Survey Says Many OFWs Are Not Satisfied With their Overseas Jobs

Many Filipinos dream of working overseas to seek a greener pasture. They are willing to take the challenge of working in an unfamiliar country and endure years of being separated from their loved ones for years.

One may therefore assume that the decision to accept an overseas job is most of the time worth it, that the workers would finally find the job security and satisfaction they are looking for. Sadly, an informal survey conducted by site visitors of WorkAbroad.ph and OFWGuide.com showed that many Filipinos working abroad are still dissatisfied with their current employment status.

In the survey question, “Are You Happy or Satisfied with Your Current Work Abroad,” 68% of the respondents answered “No” which shows that only 32% of them are happy or satisfied with their current overseas post. The said survey was conducted from November 10, 2012 to January 25, 2013.  It also appeared in the Facebook page of WorkAbroad.ph.

When asked of the reasons why they are generally unhappy with their current work, majority (49%) said that it is because of low salary and poor employee benefits. It is followed by the fact that their employers are mean and unfair and do not recognize their hard work (35%). Other responses cite their work challenges as boring (14%) and the remaining 2% do not get along with their co-workers.

From the responses above, the answer to the question, “What do you think are the factors that should be present to ensure an employee's job satisfaction” is easy to predict. Majority (72%) cited great compensation package as the most important factor. This is closely followed by work environment that allows for work-life balance, fair company policies and an environment that fosters employee development.

In the Facebook page discussion, the number of satisfied OFWs is almost equal with that of the unsatisfied ones and most of the reasons cited for job contentment are fair superiors, attractive salary and good benefits. Those who are unhappy with their current overseas post said that they find their employers unfair and their salary too low.

This informal survey was conducted among site visitors of OFWGuide.com and WorkAbroad.ph from November 10, 2012 to January 25, 2013.

Online Filing of Philhealth Benefits May Soon be Available for OFWs

Getting sick and being hospitalized abroad is a frightening scenario as aside from being away from loved ones that may offer emotional support, one may also have to worry about the cost of hospitalization overseas.

 

For this reason, the plan of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) to install a system that would make it possible for Filipinos abroad to file claims for hospitals bills online would benefit many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

 

According to the announcement from Philhealth, they are planning to implement this system by 2013.

Continue reading...

Best POEA Recruitment Agency for OFWs

There are more than 500 POEA recruitment agencies deploying overseas Filipino workers all over the world. Who among them could serve OFWs the best in terms of less money to shell out from OFWs pocket, friendly and accommodating staffs, no violation of contract, etc.

Forumers from OFWGuide Forum voice out who among these agencies can give the best service to first time and even experienced OFWs. Let’s find out who where included in the OFWs’ list.

• EDI- Staffbuilders International Inc
• Industrial Personnel & Management Services INC (IPAMS)
• Powerhouse Staffbuilders Intl Inc
• Universal Staffing SVCS., INC.
• Magsaysay Maritime Corporation
• Mirben International Manpower Services
• CDK International Manpower Services Corp.
• JS Contractor INCORPORATED
• Chesham Recruitment Inc.

Want to know more about OFWs best recruitment agencies review? Check Recruitment Agency Reviews

You may find jobs from POEA recruitment agencies here.

POEA gears up for peak season, tells returning OFWs to get exit clearance early

 The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has formed Task Force Balik-Manggagawa in anticipation of the arrival of thousands of OFWs who will spend the holiday season in the country even as Administrator Carlos S. Cao Jr. advises returning workers to have their overseas employment certificate (OEC) or travel exit clearance processed early.

To avoid long lines at the Balik-Manggagawa Processing Center, Cao said that OFWs should get their OECs as soon as they arrive in the country instead of flocking to the POEA office in Ortigas immediately after Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Cao also suggested that returning OFWs should secure their exit clearance at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) nearest their jobsite even before their flight to the Philippines.

Workers going to the provinces may also have their exit clearance at the POEA regional offices nearest their residence. The POEA offices are located in Baguio City; Tuguegarao City; San Fernando City, La Union; Clark Field, Pampanga; Calamba City; Legaspi City; Tacloban City; Iloilo City; Bacolod City; Cebu City; Cagayan de Oro City; Zamboanga City; and Davao City.

Cao said OFWs may also use the OEC courier system that is available online at http://www.citizenservices.com.ph/poea.

The following are considered balik-maggagawa:

1) a worker who is on vacation or on leave from employment under a valid and existing employment contract and who is returning to the same employer regardless of any change in jobsite, to finish the remaining unexpired portion of the contract;

2) a worker who was rehired by the same employer after finishing his/her contract and who is returning to the same employer, regardless of a change in jobsite; and

3) a returning worker whose employment contract was not processed with the POEA but was subsequently verified and registered with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in the jobsite and who is returning to the same employer either as a worker-on-leave or rehire, regardless of any change in jobsite.

