Jinggoy seeks bilateral labor ties with OFW host countries

The Philippine government should pro-actively negotiate for bilateral labor agreements with countries hosting Filipino workers, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada who is concurrent chairman of the Senate Labor Committee and of the Joint Congressional Committee on Labor and Employment.

Estrada noted the report by Kanlungan Center, a private group assisting distressed overseas Filipino workers, that the Philippines has bilateral labor agreements with only 13 out of the 197 countries hosting OFWs, namely: Norway, United Kingdom, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Libya, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Indonesia.

"Practically everyday, we hear of Filipino workers being abused and maltreated by their employers abroad, especially, in countries that our government does not have bilateral labor agreements with. Such agreements could prevent these misfortunes by laying down the necessary guidelines and provisions for the protection of our workers," he said.

Earlier, Estrada urged the Philippine government, thru Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), to negotiate a similar agreement with the Australian government's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for the protection of Filipino workers in that country, which the senator likewise brought up in his meeting with Australian Ambassador Tony Hely.

The senator also expressed support to the position by Kanlungan that the POEA should make full use of Republic Act (RA) 9422, signed on April 2007, which strengthened the agency's regulatory functions. RA 9422 repealed Sections 29 and 30 of RA 8042, also known as the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, which allowed private sectors to recruit and deploy migrant workers in an "unregulated atmosphere."

"The POEA should indeed strictly apply the full force of the law against some private agencies that recruit and deploy OFWs without ensuring the workers' protection, and especially, against agencies that operate illegally," Estrada said.

"Bilateral labor agreements with countries hosting OFWs, coupled with strict enforcement of the laws by the POEA, are important steps forward in ensuring that our workers are protected, and treated well by their employers. With these steps, we could then truly maximize overseas labor opportunities for the Filipino workers," he added.