By OFW Guide
Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc (PASEi) recently recommends a more comprehensive proposal regarding the additional insurance that Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) will benefit.
The association recently opposes the recent statement of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) regarding the latter’s stand that additional insurance for OFWs should be voluntary and not compulsory.
Victor E. R. Fernandez, Jr, president of PASEI claims that POEA’s objection on the House Bill 5649 and Senate Bill 3286 that seek to amend Republic Act No. 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 is baseless.
“The objections that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) interposes are based on conjectures and not on facts. There are enough safeguards that had been incorporated in the law. POEA cannot logically answer and present their objections impartially since POEA prefers to see the OFWs suffer than try the solutions offered by the industry,� says Fernandez on his statement.
Fernandez added, “The proposal of PASEI is more comprehensive compared to the current proposals being put forward under the Senate Bill No. 3286 and House Bill No. 5649 which limits the proposed liability insurance to money claims or damages.
Under the PASEI’s proposal OFWs will be entitled with these benefits:
 
Accidental Death Benefit- USD15,000
Survivor’s Benefit- USD10,000
Total Permanent Disablement- USD7,500
Repatriation
 
Bodily Remains- US$4,000
(Including burial, up to the maximum reimbursement)
Other Causes – USD1,000
and Emergency Evacuation 
 
Subsistence allowance- USD600
Payment for legitimate monetary claims- USD4,500
 
Under their proposal, insurance companies will be liable if they failed to comply with their monetary obligations to OFWs who suffered accidents, death, etc.
Moreover, all recruitment agencies will also lose their license to operate and their directors and officers will also be disqualified from engaging in business of recruitment/placement agencies if the premium cost of the compulsory insurance will not be given to OFWs.
“On the other hand, escrow is limited to unpaid wages only. It does not cover repatriation of remains and burial, life and accident insurance, subsistence allowances, repatriation for other defined causes and total permanent disability.
In the end, the compulsory insurance coverage of all legally POEA-processed workers at no cost to the worker and at no cost to government may guarantee direct, immediate and more expeditious delivery of benefits to the OCWs.� The statement read.

By OFW Guide
Participating in the Philippine election is now possible even if one is not physically in the Philippines through the Absentee voting law. In the coming May 10, 2010 presidential and senatorial elections, a non-government organization, The Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) is urging Filipinos working and living overseas to register and vote.
The CMA which had lobbied for the right to vote of Filipinos outside the Philippines are reminding them that there is a seven month period for them register for the overseas absentee voting
The registration for absentee voters has started last February 1, and will be open until August 31 of this year. To be eligible, Filipino migrants and overseas workers should be 18 years old and above.
Ellene Sana, executive director of CMA said, “If you want change to happen, be involved. Be responsible citizens, go out and register.”
Of the estimated eight million Filipinos abroad, almost 50 percent are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). However, only a small percentage (below 50,000) registered to vote in the last two elections.  
One of the reasons cited for the low turnout of voters is the difficult requirements needed to register. One of them is the need for a personal appearance, which can be time consuming and hard for many whose residence and job sites are far from Philippine embassies and consulates.
The CMA responded, “But personal appearance is required for the biometrics capture of photograph, thumbprint, and signature. As in previous OAV registrations, various posts abroad could conduct mobile and field registration in far areas.�
The CMA added, “But usually the Department of Foreign Affairs, which conducts the registration and elections for the Commission on Elections, chooses sites for this type of enlistment in places where there are many Filipinos.�
Other Requirements: Valid Philippine passport or a Department of Foreign Affairs certification (as most employers of household service workers in the Middle East get their passports) Accomplished OAV registration/certification form. For seamen: a photocopy of Seaman’s Book or proof of being a seafarer. For Filipinos who retained or re-acquired their Filipino citizenship under Republic Act 9225 granting dual citizenship: original or certified true copy of the Order of Approval of Application.
To register, the CMA advisory states that Filipinos abroad can go to embassies, consulates, and other foreign-service offices. Filipinos who are just about to leave the country can register before their departure at the Committee on OAV at the Commission on Elections, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (ground floor), and the OFW Pre-Departure Lounge of the Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Seafarers could register at any diplomatic post abroad or in Manila.
During the registration period, previous registrants can also do the following: file or request for transfer of registration records; reinstatement in the National Registry of OAV; correction of wrong entries/misspelled names; withdrawal of application for registration/certification pending approval; or reactivation of registration record.
For other inquiries, one can contact Comelec’s Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting at the following numbers: (632) 522 2251, (632) 521 2952, or (632) 523 9924 and the DFA Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat at (632) 8330914 or (632) 832 8363. One can also visit their websites at: www.comelec.gov.ph and www.dfa.gov.ph .

