Philippines: 90 groups support POEA guidelines for domestic workers

[Harold F. Schiffman]

90 groups support POEA guidelines for DH - Brion

Article posted February 19, 2007 - 05:28 PM

More than 90 major organizations representing different sectors in the
Philippines and abroad have thrown their support behind the government?s
new policy in the deployment of Filipino household service workers, labor
chief Arturo Brion said Monday. In a statement posted at the website of
the Department of Labor and Employment (www.dole.gov.ph), Brion said the
snowballing support to the new policy reforms bolsters employment of
Filipino domestic helpers to foreign countries. This was apparently meant
to contradict claims of militant groups spearheading protest actions by
domestic helpers and recruiters pressuring the government to scrap the
policy approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
(POEA) that took effect December 16, 2006.

The guidelines doubled the minimum monthly salary for Filipino domestic
helpers to $400, raised the minimum age requirement to 23 and required
applicants to undertake skills and language proficiency training prior to
deployment. Brion averred that the new deployment guidelines foster better
conditions and standards aimed at preventing exploitation, ill treatment
as well as painful costs on the Filipino DH families. Brion said the
groups supporting the new policy represent labor, employers, migrants,
religious, civil society, international, regional, ethnic, and legislative
with local as well as international affiliations.

The report indicated that groups supporting the reforms are based as far
as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Libya, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Qatar; Oman, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Africa, and other areas.
Brion expressed the government's gratitude to these groups for standing up
to need to bolster the conditions and protection of disadvantaged overseas
Filipino workers. He said that due to the continuing manifestation of
support, "we expect the number of groups committing to the new standards
to reach the hundreds level shortly." DOLE identified the groups
supporting the new policy as follows:

(Philippines) - Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care for Migrants
and Itinerant People, CBCP; Trade Union Congress of the Philippines
(TUCP); Federation of Free Workers (FFW); National Confederation of Labor
(NCL); Philippine Government Employees Association (PGEA); National
Congress of Unions in the Sugar industry in the Philippines (NACUSIP);
Philippine Association of Legal Service Contractors (PALSCON); National
Association of Trade Unions (NATU);

Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP); Philippine Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (PCCI); Philippine Transport General Workers
Organization (PTGWO); Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW); Apostleship
of the Sea; Development Action for Women Network (DAWN); CBCP-EMI; Center
for Migrant Advocacy (CMA): Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC); Scalibrini
Center for People on the Move (SCPM); International Catholic Migration
Commission (ICMC);

Association of Professionalism in Overseas Employment, Inc. (ASPROE);
Overseas (Hong Kong) - Confederation of Filipino Overseas Workers (COFW);
Filipino Service Community Network (FILCOMSIN); Guimbai Filipino Workers
Association; Integrated Midwives Association of the Philippines; DOMO Hong
Kong (DOLE OWWA Tulay Microsoft); Bilag to Ilocano Assocaition; Anak ti
Villasis; Bohol Philippines; Galing Manggagawa Pinoy Abroad (GMPA);
Migrant Ilonggo International Association; Bohol HK Association; Atimonan
Quezon Association ; (The Middle East and Africa - Order of the Knights of
Rizal - Middle East and Africa Region; (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia):

Cabalen Aguman Capampangan KSA; Filipino Community - Jubail, Eastern
Province; Kasangga ng OFW, KSA; D' Heroes Group in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh
and Al Khobar; Filipino Tenpin Bowlers of Eastern Region; Philippines
Society of Mechanical Engineers KSA Chapter; Philippine Institute of Civil
Engineers, Eastern Province, KSA; Philippine Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, KSA Eastern Province Chapter; Cebuano Integrated Security and
Tribal Allies; SANGKAY Saudi Arabia; United Surigaonon Association; Master
Builders Association of the Philippines, Eastern Province; Guardians
Brotherhood, Inc. (Jeddah Chapter); KASAPI Congress, Jeddah; Hand-to-Hand
Combat Aikido, Jeddah Chapter; S.A.M. Foundation, Inc.;

KAPIT BISIG, Jeddah; BSME Western Region, KSA; Cebuano Speaking
Organization in Saudi Arabia (CSOSA); United Maguindanao Expatriate
Association (UMEA); Bagong Bicol Saro, Jeddah; Association of Cabalen
Expatriates, Circulo Ilonggo, Saudi Arabia; SIGLAKAS; Boholano Community
in Jeddah; Association of Ranao Engineers and Architects, Jeddah; PAMAC
International; PHILMASA, International; Association of Filipino Civil
Engineers, Western Region, KSA;  Pangasinan Saudi Workers Association;
Philippine Guardians Brotherhood, Red Sea Chapter; (Taiwan): Aguman
Kapampangan, Taipei Chapter; Bicol Association in Taipei; Filipinos
Married in Taiwanese Association; OFW Family Club, Taiwan; Tamshui
Filipino Community; The United Vismin Association in Taiwan (Libya):
Filipino Community Association in Libya (FILCOL); Filipino Muslim
Community Consultative Council in Libya (FMCC);  (UAE): Filipino Club of
Ras-Al Khaima; Lightform International Filipino Photographers Guild,
Dubai;

Philippine Health Care Providers, Dubai; Central Philippine University
Alumni Association, Dubai; CADD Group, Dubai; United Filipino Association
in Fujairah, UAE; Alpha Phi Omega (APO), Dubai; Filipino Association of Um
Al Quwain; Filipino Bowling Club, Dubai; Filipino Scuba Divers Club,
Dubai; International Alliance of Filipino Table Tennis Association, Dubai;
Kabayan Kapit Bisig Foundation; Lingkod OFW, Dubai; Maranao Community,
Dubai;

Pinoy Expats Auto Club, Dubai; Philippine Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, Dubai Chapter; Sharjah Filipino Bowling Club; Aguman
Kapampangan Dubai; Filipino Press Club, Dubai; (Oman): Filipino Social
Club in Oman; (Qatar): Filipino Community Organizations Alliance (FILCOA)
composed of 32 organizations; (Korea): Filipino Community Leaders,
Religious Groups and OFW Organizations in Korea; and, (Japan): Solid
Filipino Migrant Association (SOFILMA), Tokyo, Japan. - GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/31245/90-groups-support-POEA-policy-for-domestics---Brion#

***********************************************************************************

N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal.

***********************************************************************************