No long delay in contract processing -- POEA

Administrator Carlos S. Cao dismissed as exaggerated some comments from recruiters that job orders may be cancelled due to the delay in the processing of employment contracts of OFWs at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Cao said there was a slight delay in the processing time of documents after the reassignment of some front-line employees but the lag did not stretch to 15 days as reported to cause lost employment opportunities for Filipino workers.

The POEA administrator also attributed the delay to the 4-day long weekend from October 29 to November 1, 2011, and the 3-day long weekend from November 5-7 due to holidays.

“This is too exaggerated, and has in fact been adequately and quickly addressed already,” Cao said of the report.

Cao said he formed a special task force that has already decongested the processing backlog.

The administrator also cited other improvements in the POEA building that were intended to provide comfort and convenience to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) transacting business at its offices such as the installation of three new elevators; 14 air-conditioners at the newly-renovated ground floor lobby; wide-screen LED TV at the name hire waiting area; and water dispensers Balik-Manggagawa and name hire units.

Source: POEA

HK’s foreign maids get $160 pay hike

Over 100,000 Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong are set to get HK$160 (about P887) more in pay after the Chinese territory’s Cabinet approved on Wednesday an increase in their minimum allowable wage (MAW).

The new MAW is now $3,740 (about P20,700) from the previous $3,580 (about P19,800), the prevailing wage since July 2008.

Aside from the $160 additional wage, the Hong Kong Executive Council or Cabinet also announced a $25-increase in the food allowance for migrant maids and nannies—officially known in Hong Kong as foreign domestic workers (FDWs).

However, the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body-HK, which includes overseas Filipino groups, expressed discontent with the raise, saying the new MAW was still lower compared with the $3,860 (about P21,400) in 1998.

“It is still not enough. We shall continue to campaign for a significant wage increase and against the seriously flawed process of determining the Minimum Allowable Wage,” Dolores Balladares, spokesperson of the group, said in a statement from Hong Kong.

“The truth is we still do not have a wage increase since the 1998 MAW level of HK$3,860. The current MAW at HK$3,740 is even way below that amount. Counting in inflation and the increase in prices of commodities and services in Hong Kong, the new wage will still not be able to meet the needs of FDWs to live decently,” she said.

Eni Lestari, an Indonesian and another spokesperson of the group, said they were hoping that the annual MAW review being done by the labor department would consider the plight of some 285,000 Asian domestics, including more than 100,000 Filipinos, whose families have been suffering from dire economic times back home.

“The annual inflation has already eroded our wage and the increase in prices of commodities that we buy and services that we use has made it impossible for us to make ends meet. The economic recovery of Hong Kong has not yet benefited domestics and a $4,000 MAW only actually means a HK$140 hike from our $3,860 monthly wage 13 years ago,” Lestari explained.

Lestari also belied claims that employers would not be able to afford a $4,000 monthly wage saying that even during the time of crisis in 2003, employers were paying $3,670 already. With the wage increases of regular workers in the past years, Lestari said that $4,000 would be within the capacity of Hong Kong employers.

The AMCB also expressed disappointment with how the government came to the decision.
Balladares said that in the dialogue with the Hong Kong Labor Department in the first week of May, she said the AMCB was told that the MAW would be discussed only during that period and that the announcement would be made in August.

“They did not even give time for FDWs to make a case for our demand. This just showed that the MAW process is an unjust, arbitrary and untransparent process that is there not to protect the interests of migrant workers but to keep FDWs as one of the lowest-paid workers in Hong Kong,” she remarked.

On Wednesday morning, the AMCB officially submitted its petition for a HK$4,000 minimum monthly wage.

Balladares announced that they will pursue their advocacy actions for a significant wage increase.

“The recovery of the Hong Kong economy must include the recovery of the economic capacity of those in the bottom. This new decision on the MAW is not a relief for FDWs but a pittance that keeps us in a desperate need to survive,” she said.

Source:
Inquirer Global Nation
June 1, 2011

Foreign firms in Algeria prefer OFWs for projects

Foreign companies with projects in Algeria continue to prefer overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for employment in their construction and oil and gas projects, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Monday. At least three companies intend to hire more OFWs for various projects in Algeria, according a DOLE press release based on a report from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Tripoli, Libya. Labor Attaché Nasser Mustafa said he conducted site verification and ocular inspection of Algeria-based companies COJAAL, Samsung, and Doodsal and found that work conditions in the companies’ sites are “satisfactory." He also met with the management of MITAC, the Japanese firm which built a 220-km road project with the Algerian National Agency for Highways. The road project was clinched through COJAAL, a consortium of five Japanese companies -- Kajima, Taichi, Nishimachu, Hajana, and Ituchu. Mustafa said that COJAAL is now starting the construction of another 17-kilometer superhighway to connect Annabah to the Tunisian border.

