DOLE to open labor o ce in New Zealand

To ensure the welfare of the growing number of Filipino workers in New Zealand, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is putting up a new labor office in the island country.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the new Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Wellington, New Zealand is expected to become operational by December or early next year.

Baldoz said the number of Filipino workers in New Zealand is projected to grow further after the governments of the Philippines and New Zealand forged a new agreement.

“The landmark agreement will govern the smooth deployment of skilled and professional overseas Filipino workers to New Zealand and ensure their welfare and protection while working in this country,” Baldoz noted.

According to Baldoz, the agreement also provides a no-placement fee policy for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) going to New Zealand.

The new agreement will certainly boost and enhance the economic and sociocultural ties between the Philippines and New Zealand since it will eliminate illegal recruitment in the past.

“Two countries working together to eliminate costly job placement and other recruitment-related fees, illegal recruitment and human trafficking, document fraud and fake training and qualifications credentials will make a strong case for a model bilateral arrangement for other sending and receiving countries to emulate,” Baldoz said.

Baldoz said the agreement will benefit both the Philippine and New Zealand, which treats Filipino migrant workers no different from its own workers.

Filipinos intending to work in New Zealand, Baldoz said, are definitely wellprotected because of the strong labor laws and welfare and protection standards there.

As a result of the agreement, Baldoz said, DOLE decided to open a POLO office in Wellington.

“We are committed to ensure that OFWs are recruited and employed in New Zealand in a manner that is ethical, effective, efficient, and transparent,” Baldoz pointed out.

Based on DOLE data, there are about 40,000 Filipinos in New Zealand. More than half of the Filipinos there are permanent migrants while the rest are temporary or irregular workers.

Baldoz said the country has recorded an increasing deployment of OFWs to New Zealand for the past years. Most of the OFWs deployed to New Zealand are production workers.