MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 15, 2012) – A Filipino migrants’ rights group on Monday assailed a proposal to ban the deployment of illiterate household service workers abroad.
Migrante-Middle East strongly reacted to the proposal by the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to ban illiterate maids in working to Saudi Arabia.
“PASEI proposal is not only illogical but would left no option at all to what it called illiterates, amid the economic hardship hitting hard the poor illiterates’ in the Philippines,” John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He said the poor ‘illiterates’ need training and support government programs, instead of being excluded.
“I doubt if PASEI-member recruiters are providing or willing to train, without cost, their recruits prior to their deployment,” Monterona said.
“Philippine recruiters must see to it that their deployed workers are receiving rightful wages, being treated well by their employers, with good living accommodation, and are not subjected to various labor malpractices and abuses,” Monterona adding that Philippine-based recruiters are mandated by law (RA 10022) to look after the welfare of their deployed workers.
“Let us say, even if the intention of the new standard contract is good, but if it’s not honestly implemented, then it will defeat its purpose,” Monterona said.
He said PASEI recruiters failed to recognize the root causes why, in the first place, millions of unemployed and underemployed Filipinos are forced to leave the country to work or look for jobs abroad.
“Band-aid solutions have been proven useless given the huge negative effect of forced migration phenomenon to overseas Filipino workers and families, and the society at large,” Monterona said.
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