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OFW Advisories 2006
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Attention vacationing OFWs from Greece
The Ministry of
Public Order in Greece announced on November 20, 2006 that immigrant
workers who have applied for renewal but are
still waiting to be issued their residence permit may leave Greece any
day after December 15, 2006 and return before January 30, 2007.
Upon returning to Greece, the worker shall present to the Greek
immigration a valid passport; the residence permit that has expired; and
the Veveosi, the document issued to the immigrant
indicating
that he/she has applied for renewal of residence permit.
Jordan accepts domestic helpers only
Applicants
should not be enticed by certain recruiters to work in Jordan as
salesladies, nurses and hotel staff. Jordan only allows the entry of
foreign domestic workers in its labor market and maintains tight
restrictions for other jobs.
Beware
of "Carondelet"
The POEA warns job applicants against accepting job offer of nurses and
caregivers from "Carondelet Health Network, USA". Carondelet
uses the website http://www.carondelet-usa.com in their recruitment
activities. The POEA has previously closed the
"Carondelet Training Center"
in Manila
for illegal recruitment.
No
recruitment of nurses and caregivers to Japan yet
There is no
recruitment yet for Japan nurses and caregivers. Recruitment will begin
upon finalization of the memorandum of understanding between Philippines
and Japan that will define the process of selection and deployment
of our workers, and the selection and qualification of Japanese
employers. Applicants are asked to be wary of illegal recruiters who may
take advantage of them.
MORE
Beware
of "Baby Domingo"
The POEA warns job applicants against accepting offers of jobs in Canada
by a certain "Baby Domingo". Domingo has no license to recruit but has
been going around the provinces enticing applicants to work as nurses or
caregivers in Canada using tourist visa. This illegal recruiter collects
as much as US$1,000 for "processing fee" from her victims. The public is
advised to report to POEA or to other law enforcement authorities the
activities of Domingo.
Employers should pay for UAE visa
Employers in the United Arab Emirates should pay for the work visa
issued to foreign workers.
UAE
Labour Minister Dr. Al Kaabi said it is illegal on the
part of the company to demand money from the employee for visa charges
and has issued a warning to companies not to collect money from
employees for issuing a visa.
Companies doing so will be heavily penalized and will be asked to
close down their operations. Foreign workers are advised to file
complaints against the employer at the labor ministry.
Beware of fake travel documents
Filipinos planning to work abroad
should be wary of a scam by illegal recruiters using fake passports and
visas. Some Filipinos bound for Italy and France were recently caught in
Hong Kong using forged Philippine passports and fake Schengen visas.
Anyone who uses fake travel documents commits an offense that is
punishable with imprisonment and deportation.
Beware of fake jobs in Ghana
Jobseekers are warned against accepting offers by some groups
and individuals for 'employment' in Ghana. The
Philippine Embassy in
Nigeria has reported that some Filipinos have been victimized already by
these illegal recruiters, paying for non-existent jobs. At present,
deployment to Ghana has been minimal, averaging to only 50 workers per
year and were mostly administrative and managerial staff.
Deployment of OFWs to Lebanon suspended
The POEA has ordered the suspension of deployment of workers to Lebanon
as of June 13, 2006. As such, documented workers scheduled for departure
are not given clearance at the NAIA and other exit points. The
Department of Foreign Affairs had earlier issued a ban on travel to
Lebanon.
General nurses removed from UK shortage
occupation list
The United Kingdom Home Office has announced the removal of general
nurses from the shortage occupation list, and retaining only those
with specific field of specialization.
The new policy which will take effect on August 14, 2006, would
mean that UK employers, both the NHS and independent health providers
would have to satisfy first the resident labor market test before they
can recruit general nurses from abroad. Employers recruiting general
nurses will have to advertise any vacancies first and demonstrate to the
Work Permit UK that they cannot fill the same with a UK or EEA applicant
or that no resident nationals were considered suitable.
The new policy does not cover the following categories of nurses
which were still included in the shortage occupation list: audiology,
sleep/respiratory physiology, neurophysiology, operating theater
nursing, clinical radiology, pathology, and critical care and will have
no effect to nurses currently working in the UK.
100,000 jobs in Spain not yet available
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration is not accepting
applications for jobs in Spain and the reported 100,000 jobs are not yet
available pending the guidelines
for the recruitment of Filipino workers
for the said country.
