Manila backtracks on worker ban

Manila: Firms that employ Filipino workers in their overseas operations, even if they are located in countries identified by the government as adhering to rules protecting workers, are exempted from a deployment ban ordered by Manila recently.

Labour and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz issued the clarification amid concerns over the possibility that thousands of Filipinos working for foreign contractors will lose jobs abroad as the government imposes a deployment restriction on countries not complying with internationally-accepted regulations protecting migrant workers.

On October 28, the Philippine labour department, through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Governing Board (GB), issued a resolution identifying 41 ‘non-compliant' countries and banning the deployment of Filipino workers to those countries.

Sending Filipino workers has been banned by the government upon the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs which said that these countries fall short of providing protection to Filipino migrant workers, leaving them prone to exploitation and abuse.

Confusion

Dimapilis-Baldoz issued a statement clarifying the ban yesterday in an apparent move to stave off confusion, particularly among Filipinos working for foreign contractors on United States military bases abroad.

"Companies and contractors with international operations in non-compliant countries can continue to deploy Filipino workers to these countries unless the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board (GB) has issued a deployment ban to such countries and currently implemented by the POEA," Dimapilis-Baldoz said.

Not covered by ban

Companies and contractors with international operations hiring Filipino workers which are not covered by the deployment ban include: Afghanistan (telecommunications and engineering, and construction companies maintaining US and United Nations bases); India (construction, hotels); Iraq (contractors maintaining US military bases, construction, telecommunications, engineering); Lebanon (hotels and restaurants) and the US Virgin Islands (hotels).