As the number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) steadily increase, recruitment agencies need to stiffen their regulations even further to ensure their safety, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator said.
“[T]he problem with too much volume is we lose a handle in terms of quality, in terms of monitoring, in terms of ensuring that each and every domestic worker recruited has been ably handled, [and] due diligence has been observed by the recruiter,” OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said.
Newly deployed OFWs reached over 2.112 million last year, breaking the 2-million mark set against the 1-million mark reached a decade ago.
Saudi Arabia retained its spot as the number one destination for Filipino migrant workers followed by the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Household service workers account for nearly half of OFWs at 47 percent, passing the 35 to 40 percent range.
“People are recruited out of poverty, not because of their skills [and] not because they have been properly matched,” Cacdac said.
Cacdac urged recruiting agencies to closely monitor migrant workers’ interview, training, and deployment to ensure their welfare and the protection of their rights, based on the rules and regulations set by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
Source: ABS-CBN News
Photo credit: cbcpnews.com
