Pay parity

Fernandez said he also discussed with Minister Hsu the issue of pay parity of household workers (HHW) to factory workers.

Noting that Filipino HHW are generally well-educated and are known for being hardworking and responsible housekeepers of their employer’s household, the MECO Chairman suggested to the Labor Minister to consider raising their pay at par with the factory workers.

Minister Hsu took note of the suggestion and said she would discuss the matter with the concerned officials while ensuring to strike a balance in the industry.

Data from MECO showed that there’s now a total of 158,410 Filipinos in Taiwan — the majority of them are women.

Most of them are working in textile, metal, rubber, and paper companies. They are followed by caretakers of elderlies or children.

Fernandez reiterated his strong objection to exorbitant fees Philippine recruitment agencies charge from OFW, saying this matter could be addressed through simplified recruitment and better collaboration between the two countries.

Reports earlier said an OFW seeking to work in Taiwan has to shell around P200,000 in placement fee to recruiters, an amount that Fernandez decried as “criminal”.

No pandemic fees charged to OFW

Early November last year, the MECO Chairman took the initiative to communicate to Malacañang to ensure Taiwan’s requirements for the resumption of OFW deployment be addressed immediately as he also strongly recommended that the Philippine recruitment agencies shoulder all the pandemic fees.

The recommendation is in consonance with a January 2021 Memo Circular 1 of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) explicitly providing that pandemic fees prior to deployment shall be borne by the agency, at no cost to the worker.

Fernandez said that Taiwan-bound OFW should not pay for pandemic requirements as these expenses should be shouldered by the concerned local recruitment agency.

Earlier, in a meeting sought by Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited To Taiwan, Inc. (PILMAT), the agencies through its board asked the MECO Chairman to allow them to charge the OFW with the pandemic fees.

Fernandez rejected outright PILMAT’s request and cautioned them that it would check all arriving OFW whether were coerced to pay for their pre-deployment expenses and that any violation of POEA MC 1 by the recruitment agencies would result in MECO moving to suspend the agency’s license, de-list them from TECO accreditation and ensure that appropriate administrative charges are filed.

source: https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2022/01/13/taiwan-reopens-to-ofw/

by Jom Garner