DOLE, UAE execs to work on HSW deployment revival
LABOR officials are set to meet with a contingent of the united Arab Emirates (UAE) next month for the possible resumption of the deployment of Filipino household service workers (HSW) in the Arab country.
Among the issues they will discuss are the provisions of the standard employment contract (SEC) of uae-bound HSWS, according to Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III.
He said the talks may eventually lead to the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) if UAE will finally decide to accept the SEC.
“The high-level delegation will arrive on the first week of February for possible signing of the MOA,” Bello told Businessmirror in an SMS.
Deployment requirement
PHILIPPINE Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said the MOA is necessary before the government can allow the normal deployment of Filipino HSWS to UAE.
“The SEC is needed to ensure the protection of our OFWS there,” Olalia said.
In 2014, the UAE government enforced its own SEC for foreign HSWS, which did not contain the provisions mandated by Philippines laws.
This issue effectively halted the deployment for Filipino HSWS to UAE.
Since then, both parties have negotiated to harmonize the provisions of their respective SECS.
Government-facilitated recruitment
RECRUITMENT consultant Emmanuel Geslani, however, noted that even after the SEC matter, some Filipino HSWS were still able to travel to UAE through illegal recruitment channels.
Such “backdoor deployment” was either being done in the country’s international airport by unscrupulous recruiters and government personnel, or through “third” countries, which serve as staging point for uae-bound Filipino HSWS.
Citing international reports, Geslani said the UAE government is bent on curbing such illegal deployment of migrant HSWS in its territories.
Among the measures adopted by the UAE government, he said, was to take over from the private recruitment agencies the task of facilitating the hiring of foreign HSWS in its territories.
He said the government-togovernment scheme will now make it easier for the Philippine government to negotiate for better protection for Filipino HSWS, who will be employed in UAE.