(Tinig Pinoy Headline – October 2008)

By Ester Beatty

While Cypriots were celebrating their Independence Day on 1^st October 2008, a Filipina was found laying unconscious on the road after the motor vehicle she was driving hit a pavement somewhere in Strovolos area. Desiree Lopez, known as Daisy to her friends, is still fighting for her life after an accident that happened on the night of 1^st October 2008, while going home after her day off. Apparently she was found laying on the road by some motorist and was rushed to the Nicosia General Hospital at around 11 in the evening. Daisy was not wearing a helmet when found on the road. According to initial Police report, nobody was involved in the accident.

(Tinig Pinoy March Headline)

 

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has come up with a policy which requires employers to make a personal appearance to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) stationed in their area and undergo verification, registration and documentation of their overseas household service workers (HSWs).

Pursuant to Governing Board Resolution Nos. 07 and 09, Memorandun Circular 14, series of 2006, issued to strengthen the protection mechanism for overseas Filipino household service workers through a more comprehensive system of registration and documentation, the following guidelines shall apply for verification and approval of manpower requests / job orders and documentation of household service workers and low / semi-skilled female work categories:

The circular applies to the following workers: 1. Household service workers (HSWs) including caregivers / caretakers in a household setting, hired through foreign placement agencies or deployed directly to employers; 2. Low / semi-skilled female workers hired through foreign placement agencies or deployed as name hires.

1. All individual employment contracts for HSWs hired through foreign placement agencies or deployed directly to employers and for low / semi-skilled female workers hired through foreign placement agencies or name hire shall undergo verification by the POLO.

2. No employment contract for household service workers shall be verified unless it contains the names and signatures of the worker being hired, the organized representative of the Philippine recruitment agency and its counterpart foreign placement agency and the direct employer.

3. The POLO shall maintain and continuously update a database on the vital information of household service workers in their area of jurisdiction to ensure that requests for assistance are promptly acted upon.

4. The POLO shall likewise maintain a database of principals and employers with derogatory records arising from contract violation, maltreatment, abuse, violation of recruitment laws, violation of immigration laws of the host country and non-cooperation. Such database shall be shared among the POLOs in the country and with POEA to ensure that only desirable employers are allowed to participate in the Philippine overseas employment program.

1. Personal appearance of the direct employer for an interview and pre-employment orientation to ensure comprehension of their contractual obligations and its attendant undertakings and their willingness and capacity to comply thereto.

2. Duly signed and notarized employment contract.

3. Duly accomplished information sheet of the employer containing the following vital information:

a. Name and picture of employer and spouse and other persons staying at the household of the employer and their ages [(including the children, relatives and other household helpers, (if any)].

b. Location and complete address and residence of the employer where the household worker will be assigned to work.

c. Telephone numbers and other contact numbers.

d. Size of residence expressed in square meters of floor area.

e. Family income (with supporting documents (if necessary)

f. Job description of the household service worker

4. Valid Identification Card

5. Police clearance or equivalent document from the authorities in the area where the employer resides.

6. Written undertaking of the employer (in English and local language) declaring the following:

a. That the employer shall, upon the arrival of the HSW at the worksite, make the HSW contact the Philippine Embassy by phone confirming her arrival.

b. That the HSW shall have custody of her / his passport / travel documents at all times.

c. That the HSW shall be treated humanely by the employer and by the other persons staying at the house.

d. That the employer shall provide the HSW with a separate sleeping room.

e. That the HSW shall be given a daily rest of at least eight continuous hours

f. That the HSW shall be made to work only in the residence of the employer as indicated in 3(b) hereof;

g. That upon request, the Philippine Embassy shall be allowed to communicate with the HSW by phone.

h. That the HSW shall be allowed to freely communicate with her family in the Philippines or with the Philippine Embassy

i. That the employer shall present the person of the HSW to the Philippine Embassy when required;

j. That the employer shall not make the HSW extend her contract or transfer to another employer without the verification and approval of the Philippine Embassy.

