Shady migrant worker recruiters face crackdown

Philippines Vice President and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Concerns Jejomar Binay has warned illegal recruiters that their days are numbered, saying that the new administration will be intensifying its campaign against illegal recruitment agencies.
“This early, we’re already warning illegal recruiters],” Binay said last weekend following a briefing of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in Manila.
He said more illegal recruiters will be prosecuted so those planning to engage in similar illegal activities should think twice of victimizing those mulling to work abroad.
POEA Administrator Jennifer Manalili said that for their part, an average of 3,000 cases per year are filed against illegal recruiters, particularly on recruitment violations and disciplinary cases.
She said that in 2009, the POEA has canceled the license of 56 recruitment agencies while from January to September this year, the agency was able to cancel 24 licenses of recruitment firms found to be engaged in illegal activities.
“We had several convictions already,” Manalili said, warning that recruitment agencies are only allowed to collect a placement fee equivalent to a month’s salary of the migrant worker.
Domestic workers are not allowed to shell money for a placement fee.
She added that there are countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel, among others, which have no placement fee for the deployment of migrant workers.
It is a violation to charge a placement fee in countries like these.
Binay said that as part of his task as OFW czar, he will be meeting with the Task Force on Illegal Recruitment to strengthen the government’s stance against illegal recruiters.
The task force is composed of the POEA, National Bureau of Investigation, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. It was formerly headed by former Vice President Noli de Castro.
Since he was officially appointed as OFW czar, Binay has been meeting with various agencies involved in the protection and welfare of OFWs. He will also be meeting with OFW organizations next week.
He said that following the briefings from various agencies and organizations, he will be presenting a report to President Aquino on the recommendations, suggestions and well as challenges in the OFW sector.
Migrant worker rights were in the forefront of the country’s last presidential campaign which saw Binay win his spot next to President Benigno  Aquino III.
They make up a large part in Canada’s 400,000-strong fast growing Filipino community.
An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Filipinos also arrive in Canada every year making Philippines the third largest source of immigrants to this country.
Migrante Canada contends the terrible economic situation forces many Filipinos to leave the country to work abroad in temporary jobs, or to live there as permanent migrants.
Around 3,400 Filipinos leave the country every day, more than half of them are women, Migrante Canada said.
Remittances from overseas Philippine workers rose 5.6 percent to US$1.6 billion in March, the Central Bank reported.
Last year, the money transferred by Filipino migrant workers to relatives in the Philippines went up by 5.4 percent to a record US$17.348 billion from US$16.426 billion.

Hiring scams around the globe

If you are one of the Filipino workers who are dreaming of working abroad, then be aware that you are a target of unscrupulous individuals who earns a living by making false promises to their victims. Government agencies in Manila recently issued a number of advisories for different countries because of rising number of reports from the poor victims.

Fake Job Offers in Spain

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has issued a warning about accepting job offer in a European country- this time in Spain. According to the DFA, they have received a report from the Philippine Embassy in Madrid that unscrupulous groups sends job offer to a non existent job in Spain thru email and make it appear that it comes from the Philippine Embassy. The report also said that the illegal recruiter is operating under the business name of Ferrocariel Guiscoanagin with address at Calle Placentinos 18B 32005, Barcelona, Spain. They are also using a fake email address: [email protected]. The Philippine Consulate General has verified to the DFA that there is no such address in Spain. The DFA reminds the public to always check the veracity of the job offer with the POLO of the country of destination.

Domestic Helpers in China and Mongolia

Filipinos who wants to work in China and Mongolia as a domestic helper are also warned against job offers because according to the Philippine officials there, these kind of jobs is considered illegal in the said countries. The Ambassador of the Philippines to China, Francisco Benedicto, reported to the DFA that officials of the two Asian countries prohibited the hiring of foreign household workers because they wanted to stop the rise of illegal workers. Benedicto said, “Filipinos who are promised jobs as domestic helpers in China and Mongolia are always in danger of being arrested because foreign nationals are not allowed to work as domestic helpers in China and Mongolia.”

Religious Visa in South Korea

If you want to work in any foreign country, it is always a must that you have a working visa. Without proper documents, your employment in a foreign country is illegal . So for recruiters who offers employment in South Korea by giving applicants a religious visa should not be entertained.
Applicants for overseas work have been warned against promises of employment in South Korea through the issuance of a religious visa. The POEA reported that they have received complaints that a number of Korean citizens have offered employment to Filipino applicants and then disappeared. The illegal recruiters Su apparently collected more than millions from their victims.