DoLE Lifted Lebanon and Nigeria Deployment Ban

The Department of Labor and Employment partially lifted the deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon and Nigeria.

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said that the deployment of OFWs in Lebanon will be limited to three categories.

New hires or returning non-household service workers or those working in hotels and other similar establishments will now be allowed to leave the country.

Returning household service workers (HSWs) will only be allowed to leave if they will agree with the policy reforms on household service workers.

The deployments of newly hired household workers are limited to those duly endorsed by the Philippine Overseas labor Offices including members of the family of heads of state/government ministers, deputy ministers and other senior government officials of the host country and members of diplomatic corps and duly recognized international organizations. These employers of HSW are required to comply with the HSW policy reforms.

Meanwhile, OFWs with new contract bound to Nigeria are not allowed to leave. Only those returning OFWs who are on vacation and are going to work with the same employer will only be allowed for the processing and deployment.

According to Brion, the partial lifting of deployment ban in these countries is due to the light improvement of security conditions here. He also said that they are waiting for the full assessment report from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Special Task Force on Lebanon before they decide the appropriateness of completely lifting the ban.

Source: POEA

This article was first published in www.ofwguide.com on March 27, 2007