015

CEBU, Philippines - Thousands of masseuses and masseurs in Cebu are seen to lose their jobs next year following the Department of Health order requiring all spa establishments and massage clinics across the country to only hire certified massage therapists.

Maris Puche, Spa and Wellness Association of Cebu (SWAC) vice president for external affairs, said the order gave the industry until this December to weed out amateur workers, affecting an estimated 10,000 employees.

To prevent this, she said SWAC is moving towards having all massage attendants licensed before December 31, 2014.

DOH guidelines set that a license is required before anyone who engages in any form of massage (whether as an employee of a spa or beauty center doing facials, or as self-employed individual) can practice it as a profession.

By 2015, the DOH would no longer allow any person to practice massage as a profession in the country without a valid certificate of registration issued by the Committee of Examiners for Massage Therapy, as approved by the Secretary of Health.

In Cebu, SWAC has arranged for a Licensed Massage Therapy course with the INA Training School, the only DOH-accredited training provider in Cebu.

Puche said they are asking DOH to allow those trained under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to take the examination to assess the agency’s training module and to also partner with schools to handle the training.

Latvian Consul General Robert Lim Joseph, however, strongly warned that the stricter rule could lead to underground activities, especially for those who cannot afford to pay the training fee of P8,000 to P12,000.

“Can you imagine a masseur who is 50 years old, has been massaging for 30 years…(up to) third year elementary (school only) but a very good masseurs, she cannot continue her work and she has a family to feed and she has no money to raise the P8,000; and now she cannot find work,” he said during the 888 News Forum  at Marco Polo Plaza last Tuesday.

Joseph cited Cebu and Davao as having a number of massage parlors that would close down because its workers cannot comply with the requirements.

He warned that people would be forced to go underground and pay bribes just to get a certification.

“We are talking of wellness for tourism and now we have to go underground. Ano ba’ng kalokohan (What tomfoolery is this?)” he said.

A licensure examination is being administered to all candidates every June and December. A license is renewable every three years.

Among the pertinent requirements for the examination is a certificate of training indicating that one has taken a practical massage course for at least 60 hours and has received basic instructions based on the curriculum of any DOH-accredited training provider.

The curriculum for massage therapy includes anatomy, physiology, general pathology, micro-biology, introduction to massage therapy, massage therapy application and practice of massage therapy.

Joseph argued that the massage business is a micro-business enterprise.

“What about the small resorts? How do you control now the people going for home service? You all make them underground now,” he said.

Art Barrit, who sits as TESDA-7 board of directors members, said they already asked for a moratorium against the DOH order as they saw that it would lead to loss of jobs.

“If we are going to upgrade, upgrade skills, not (have a) DOH certification to practice the skills,” Barrit said in the same new forum.

Joseph further said that the International Federation of Masseurs does not recognize the training DOH required.

“What we need is outcome-based results…skills, hindi ‘yong theory,” he added.  (FREEMAN)