Following the lifting of the deployment ban to Israel, at least 48 Filipino caregivers have been deployed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
The agency said this is the first batch of Filipino home-based caregivers bound for Israel.
“A total of 48 from the 403 hired caregivers are set to arrive [i]n Israel on July 28, 2021 to provide skilled caregiving assistance to the persons with disabilities (PWDs), including elderly disabled persons in the said country,” POEA said in a statement.
The caregivers were deployed on Tuesday (July 27) night.
The other 355 hired Filipino caregivers are also soon to be deployed in the coming weeks.
“The deployment is in accordance [with] the existing bilateral labor agreement between the Philippines and Israel in 2018, which provides strengthened protection and employment opportunities to Filipino caregivers,” POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said in a statement.
The agreement with Israel safeguards Filipino caregivers from paying excessive fees from private agencies as the hiring and deployment of workers are under the government-to-government scheme.
POEA added that it will continue the recruitment of the home-based caregivers as the Population and Immigration Authority of the State of Israel signified its intention to recruit 5,000 more caregivers.
The government temporarily suspends the deployment of caregivers to Israel in recent months due to the escalating tensions between Israel and Hamas militants in Palestine.
