POEA Warns Vs Seasonal Jobs in Italy, DH in Singapore

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) yesterday warned aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) against job offers in Italy and Singapore.

Night time in Bari, Italy. Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwwflickrcomphotosciddone/

POEA chief Jennifer Manalili said they received reports of recruitment agencies and individuals promising jobs as seasonal workers in Italy.

Manalili noted that seasonal workers can be recruited only from countries with special agreements with Italy and from the ranks of those already working legally in Italy.

She said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Rome reported that the illegal recruitment scheme had already victimized many Filipino workers now stranded in Italy.

“Due to lack of proper work documents, a number of Filipinos are now stranded in Italy after paying P500,000 each for non-existent jobs,” she said.

Manalili also reminded those intending to work as domestic helpers in Singapore to use the legal process and not rely on travel agencies.

She said 99 percent of Filipino domestic helpers who ran away from their employers in Singapore were deployed by travel agents and do not have valid overseas employment documents issued by the POEA.

The workers were asked to sign a one-page contract that they were to be paid from $250 to $300 a month with no day off, but Manalili said the workers only received $20 a month as subsistence allowance because the Singapore agency has to deduct from their salary the placement fee equivalent to seven months’ salary.

Under POEA rules, Manalili said a household worker must receive a monthly salary of $400.