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Manila: The labour department has reiterated a warning against Filipinos seeking overseas employment without proper documents, in view of rising cases of absconding workers.
Department of Labour and Employment Secretary Arturo Brion cited dozens of cases of Filipinos who ran away from their employers and had sought refuge at the Filipino Workers Resource Centre (FWRC) in Jordan.
Absconding
He said a number of Filipino maids have absconded from their employers and are now being housed at the FWRC in Amman, Jordan. Brion said most such runaway workers were "undocumented".
Citing a report from Amman-based Labour Attache Henry Parel, Brion said that about 180 of the 236 workers who sought refuge in January 2008 did not have proper documents.
He said the runaway workers were mostly household service workers (HSWs).
In December 2007, 225 distressed HSWs stayed at the FWRC in Amman.
Out of them, 170 were undocumented while only 55 possessed proper documents from the Philippine government and authorities in their host country.
Following this, the labour department suspended the deployment of HSWs to Jordan. Brion said the suspension should warn OFWs against being enticed to work as HSWs in Jordan by unscrupulous individuals and agencies without the acquisition of proper documents such as job contracts and work visas.
Suspension
The suspension means that no OFW is allowed to work in Jordan as an HSW, he said.
He also warned workers against dealing with agencies offering assistance to get work in Dubai and not possessing the necessary employment contracts.
Brion said workers seeking employment but only holding tourist visas are putting themselves at great risk even in top destinations like Dubai.
Vulnerable
"I appeal once again to workers to check first with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration about the existence of jobs in Dubai and other places abroad for any offer they may get from agencies and not to leave the country without proper documents," he said.
"Undocumented workers are more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation since there are no contracts to bind their employers with responsibilities and corresponding liabilities that usually go with legitimate employment contracts," Brion added.
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