MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine government has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to further improve the welfare and protection of overseas Filipino workers in the emirates.
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with his UAE counterpart, His Excellency Dr. Ali Bin Abdulla Al-Kaabi, in a simple ceremony Monday night at the Manila Hotel.
The agreement, which was only shown to reporters, provides that overseas Filipino workers to be deployed to the UAE shall undergo a selection process and shall be given protection pursuant to the labor laws and regulations in force in both countries.
The signed MOU also provides that employer applications for OFWs shall state the required specifications and qualifications for the jobs, and shall include, with the verification of the UAE Labor Ministry, the conditions of employment specially the salary, accommodation, transportation, and other relevant terms.
Also, the terms and conditions of employment of workers in the UAE shall be defined by a separate labor contract between the workers and the employer stating clearly the rights and obligations of both in conformity with RP and UAE labor laws and regulations;
A joint committee, composed of an equal number of representatives from both parties, shall also be created for the implementation of the MOU’s provisions, and shall organize working meetings, consultations, and workshops, and meet alternately in their respective countries as appropriate.
Disputes on the agreement shall be brought to court only if settlement at the diplomatic level is not reached. The pact has a life span of five years and may be extended for another five depending on the two countries.
Brion said this agreement was initiated by the UAE, which originally wanted only government-to-government dealings on overseas deployment.
“They did not want brokers at either end. But I told them that at the scale we're sending them, I doubt that POEA [Philippine Overseas Employment Administration] can handle everything,” he said.
“Besides, I made a commitment to the private sector that they won't be elbowed out of the industry that they developed. And I am standing by that commitment,” the labor chief said.
Brion said Arab countries like UAE were forging these agreements because they wanted to ensure the labor supply to their many development projects. He said UAE had many needs in tourism, construction, health, manufacturing, oil, and gas.
For his part, Al-Kaabi said he recognized the role that OFWs would play in his country's socio-economic development.
The UAE labor minister said this agreement would ensure that OFWs' rights would be recognized. “It ensures that they get their salaries on time, that they have proper housing accommodations. Health insurance is also compulsory for them,” he said.
The UAE labor minister said he also wanted a stop to the practice of illegal OFWs entering UAE as tourists and eventually finding work in that country.
He blamed illegal recruiters for the practice who would “make false claims about salaries and working conditions and collect some money from (OFWs), while misleading employers about the workers' qualifications and work experience.”
Al-Kaabi said he hoped that the MOU, particularly the joint committee, would put a stop to this practice. He said the committee would require fingerprint and eyed scans for better control of entrants to the UAE.
The UAE is one of the top 10 destinations of Filipino workers abroad with total Filipino work force of 252,197 as of December 2005, supplemented by 98,718 deployment record in 2006. These 2006 figures are 20.33 percent (16,679 OFWs) higher than the 82,039 registered in 2005, according to records. - Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, April 10, 2007
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