POEA ensures Filipino workers are issued legal work permits

KUALA LUMPUR: David Yee charges each Filipina RM8,500 for helping them to work here as domestic helpers.

“That includes proper documentation, airfare, insurance, medical examination and fee for the Filipino middleman,” he explained.

His FR Gardens Employment Agency Sdn Bhd is one of 267 agencies accredited in Malaysia and the Philippines by the Philippines Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Yee flies to the Philippines every couple of months to interview applicants and brings about 100 to Malaysia every year.

“Filipinas cannot use tourist visa to work as domestic helper,” said Yee.

“They can’t convert that into a work permit. They have to go through a licensed agency.”

It takes him between two and three weeks to get a work permit from the Immigration Department (it took him a week previously) and he pays RM516 as levy for each domestic helper.

The POEA charges RM126.50 to process each Filipina’s documents and to make sure she has a solid employment contract.

“A domestic worker’s salary cannot be lower than US$400 as stated in the Philippine legislation,” stressed Labour Attache Dr Aliciz Santos at the Philippine embassy here.

“There are no salary deductions from that amount and neither do domestic workers pay placement fee.”

Instead, agencies like Yee’s charge the employers.

Santos has never heard of a “multi-purpose” work permit allowing a foreign worker to be employed in different sectors or by more than one employer.

“Legal work permits are attached to a certain employer,” Santos pointed out.

“The employer always pays the levy ahead of time as no approval will be given if the levy is not paid.”

“Every year, between 18,000 to 20,000 Philippine nationals — including domestic helpers and skilled workers — arrive in Malaysia with POEA approval, under the quota system provided by the Malaysian Immigration Department,” said Santos.

The system has worked well for Filipino citizens whose documentation is processed by POEA and accredited agencies.

“Cases of being sold fake work permits are more of an exception,” said Santos.

“We encourage our nationals to complain if there are any wrongdoings so that we can take action. We can either suspend or ban that agency through our Labour Office from recruiting other Filipinos to work here.”

But Consul-General Medardo Macaraig has a caveat for Sabah: “We do not have a consulate there. There are many Filipino workers in the plantations whom we find difficult to reach.”

The embassy conducts consular missions to issue passports and birth registration documents.

“We try to talk to their employers and ask them to legalise their workers,” added Macaraig.

“We would like to believe that there is no fake documentation but there are a lot of unknowns as far as Sabah is concerned.”

Read more: POEA ensures Filipino workers are issued legal work permits – Central – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/streets/central/poea-ensures-filipino-workers-are-issued-legal-work-permits-1.397290#ixzz2kKJ7alaK