In another development, Philippine Labor Attache-Designate to Cyprus Atty. Jaime Gimenez in a recent interview said that the Philippine Government has issued this policy solely to protect the overseas Filipino workers from possible abuses of employers which has become common everywhere and through its implementation, it would be easier to tract down such cases. LaBatt Gimenes further said that he is aware that foreign employment agencies here in Cyprus are not in favor of this policy through which, as reported, these agencies hired a professional media in the Philippines and allegedly attacked him. “Look, Joy, I did not make the policy. It is issued by our government. I am only here to implement it,” Atty. Gimenez explained.

By Cathrine Beatty

After nearly two-decades of no changes to the minimum salary for domestic helpers, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus has finally approved the increase for the minimum salary of all domestic helpers and carers on 24th October 2007. The new minimum salary for all domestic helpers/carers have been increased from CY£150.00 (€256.29) to CY£165.00 (€281.92) per calendar month, an increase of 10% with effect from November 2007. Speaking to Mrs. Athina Constantinou from the Department of Social Insurance, District Office in Nicosia, she confirmed that since the beginning of January 2008, employers have started paying € 66.83 (CY£39.11) per month for their employees’ Social Insurance contributions, an extra cost of €5.76 per month from the employers pocket. The gross salary applicable for the calculation of the new contribution is CY£240.00 (€410.00) per month. The increase will come as a relief to most domestic helpers as they also felt the increase in the cost of living since the adoption of the Euro currency in Cyprus. The majority of domestic helpers on the island are still receiving the minimum salary of CY£150.00 (€256.29) per month, even if they have been working for the same employer for several years. Some domestic helpers who are fortunate to have kind and generous employers have had their salary increased since the implementation of the new law. Separately, since March 2007, the Governing Board of the POEA, through a series of Resolutions issued in 2006, have effectively increased the entry-level minimum salary for overseas domestic helpers to $400 (Resolution No. 5, Series of 2006) per month. Most of the Filipino domestic helpers who came to Cyprus last year have benefited from this regulation as confirmed by a number of Filipinos who say they are receiving a monthly salary of CY£180.00 (€307.55), which is in today’s rate is just above USD 450.00. (Sa mga kababayan natin mga Filipino, kung halimbawa hindi sinusunod ng mga employer ninyo ang bagong patakaran na ito, puede kayong tumawag sa Department of Social Insurance, telephone no. 22-409730, para mapatunayan ninyo sa inyong mga employer na ito ay totoo.)

Green Card not Allowed for Third-Country Nationals

The hope to avail the Long Term Residency Status by non- European migrants seemed to have been thrown in the bin following the decision of the full bench of the Supreme Court in the case of a domestic worker applying for the green card.

Motilla case vs the Republic of Cyprus (Case No. 673/2006 is a clear-strong example to it. KISA or Action for Equality, Support, Anti-Racism has issued a press release expressing its grave concern about the Supreme Court’s decision denying approval of a domestic helper’s application for a long- term status. The press release states: “The full bench of the Supreme Court has, fortunately not unanimously, fully adopted the policy of the Civil Registry and Migration Department, which, in KISA’s opinion is illegal and in violation of the Directive 2003/109/European Council about the status of the long- term resident third world country nationals. This policy considers all migrant workers as temporarily resident with formally limited residence permits, irrespective of the fact that they have legally and continuously resided in Cyprus for five years. As a result, it excludes all migrants from the Directive’s scope of implementation. In other words, with the blessings of the Supreme Court, the overwhelming majority of migrants cannot benefit from the provisions of the Directive 2003/109/EC as almost all residence permits are formally limited.�

KISA, it said, “also denounces the Supreme Court’s omission to refer particular question for interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Communities (CoJ), which is solely competent to interpret community law, as it was its obligation to do, given that it considered the clarification of this question necessary for the outcome of the case. Instead, the Supreme Court itself interpreted community law, which has not up to now been interpreted by the CoJ, in a negative manner and decisively for the rights of third-country nationals who have submitted or will submit applications for acquiring the long-term status.�

KISA in its stand anticipates “a massive chain reactions on the aggravation of the long-standing problems in the area of migration and especially in the increase of migrants without papers and asylum applications as well as the super-exploitation of the affected migrants by the various rings and “specialists.�  KISA therefore has called on all the migrants affected to this matter to denounce it and mobilize against this policy.