Renewal of RP-Korea labor pact deferred
Recruiters call for accord’s cancellation
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:33:00 01/16/2009
Filed Under: Agreement (general), Labor, Overseas Employment, Conflicts (general), Foreign affairs & international relations
MANILA, Philippines -- The renewal of the labor agreement between the Philippines and Korea on the employment permit system (EPS), which was supposed to be signed early this month, has been postponed until further negotiation, Labor Undersecretary Luzviminda Padilla said Friday.
In an exchange of text messages with INQUIRER.net, Administrator Jennifer Manalili of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said talks on the government-to-government deployment of Filipino workers to Korea, scheduled January 5 to 9, will continue in March.
Korea, one of the countries hardest hit by the ongoing global financial crisis, is still keen at finalizing the agreement, Manalili said.
But she refused to disclose what caused the postponement of the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU).
Meanwhile, recruitment agencies, also on Friday, reiterated their opposition to the labor agreement, which they argue intrudes in what should be a private enterprise.
In a press statement, recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani said the old MoU is one-sided in favor of Korean employers. Citing the experience of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who went to Korea under the first agreement from 2005 to 2008, he said many OFWs have complained against reduced earnings.
He said more than a fourth (4,000 to 5,000) of the more than 17,000 OFWs who worked in Korea under the first agreement have returned to the country even before their three-year contracts expired.
"Deployment to Korea under the EPS fell by 40 percent in 2007 due to the high number of runaways and large number of complaints with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office which was woefully unable to tackle the hundreds of labor cases filed by EPS workers," Geslani said.
"The POEA unilaterally slowed down the processing of EPS workers until a renegotiation of a new MOU with Korea which lapsed in 2008," he added.
The common reasons for their return are lack of arbitration offices, unpaid wages, delayed payment of wages, uninhabitable accommodations, misunderstanding with their Korean employers on matters of the contract implementation, verbal and physical abuse from some employers, low salaries because of the deductions like tax, medical insurance, bad food and poor accommodations, lower value of the won, among others.
Geslani said under the new agreement, the cost of the Korean language test would be reduced from $30 to $17 in exchange for charging the cost of food and accommodations to the workers.
He also estimated that there are 30,000 undocumented OFWs in Korea working in factories and other small industries where they receive higher salaries and better working conditions.
In its overseas employment outlook for 2009, POEA said Korea may no longer provide EPS workers food and accommodation benefits.
In the same outlook report, the POEA said: "More than 30,000 Filipino workers in Korea, mostly found among the SMEs [small and medium enterprises], continue to suffer setbacks due to the financial situation [there]."
The POEA outlook report listed under "opportunities" Korea's requirement for skilled workers in manufacturing, construction, and shipbuilding, as well as prospects for English language teachers and doctors; and service, hotel, and golf workers for the Inchon Metropolitan City.
Recruiters call for accord’s cancellation
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:33:00 01/16/2009
Filed Under: Agreement (general), Labor, Overseas Employment, Conflicts (general), Foreign affairs & international relations
MANILA, Philippines -- The renewal of the labor agreement between the Philippines and Korea on the employment permit system (EPS), which was supposed to be signed early this month, has been postponed until further negotiation, Labor Undersecretary Luzviminda Padilla said Friday.
In an exchange of text messages with INQUIRER.net, Administrator Jennifer Manalili of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said talks on the government-to-government deployment of Filipino workers to Korea, scheduled January 5 to 9, will continue in March.
Korea, one of the countries hardest hit by the ongoing global financial crisis, is still keen at finalizing the agreement, Manalili said.
But she refused to disclose what caused the postponement of the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU).
Meanwhile, recruitment agencies, also on Friday, reiterated their opposition to the labor agreement, which they argue intrudes in what should be a private enterprise.
In a press statement, recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani said the old MoU is one-sided in favor of Korean employers. Citing the experience of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who went to Korea under the first agreement from 2005 to 2008, he said many OFWs have complained against reduced earnings.
He said more than a fourth (4,000 to 5,000) of the more than 17,000 OFWs who worked in Korea under the first agreement have returned to the country even before their three-year contracts expired.
"Deployment to Korea under the EPS fell by 40 percent in 2007 due to the high number of runaways and large number of complaints with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office which was woefully unable to tackle the hundreds of labor cases filed by EPS workers," Geslani said.
"The POEA unilaterally slowed down the processing of EPS workers until a renegotiation of a new MOU with Korea which lapsed in 2008," he added.
The common reasons for their return are lack of arbitration offices, unpaid wages, delayed payment of wages, uninhabitable accommodations, misunderstanding with their Korean employers on matters of the contract implementation, verbal and physical abuse from some employers, low salaries because of the deductions like tax, medical insurance, bad food and poor accommodations, lower value of the won, among others.
Geslani said under the new agreement, the cost of the Korean language test would be reduced from $30 to $17 in exchange for charging the cost of food and accommodations to the workers.
He also estimated that there are 30,000 undocumented OFWs in Korea working in factories and other small industries where they receive higher salaries and better working conditions.
In its overseas employment outlook for 2009, POEA said Korea may no longer provide EPS workers food and accommodation benefits.
In the same outlook report, the POEA said: "More than 30,000 Filipino workers in Korea, mostly found among the SMEs [small and medium enterprises], continue to suffer setbacks due to the financial situation [there]."
The POEA outlook report listed under "opportunities" Korea's requirement for skilled workers in manufacturing, construction, and shipbuilding, as well as prospects for English language teachers and doctors; and service, hotel, and golf workers for the Inchon Metropolitan City.
