The Migrant Workers Office – Dubai and the Northern Emirates has issued a warning against third-party recruitment and cross-country employment.
Labor Attache John Rio Bautista explained that Filipinos who are already abroad are mostly targeted by this illegal scheme of recruitment.
“There is third country or Cross-country recruitment when an individual (Filipino) not coming from the Philippines but from other country is recruited for employment to another country and usually not passing through a licensed agency. DMW and MWO have received several complaints from Filipinos who were asked and paid certain amount of money on a promise of employment in Europe and Canada and even in Asia but the promise of employment never materialized or those with employment but suffered labor exploitation,” said Labor Attache Bautista.
They said the advisory aims to remind OFWs of the ill effects if cross-country employment practices as these will only bring more harm than good.
“Overseas Filipino Workers are advised that third-country recruitment or hiring of overseas workers for employment outside their current job site is highly discouraged by the Department of Migrant Workers,” stated the advisory.
The advisory reiterates the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Advisory No. 16, Series of 2022 and other previous issuances which encourages Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to only transact under licensed Philippine recruitment agencies should they wish to work abroad.
MWO said in the advisory that this is to make sure that aspiring OFWs are properly documented, and their rights and welfare are protected by the Philippine government and the host country where they want to be deployed.
“This scheme which results in cross-country employment of OFWs are typically undertaken by agencies, entities, and/or individuals which do not hold the appropriate license to recruit and place workers for overseas employment, hence, is not considered a lawful practice. Workers who use this kind of service face the risk of being charged with exorbitant recruitment fees, unfair labor practices, and fraudulent employment opportunities, among others,” the advisory further added.
Last November, dozens of OFWs were rescued by the DMW after they were lured into jobs as “customer service relations” or “technical support staff” in Chinese-operated companies along the border of Myanmar and Thailand.
According to the victims, they were recruited online via Facebook and promised a monthly salary of P40,000 for six months of work as “data encoders,” “customer service relations,” (CSR), and “technical support” staff.
However, they ended up in a “techno park” in a remote area in Myanmar that took eight hours to reach by land travel and by foot.
Upon arrival in their place of work, each victim was assigned to a cubicle and given instructions in Chinese that had to be translated via Google Translate. They were made to enter dating apps and other social media platforms to search and cultivate relations with potential bitcoin investors.
