DOLE eases rules on hiring of Pinoy workers abroad

MANILA, Philippines -  Rules on the hiring of Filipino workers abroad may be eased, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Congress has recommended to the DOLE to allow continued deployment of household service workers (HSWs) and other skilled workers even to countries that may be considered “unsafe.”

“Without prejudice to negotiations for the forging of new bilateral agreement with host countries, the Congress committee on labor suggested that we continue the deployment even to countries that are just partially compliant with the requirement of our law.

“But of course we have to discuss the proposal with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) because we have to abide and implement the law.”

However, Baldoz said, the DOLE and POEA would still wait for the necessary certification of the DFA before coming out with a decision.

The new law governing the deployment of Filipino workers mandates each hiring country to be fully compliant with the requirements, she added.      

Baldoz said that the DFA has classified certain countries, mostly in the Middle East as partially compliant to the requirements of the Amended Migrant Workers Act.

“Partial compliant are those countries that were able to comply with certain categories of workers, but were unable to ensure protection to vulnerable workers like HSWs,” she said.

Baldoz said until the DFA has come out with new certification and approved by the POEA, deployment of Filipinos to the 41 countries would continue.

Under the new law, deployment is restricted to countries without existing bilateral agreement with the Philippines.

These countries are considered “unsafe” destination for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). 

Under the new law, the DFA certification shall serve as absolute basis for the POEA to allow or prohibit deployment of OFWs, labor officials said.

At this time, the government is also pursuing negotiations for the forging of bilateral agreements that would enable non-compliant countries to continue hiring Filipino workers, she added.

The DFA previously declared 41 hiring countries as non-compliant or incapable of providing the necessary protection but eventually withdrew the certification.

The DFA further requested to be given until April to reassess the ability of several hiring countries to provide protection for OFWs.

Upon completion of the assessment, the DFA as mandated by law would submit the list to the POEA for approval and appropriate implementation.