Related link: Pinay maids in HK declare “war on government extortion”, Jan. 18, 2007

Download video clip of TV-7 news broadcast of the protest action

News Release
28 January 2007

For reference: Dolores Balladares
Chairperson
Tel. No.: 97472986, 31562447

“Scrap POEA guidelines! GMA, extortionist!”
Thousands in HK protest against POEA guidelines

Chanting “Scrap POEA guidelines” and “GMA, mangongotong! (extortionist)”, 5,000 Filipino  migrants workers snaked through Central in Hong Kong today to protest the new POEA guidelines on the deployment of domestic helpers.

Dolores Balladares, chairperson of the militant United Filipinos in Hong Kong
(UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK), said that the protest action was just the first in the series of bigger ones that they are planning to organize to scrap the new prequalification measures of the POEA for Filipinos applying for domestic work abroad.

“Whenever the government is in dire need of money due to its bankrupt and corrupt economic policies, we are the ones who are made milking cows to fatten its coffers,” she said.

The rallyists held a program at Harcourt Garden, just below the building that houses the
Philippine Consulate General, where protest leaders lambasted the said guidelines while others related concrete experiences of its adverse impacts.

After the program, the protesters submitted a petition, signed by more than 130 organizations, that called for the scrapping of the new rules while also calling for genuine services to overseas Filipinos.

The protesters believed that the new regulations are but mere “ploys for extortion”.

Under the said rules, applying domestic helpers must pass through several weeks of training to obtain the National Certificate for Household Service Workers, as the country-specific Language and Culture Certificate.

“Applicants are made to pay P1,500 (USD30) to P15,000 (USD300) for these so-called trainings. Even current OFWs are not spared as cases have been reported of them being refused to leave the Philippines if they fail to produce the said certificates,” Balladares relayed.

Additionally, Balladares said that because of the nature of employment of current domestic helpers, “many of us, one way or another, will go back to the Philippines to have our papers processed.” Thus, she said, nobody is spared from the training or the optional assessment for the certificates that are required for every contract processing.

The protesters expressed their fear that the scheme is only implemented to raise funds for the coming national elections.

“The controversy involving Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s use of OFW money for her campaign in the 2004 elections is still unsolved. Are the funds to be collected this time going to be used again by the GMA camp?” Balladares added.

Congresswoman Liza Maza of the Gabriela Women’s Party joined the protest action and urged the groups present to continue and intensify opposition to anti-migrant policies of the GMA administration. She also expressed GWP’s plans for congressional and legal actions to stop the implementation of the POEA guidelines.

“There is no backing out on this fight. We shall be milking cows no more for this government,” Balladares concluded.#

Download press release in text format

Gabriela partylist Rep. Liza Maza

Download Gabriela Statement

Scrap the new POEA pre-qualification scheme!

Stop government extortion! Genuine services to migrant workers now!

We, undersigned organizations of migrant workers, federations, alliances, unions and church-based groups stand as one against the POEA’s new Pre-qualification of Household Service Workers scheme its Guidelines on the Deployment of Filipino Household Service Workers.

We strongly believe that:

1.       The new requirement for domestic helpers and caregivers to undergo training and obtain certificates from TESDA and OWWA is pure government extortion.

The additional P5,000 to P10,000 fee for the training and the certificate will even worsen the financial situation of OFWs and our families. We are already burdened by various government fees such as the high price of passport, the authentication fee, and even the Overseas Employment Certificate. For the government, every document and every service that we require has a price tag.

Additionally, the avowed objective of the new scheme which is to raise the marketability of Filipino domestic helpers just shows how the government treats us as mere commodities which should be “improved” for them to get more profit.

We are not milking cows for the government. We are not commodities for sale.

2.       The new POEA scheme is rich breeding ground for corruption and makes OFWs even more vulnerable to exploitation.

Filipinos are desperate for jobs in order for our families to survive. Extortion by unscrupulous agents – government or private – in exchange for the required certificates is very possible.

Additionally,  as unemployment of young people including new graduates is rampant, the 25 years old minimum age requirement may even force many prospective OFWs to go through racketeers and illegal forgers of documents just so they can be allowed to seek employment abroad.

 

3.       The new POEA requirements are unnecessary burdens for OFWs.

The scheme makes migration process even more bureaucratic. It adds on requirement that should, in principle, already be included in programs such as the Pre-departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) and the Post-arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) and thus making it redundant.

As well for re-contract OFWs, requiring us to obtain the certificates will diminish even more the the already limited time that we have for our families. This does not even include the inconvenience and the extra cost it will take us to get the said certificates.

 

4.       Finally, the new POEA package pays lipservice to the protection of our rights and wellbeing.

Based on our own experiences in our campaign against the wage cut, for a wage increase, and against overcharging of recruitment agencies, the provision for the US$400 minimum wage and the “no placement fee” policy, will unlikely be implemented given that the government has no efficient mechanism and political will to enforce even their old policies on these matters.

Thus, we demand that

1. The POEA’s new pre-qualification scheme must be scrapped. In its place, genuine programs that will protect our rights and improve the services to migrant workers must be instituted, and;

2. The government must address the immediate demands of migrant workers. For us in Hong Kong, the most concrete demands that we already submitted were those that formed by the First Filipino Women Migrant Worker’s Summit attended by 400 delegates from 100 organizations. Up to now, no concrete step has been taken to address these demands.

We vow to stop government extortion. We vow to fight for our rights.

Download petition with initial signatures in Word format

The banners and the placards tell the GMA administration what the OFWs think about

the new government extortion racket  that masquerades as the new POEA guidelines:

in 3 letters: Pwe!

Migrante-Metro Baguio hits POEA for failure to protect OFWs

by Kim Quitasol/Nordis Weekly