DUBAI: The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) recently had its biggest number of attendees for its Post-arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) with 225 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from 17 companies.
“We were also surprised because the number of confirmed attendees as of the day before PAOS was 140. According to the employers’ representatives, they decided to also send OFWs who have arrived just a few days ago,” said Labor Attaché Felicitas Bay.
There were 101 attendees last month, she said.
A total of 419 newly-arrived OFWs have been given PAOS from January to August this year, according to the labor attache.
The seminar briefs OFWs about POLO, as well as salient points of UAE labor law. It also informs them about the local culture as well as services of the Social Security System (SSS), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and PAG-IBIG.
Bay meantime urged OFWs, who came to the UAE on visit visa and have been successful in landing jobs, to undergo PAOS
She said the recent policy by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) requiring those who arrived in the UAE on visit visas and have acquired employment visas to have their contracts verified prior to the issuance of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has enabled POLO to reach out to this particular OFW segment and introduce them to the PAOS program.
“We only learn about and meet them during the verification of contract, which is a prelude to getting their OEC,” she said. “If they are interested to attend the PAOS, we can include them in. But their contract of employment should be verified/registered with POLO,” she added.
