MANILA: A leader in the recruitment industry has slammed the proposed guidelines for Republic Act (RA) 11199 or the Social Security Law for allegedly containing illegal terms and fees.
Among the provisions of the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) is requiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to secure membership at the Social Security System (SSS) before they are allowed to work abroad.
Recruitment leader Lito Soriano said in a BusinessMirror report that the provision is unlawful, particularly for new hires since mandatory members under RA 11199 should only apply to those considered as OFWs before the law’s enactment.
Meanwhile, Migrante Philippines Chairman Armand Hernando said the provision will also burden OFWs based in countries that do not mandate social security agreements to pay their premium on their own without their employers’ assistance.
Membership fees range from at least a month’s worth of contribution to three-months’ equivalent, depending on the OFWs deployment arrengment.
The rate of contribution will depend on the earnings and age of the covered workers.