There are no such job orders yet from employers in Spain except
those from Servicio De Prevencion De Riesgos Grupo
Los Nogales
for the projecto piloto or pilot project for caregivers. The
foreign principal is represented in the Philippines by Sunace
International Management Services. The job
order was approved by the POEA on March 22,
2006 and included vacancies for nurses, occupational and physical
therapists, and caregivers.
Warning on fake jobs
in Europe
The
Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong warned of an
illegal recruitment scheme which offers spurious jobs in
Italy, Spain, Portugal and other European countries.
Some Filipinos and Chinese individuals have been illegally
recruiting domestic helpers in Hong Kong for
non-existent jobs in Europe.
The victims were lured into paying HK$25,000 to HK$40,000 for their
plane tickets and the processing of their tourist visas.
POEA not sending civilian fighters
to
Iraq, Afghanistan
The Philippine
Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) does not process documents of
Filipinos hired as “civilian fighting force” for deployment to Iraq and
Afghanistan.
The July 2004 ban on
deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq has not been lifted and the
reported deployment of security forces to Iraq and Afghanistan did not
pass the documentation system of the government.
The government allowed
the recruitment of Filipino workers for Iraq in the latter part of 2003
but only for deployment to campsites which were found safe from attacks
from Iraqi rebels and terrorists. Most of the deployed workers were
assigned to do construction, maintenance, housekeeping, and catering
jobs inside American camps.
The deployment of
Filipinos to Afghanistan was also allowed but was limited to
professionals working in projects controlled by the United Nations (UN).
POEA processed the contracts of these workers only after endorsement and
clearance from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Cebu Manpower has no job orders for
Iceland and Sweden
Cebu Manpower Corporation has no accredited principal or
employer and approved job orders for Iceland and Sweden as
of date. Our labor attache in London has yet to validate the
manpower request of a principal in Iceland for various
skilled workers through Cebu Manpower. POEA revoked the
accreditation of an employer in Sweden following
confirmation by the Philippine Embassy that the factory is
virtually not operational.
Australia needs
skills
Australia is looking for
skilled Filipino workers who are fluent in the English
language to be part of its Skilled Migration Program.
Applicants should have professional or trade skills
included in the
Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) and must be
under 45 years old.
Click here for Expo Information for Overseas Skilled Workers
UAE cracks down on
illegal workers
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration cautions
applicants for overseas jobs against going to work in the
United Arab Emirates using tourist visas.
The UAE immigration authorities are currently conducting a random
check among establishments and companies to determine if
they are employing expatriates with tourist visas.
This is clear indication that immigration authorities are
now seriously implementing the prohibition for visit visa
holders to work, paid or unpaid, either on a part-time or
full time basis.
Visit visa holders found to be violating the law are subject to
immediate deportation following their detention for seven
days while their employer face penalty.
10 Filipino victims of illegal
recruitment repatriated from Hong Kong
The POEA
reiterates its earlier warning to job applicants that
there are not much jobs available in Macau even as 10
Filipino victims of illegal recruitment were repatriated
from Hong Kong.
The victims arrived in Macau last January 15, 2006 and found
out that there is no job vacancy waiting for them. The
victims were advised by the Philippine Consulate to
return to the Philippines because of lack of documents
for further stay in Macau.
Macau is implementing its localization program where local
residents are given priority in the recruitment,
particularly those who are qualified for basic level
jobs.
Foreign workers are allowed only to fill up shortage occupations in
Macau like supervisors in the executive, finance,
casino, gaming operations, hotel and restaurant,
information technology and marketing departments.
Non-residents who are working without valid work permits will be
penalized up to 20,000 patacas and will be banned to
work in Macau for two years.
No POEA vacancies for Australia, New Zealand and Japan
POEA is not
recruiting workers for Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Australia and
New Zealand are accepting skilled immigrants but not through POEA.
Applicants may send applications to the two countries' respective
embassies in the Philippines. Japan and the Philippines has yet to
finalize the agreement for hiring Filipino caregivers and nurses.
Wanted: Queen of illegal
recruiters
POEA and police authorities want information leading to the
arrest of a certain Rose or Rosemarie Liwanag. Liwanag
has 27 illegal recruitment and estafa complaints filed at
the POEA, in addition to
a number of illegal recruitment
complaints filed against her before the Presidential
Anti-Illegal Recruitment Task Force (PAIRTF), the National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the different Prosecution
Offices.
Korea requires language test for EPS applicants
The Korean government now requires passing
the Employment Permit System-Korean Language Test (EPS-KLT)
as a criterion in the hiring of foreign workers, including
Filipinos.
MORE
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2011 Advisories
2010 Advisories
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2006 Advisories
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