Age discrimination forcing Pinoy migration

More Filipinos are seeking employment overseas due to age discrimination in the country, according to a migrant workers’ rights advocate.

Susan Ople, head of the Ople Policy Center, said many companies are reluctant to hire “older” job applicants.

“The reason they keep on leaving is because of age discrimination,” she said. “No matter how skilled they are, regardless of their work ethic, many (overseas Filipino workers or OFWs) find themselves unable to land a job simply because they are above 30 years old.”

Ople asked the Senate to include age discrimination in its impending review of the country’s migration policies.

“The broad review must include the implications of age discrimination in the workplace on returning OFWs,” she said.

Ople said 40 years have passed since the Philippine overseas labor program was initiated.

“The world has vastly changed since then, and our workers overseas face multiple risks due to political, economic, and security issues as well as climate and technology changes beyond their control,” she said.

“Are our laws, policies and bureaucratic structures for overseas employment still relevant and effective today as they were 40 years ago? It would take several committee hearings to arrive at the right answer,” Ople added.

The review is also necessary to enable the government to map out plans on how to improve the protection of OFWs once the Saudi government implements its mega- recruitment policy, she said.

Ople said the policy would make it difficult for the government to monitor hiring of OFWs and could cause problems in ensuring their protection.

Under the mega-recruitment policy, visa sponsorships of foreign workers will be directly issued to recruitment consortiums the Saudi government has accredited, she said.

“We anticipate a massive recruitment effort on the part of these elite mega-recruitment consortiums in Saudi Arabia since they would be allowed to put up regional branches all over the kingdom,” she said.

“It would be a challenge for our own embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia to keep track of our workers under this kind of arrangement considering their lack of manpower and resources.”

No more premiums

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is no longer requiring OFWs to pay PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG premiums to get an exit clearance.