Most MITAC-COJAAL workers that completed the 220-km Constantine project have been transferred to Camp 7, a project site which has two satellite work sites that need more highly skilled workers, he added.

At COJAAL Satellite No. 3, Mustafa personally saw the working and living conditions of the Filipino workers. “The OFWs there were highly regarded by the COJAAL management as evidenced by the ‘zero’ complaints as to date," he said.

Food and accommodation in the satellite site were not only suitable but also adequate. Each room has four beds, with the building having common entertainment and several comfort rooms, the labor attaché said.

The whole camp also has wireless Internet access, allowing workers to communicate with their families back home.

The labor attaché said that the workers are satisfied with the company’s remittance system, as pay is guaranteed every 16th of the succeeding month and their money being sent in three methods: Money sent 100 percent to an account of the worker’s spouse or family in the Philippines

Money sent to two separate Philippine accounts — worker’s and spouse’s/family’s — with the worker deciding on how much is placed in each

Not more than 20 percent of OFW's salary retained in Algeria and the rest remitted to the Philippines. Mustafa said in all instances, the company shoulders whatever charges these transactions involve.

Meanwhile, Mustafa reported that more than 400 OFWs are at COJAAL Satellite No. 2.

In a dialogue with the workers, Mustafa said the questions raised were mainly about the workers’ deploying agencies: HRD, Camox Philippines, Asia Contract, and WERR.

It was discovered that 20 WERR-deployed OFWs were not verified by POLO. Mustafa said the transfer of COJAAL workers deployed by Asia Contract to a different client was a concern among other OFWs, as the transfer might entail several immigration documents that may delay repatriation back to the Philippines when those workers finish their contracts.

Mustafa also inspected Samsung Co. Ltd., the Korean company which won a contract to build a $5-billion “liquid and gas project" (L&G) at Schikda.

Samsung’s general manager said the company plans to hire an initial 20 professional and highly skilled oil and gas workers, Mustafa said.

The labor attaché said that India-based Doodsal Co. is also involved in Algeria’s L&G project, particularly in Schikda, and currently employs more than 100 Filipinos.

In his meeting with the human resource manager of Doodsal, Mustafa said he mentioned that the workers’ were concerned that the Algerian Labor Law does not offer end-of-service benefits or gratuities to foreign workers who have completed their contracts, unlike in many Middle East countries.

In 2009, there were some 3,200 Filipino workers deployed in Algeria, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration records showed.

But the Commission on Filipinos Overseas estimated there were about 4,900 Filipinos in the North African country as of December 2009. — VS, GMANews.TV

100 Lab Technicians/Laboratory Technical Instructors needed in Oman

International Staffing Registry, Inc is looking for 100 Computer, Engineering or Science Lab Technicians and Laboratory Technical Instructors for Sultanate of Oman and they will conduct an interview starting June 20-30, 2010.

The position is open for both male and female, age not more than 55 years old, earned Bachelor’s or College Degree and at least 5 years of working experience.

Qualified applicants will receive a monthly salary of more than USD1850 with one year contract that is extendable to three years.

More details of 100 Lab Technicians/Laboratory Technical Instructors needed in Oman here.

Erap for President, again? His plans for OFWs

McArthur’s famous line “I shall return” seems to be the former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada’s favorite quote as he, again, aspire for Presidential  position in May 10 election. Together with Jejomar Binay as his Vice President, can Erap win the race again? Will he regain the trust of “masa” including our modern day heroes, the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)?

His Platform for OFWs

Protecting and Promoting OFWs: He envisions a Filipino working abroad because he just wants to not he need to. Here are the plans of Erap for overseas Filipino workers.

1. Ensuring that they get the best benefits and proper protection against abuse abroad. This will be achieved by:

              a) Strengthening bilateral relations with receiving countries.

              b) Supporting our labor attaches and welfare officers.

2. Minimizing the social cost borne by separation from their families. This will be achieved by creating a special commission under the Department of Social Welfare and Development specifically to monitor and address the concerns of the families that the OFWs leave behind.

3. Encouraging their return. All efforts will be made to encourage OFWs to return, including:

             a) Giving them incentives to invest their money here.

             b) Creating a commission to study how best to achieve OFWs when they return home.

Continue reading Erap for President, again? His plans for OFWs