PHL, Saudi agree to automate recruitment procedures

Filipinos seeking work in Saudi Arabia may benefit from automated procedures in the recruitment process, following a recent meeting between labor officials from the two countries, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

Philippine and Saudi officials agreed to reduce the process cycle time and automate recruitment procedures at the second Joint Committee Meeting between the Kingdom and the Philippines.

“I welcome the salient points of their discussions during the second Joint Committee Meeting, particularly the agreement to further reduce the process cycle time in OFW documentation and the agreement to further enhance the existing 24-Hour Assistance Center established by the Saudi government to receive household service workers’ complaints,” said DOLE secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

In his report, DOLE Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said the Philippines informed the Saudi government that the Philippine Department of Health wants to reduce the process cycle time to complete medical examination results from five to only three days.

This would reduce the process cycle time from 16 to 14 days.

Improving documentation process

Cruz also said the Philippine side committed to “seriously study and further improve the documentation process, including the adoption of one master contract for bulk job orders,” provided there is a list of workers included.

“We have also requested – and the Saudis agreed — for data on the nature of calls and the frequently-asked questions (FAQs) of OFWs to the 24-Hour Assistance Center the Saudi government has established to receive domestic workers’ complaints,” he added.

For their part, the Saudi officials reiterated their intention to finance the development of an online portal to link the Kingdom and the Philippines on the e-contract scheme.

This is an effort by both parties to automate recruitment and deployment procedures.

“Both sides agree to nominate a team to meet, discuss, and fix a date for the completion of the online portal or automated system,” Cruz said.

Mega-recruitment

Meanwhile, Cruz said the Saudi side emphasized private companies in the Kingdom can continue to recruit their workers from the Philippines without passing through the Saudi mega-recruitment companies (MRCs).

He added the Philippine delegation clarified various issues with the Saudi side, such as the matter of service contracting where the MRCs are the visa sponsors, including the transfer provisions under KSA laws.

“We have emphasized the need to come up with a mechanism for cooperation between the Saudi Ministry of Labor and the Philippine Embassy on this matter, including on the matter of access to visit Filipino workers in Saudi accommodation facilities; affording the domestic worker freedom to visit the Philippine Embassy; facilitation of repatriation; and dispute settlement,” Cruz said.

He added the Philippines was emphatic in its position that the rights and entitlements of workers specified in the employment contract agreed prior to their departure from the Philippines are not undermined.

Cruz also said the Saudi side welcomed the offer of the Philippines to provide the Saudis technical assistance, including the possible engagement of the services of conciliation experts in the Philippines and the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in the Kingdom. — KBK, GMA News