POEA lifts blacklist status of Hanjin workers

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Finally, freedom to work abroad.

After languishing in unemployment limbo despite work waiting for them abroad, at least 700 former workers of Hanjin Heavy Industries, Inc. (Hanjin) in Subic, Zambales are set to fly to their new jobs in foreign lands.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has announced it has suspended a memorandum of understanding that virtually blacklisted the workers.

But Ramon Lacbain, chairman of the People’s Task Force on Hanjin and Subic Bay, Inc. (Task Force Hanjin), told The Star he was not satisfied with a mere suspension of the blacklisting policy, as he called for the total scrapping of the MOU between Hanjin and POEA.

“POEA must not be used by Hanjin to harrass the latter’s former workers who had either resigned or were terminated from their shipyard job,” he said.

Lacbain also said that “POEA’s job is to facilitate employment of Filipinos abroad, not to prevent employment.”

He noted that in February, the POEA and Hanjin subsidiary KC Tech, Inc. forged the MOU that barred the ex-Hanjin workers from obtaining the required POEA clearance for their new foreign employment, unless they first paid Hanjin the cost of training they intially underwent for their initial employment at Hanjin’s shipyard facility in Subic.

 Lacbain said that those trained in Korea were asked to pay back P200,000, while those trained locally were told to pay P100,000.

In a letter addressed to Lacbain, POEA Administrator Jennifer Jardin-Manalili admitted there was indeed an MOU between her agency and KC Tech, Inc.     – Ding Cervantes