OFW Party List Representative Marissa Magsino has expressed her support for the decision of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to suspend the deployment of seasonal workers to South Korea.
Earlier this week, the DMW has shed a copy of the memorandum stating the moratorium on social media.
Magsino said she previously filed House Resolution 1343, seeking an inquiry into the recruitment and deployment of Filipino Seasonal Agricultural Workers to South Korea under the ‘LGU to LGU’ arrangement.
Under the Seasonal Workers Program (SWP), Filipino workers will be deployed for a 3 to 5-month stint in Korean farms under a Memorandum of Understanding between local government units of South Korea and the Philippines.
“During my visit to South Korea last June 2023, Overseas Filipino Workers raised their concerns in our town-hall meeting about labor violations under the program, including inadequate meals, lodging violations, long working hours, and alleged mistreatment,” said Magsino in a statement.
The lawmaker said that since the program stems mainly from LGU-to-LGU agreements, the implementation system does not go through the stringent screening of DMW.
“Furthermore, while the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and DMW have confirmed their knowledge of the existence of the seasonal workers program, and while Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has reported the participation of forty six (46) Philippine LGUs in the program,” the lawmaker added.
“We believe the moratorium will allow DMW, DFA, and DILG to work on stronger mechanisms on the screening of employers, pre-deployment seminars on the rights of workers, establishing just and fair working conditions, and stringent monitoring of deployed workers,” said Magsino.
