New requirements for outbound domestic workers
Newly hired Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) employed as household service workers (HSWs) including caregivers or caretakers have to comply two mandatory requirements amongst others before they can work abroad under the new guidelines of the government in the documentation and deployment of HSWs.
Director Rhea Glynda Calantas of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) VI said based on the latest resolution of the POEA Governing Board last Friday, no newly-hired HSW shall be processed without submitting the National Certificate for HSW and the Country Specific Language and Culture Certificate of Competency or Certificate of Attendance.
The HSW-NCII attests that the worker possesses the four core skills competencies that include house cleaning, laundry and ironing, preparation of hot and cold meal, and provision of hot and cold food beverages services. This is issued by TESDA after a worker has passed the assessment conducted by its accredited assessment centers.
For Western Visayas, Calantas said the TESDA accredited assessment centers are St. Therese-MTC Colleges in Molo, Iloilo City for domestic helpers and Riverside College in Bacolod City for caregivers.
On the other hand, the Certificate of Attendance is being issued by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Calantas said the pre-qualification certificate requirements are included in the new policy in the deployment of HSWs being implemented by the government as part of its effort directed towards better standards, welfare and protection for Filipino women working abroad.
"Our domestic helpers are vulnerable to abuse by their employers when they do not posses the necessary skills required of them", said Calantas.
On the other hand, Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo Brion recently clarified that the new policy on the training of household service workers is not a fund-raising scheme by the government but a way of developing and furthering the skills of these workers to raise their standards and their salaries.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that data from OWWA indicate that about 80 percent of welfare cases were composed of women overseas Filipino workers working as domestic helpers abroad.
To further dispel negative speculations and misinformation being peddled by some quarters against this new policy of the government in the deployment of HSWs, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has instructed concerned agencies to team up and push a full information drive on this issue reinforced by consultations and dialogues.
The dialogues will serve as the venue to hear the sides of the protesting OFWs and other overseas job applicants as there may be a need for a clearer and broader explanation of the new guidelines among all affected sectors and groups.
(PIA)