SESSION 6.
International
Cooperation To Manage Labor
Migration
The Philippine Experience with
Bilateral Labor Agreements
The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author and do not
necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute
(ADBI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of Directors, or the
governments they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data
included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of
their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official
terms.
COMMISSION ON FILIPINOS OVERSEAS
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
1
2
OVERSEAS
FILIPINOS
in 200+ countries and
territories as of
December 2012
4,925,797
Immigrants, dual citizens, legal
permanent residents abroad, stay does
not depend on contract
4,221,041
Employment-related, overseas Filipino workers,
students, trainees, entrepreneurs,
businessmen, staying abroad for is six months
or more and their dependents, etc.
1,342,790
Not properly documented, without valid
residence or work permits or are
overstaying in a foreign country
Source: CFO
TOP 10 DESTINATION COUNTRIES
OF OVERSEAS FILIPINOS
UNITED STATES
(3.49 million or 33%)
AUSTRALIA
(391,705 or 3%)
SAUDI ARABIA
(1.26 million or 12%)
JAPAN
(243,136 or 2%)
UAE
(931,562 or 8%)
UNITED KINGDOM
(218,777 or 2%)
CANADA
(852,401 or 8%)
KUWAIT
(213,638 or 2%)
MALAYSIA
(686,547 or 6%)
QATAR
(200,016 or 2%)
BILATERAL LABOR AGREEMENT
The Philippines continued engagement with various forms of bilateral
labor agreements to obtain protective measures for its overseas
migrants.
Memoranda of
Understanding (MOU)
general in scope and usually contain
general principles and areas of cooperation
on the employment and welfare protection of
workers
Memoranda of Agreement
(MOAs)
provides more specific provisions and
procedures on the areas of
cooperation
PHILIPPINE POLICIES ON BILATERAL LABOR AGREEMENTS
RA 8042 - the Migrant Workers and Overseas
Filipinos Act (sec. 4c) requiring a bilateral labor
agreement as one of the eligibility criteria to
qualify as destination for overseas Filipinos.
RA 10022 Amending RA 8042, asserted that
the Philippine government should endeavor to
enter into bilateral agreements with countries
hosting overseas Filipino workers
PHILIPPINE POLICIES ON BILATERAL LABOR AGREEMENTS
a) It has existing labor and social laws protecting the
rights of workers, including migrant workers;
b) It is a signatory to multilateral conventions,
declarations or resolutions relating to the protection
of workers, including migrant workers; and
c) It has concluded a bilateral agreement or
arrangement with the government on the protection
of the rights of overseas Filipino workers;
PHILIPPINE POLICIES ON BILATERAL LABOR AGREEMENTS
The Philippines has signed 107 BLAs with 79
countries
- 49 general agreements on employment, welfare
and cooperation (mostly on health professionals
and domestic workers)
- 13 agreements on social security and
- 45 agreements related to seafarers
BLAs on employment, welfare and general
cooperation for land based workers
Middle East countries
strengthen areas of
cooperation (labor,
employment and
manpower
development)
orderly system for the
entry and employment
of Filipino workers
protection of rights
Asia, Europe and Trust Territories
address problems affecting the
deployment of migrant workers
better access to employment
opportunities in new labor markets
promote the principle of shared
responsibility in migration management
BLAs on social security
equal treatment
portability of
benefits
BLAs on recognition of certificates
recognition of training and
certification of Filipino seafarers
ALTERNATIVE INFORMAL BILATERAL APPROACHES
pursuit of bilateral arrangements
which are less formal and deals with
operational arrangements on areas of
mutual concern
Joint
Commissions
Technical
committees
BLA with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Household
Service Workers
Signed by two countries on May 5, 2013
Provides a standard employment contract accepted by the two
countries and binding among all parties
use of recruitment companies that practice ethical
recruitment
regulation of recruitment costs in both countries
no imposition of any kind of unauthorized salary deductions
facilitate the opening by the employer of a bank account under
the name of the domestic worker for the deposit of his/her
monthly salary
provide 24-hour assistance to the domestic workers
facilitate the issuance of exit visas for the repatriation of
domestic workers upon contract completion, emergency
situations
BLA with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on
Household Service Workers
a new Standard Employment Contract (SEC) for domestic workers in
the KSA
In case of death, the employer is responsible for the repatriation of the
HSW remains and personal belongings to the Philippines
Employers can no longer keep the passports of HSWs
Increase in minimum wage (US $400), employers to pay HSWS via the
banking system
at least eight hours of rest daily and one day off work per week
a paid vacation leave of 30 days for every two years of service with a
round-trip economy class ticket
BLA with Switzerland on the exchange of
professional and technical trainees
Signed by both countries on March 19, 2013
Filipino health professionals may not be employed under working
conditions less favorable that those for comparable German
workers and that employers must provide adequate
accommodations to them
both parties will explore projects to sustain and promote human
resource development in the Philippines
Triple Win project - professional, country of origin and Germany
Provides free German language training for the nurses who passed
the Project interview pre-selection. There is no placement fee for
the participants, and the preparation and integration assistance
are free of charge.
225 Filipino nurse beneficiaries
BLA with Switzerland on the Exchange of
professional and technical trainees
Signed by two countries on July 9, 2002, (guidelines
developed in November 2014)
Allows professionals from the Philippines and
Switzerland for 18 months to acquire new professional
experience with the added value of acquiring insight
into the language and culture of Switzerland or the
Philippines.
Trainees may be engaged in any professional and
technical occupations in which there are no legal
restrictions.
Foreign trainees are subject to the same salary and
employment conditions as Swiss citizens. Moreover,
there is also no recruitment fee to be paid by the
trainee.
LEARNINGS FROM THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE
SOME SUGGESTIONS
BASED ON THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE
Thank You
Rodrigo Garcia Jr.
COMMISSION ON FILIPINOS OVERSEAS
Citigold Center, 1345 Quirino Highway corner
South Superhighway, Manila, Philippines
Telephone No: (632) 552-4766, Fax No: (632) 561-8332
Email: rgarcia@cfo.gov.ph, Website: www.cfo.gov.ph
