DoLE curbs deployment of domestic workers

BY WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, TMT, Manila Times, Jan 11, 2019

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has issued an order limiting the deployment of household service workers (HSWs) or domestic helpers to the Middle East by 10 percent.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd issued the directive in December, based on the recommendation of labor attachés to reduce the number of welfare cases, particularly of HSWs who are prone to abuses.

He lamented that Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), particularly those deployed to Arab countries, were often exposed to abuse by their employers.

“I have received a lot of concerns and complaints from our Filipino household workers in the Middle East,” Bello said, adding that the aim of the Duterte government was to encourage OFWs to return and work in the country.

Emphasis would be on HSWs who were highly exposed to abuse by their employers, he said.

Administrator Bernard Olalia of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said the decrease in the deployment of HSWs would be compensated by the increase in the deployment of professional, skilled and semi-skilled Filipino workers, who remain highly in demand in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.

A total of 5,000 Filipino nurses were needed in Germany and Saudi Arabia under a government-to-government arrangement, he said.

“Saudi Arabia needs 1,000 female nurses, and 4,000 male and female nurses [are needed] in Germany. And since it is a government-to-government program, there are no recruitment agencies involved and thus no placement fees for qualified applicants,” he said.

The Philippines, meanwhile, has a scarcity in skilled workers such as carpenters, electricians and plumbers because many are working overseas.

According to the DoLE’s Bureau of Local Employment, the country is not producing enough skilled workers to meet the high demand here and abroad.

Demand in the local construction industry, it said, averages 200,000 workers annually but only 80,000 is filled up.

Bello earlier said the creation of 7.5 million jobs by 2020 was part of the priority agenda of the DoLE, in accordance with the overall plan of the government to encourage OFWs to return home.

He said the DoLE was also committed to contributing to the attainment of full employment by keeping the unemployment rate at 5 percent.