MECO admits it is Helpless in Implementing the Balik Manggagawa and Ensuring the Right to Day Off of Migrant Workers in Taiwan

Prepared by the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)
Taipei, Taiwan

Filipino migrant workers who had a dialogue with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) on October 29, 2006 were not surprised when the latter admitted that they were helpless in implementing the rights of their own nationals in Taiwan . This pertains to implementation of the Balik Manggagawa (returning migrants) and the right to day off of Filipino migrants working in homes.

Philippine Labor Representative Reynaldo Gopez explained that the Taiwanese brokers and Philippine placement agencies have a bilateral agreement in processing the documents of overseas Filipino workers (OFW's). As such even those who need to exit Taiwan after three years of work (so that they would not be eligible for residency) and return to the same employer are treated as new hires even if they are essentially rehire.

The Balik Manggagawa is a program of the Philippine Overseas Administration Office (POEA), which states that rehires would only need to pay a P100 fee to its office plus OWWA and Philhealth membership dues. Because of this so-called bilateral agreement which Mr. Gopez mentioned, it is only those working in Taiwan where the Balik Manggagawa is not being implemented.

With regards to ensuring the right to day off of Filipino migrants working in homes as caretakers and domestic workers, the Labor Representative stated that the workers who would want to avail of this right might eventually be sent home by their employers. And that he would want to balance the need of the migrants to have work and that of having the right to day off. In response, a Migrante Sectoral Party ??Taiwan Chapter official asked if that meant that MECO would rather want the migrant workers not to assert their right to have a day off every week. The MECO officials present could not answer this question.

Earlier, the MSP gave the MECO officials a copy of a survey on day off conducted on 233 respondents it jointly conducted with Asia Pacific Mission for Migrant's (APMM). Survey results reveal that 81% of the OFW?Ts working in homes had limited or no day off. Twenty six percent of the respondents stated that they signed a side agreement of having no day off.

The dialogue was requested by the MSP, Samahang Makata International (SMI) and the Fujen English Mass Community (EMC). Other than the three organizations a representative of the Cordillera Organization in Taiwan (COT) also attended the dialogue. From MECO, Mr. Gopez was joined by Welfare Officer Cynthia Lamban, the Social Security System officer and a staff of the Labor office.

Other issues discussed in the dialogue include the following:

1. On the political killings in the Philippines ??to which MECO refused to say anything

2. On the proposal that SSS membership be made mandatory for OFW's next year, the SSS representative said that this is still a proposal and the issue would be decided in Manila .

On both issues, MSP stated that it wants to register its opposition to these. Other protest actions on the killings are scheduled on Nov. 16 and Dec. 10 this year in front of MECO.

On the SSS, MSP stated that it is against any mandatory imposition of fees on OFW's. Especially as this may be diverted by the government for its electoral campaign early next year as what they did to the OWWA Medicare funds in the last presidential elections.

SSS stated that if OFW's would want to get the maximum amount of benefits based on the minimum wage in Taiwan , the migrants would need to pay P1,411 or NT$943 in monthly dues. This would be a big burden for them as they already pay huge amounts for other fees collected by brokers and the government of Taiwan .

On OWWA membership. At present OFW?Ts in Taiwan have to pay 4 times or US$100 to be able to be active members of OWWA. This is so because OFW?Ts have 4 contracts in their 6 year stint here in Taiwan . While someone suggested that OFW?Ts in Taiwan be members at least for their first three years in Taiwan , MSP also stated that its position is that OFW?Ts should be members for life.

4. MSP also asked again what MECO?Ts position is on the addendum on the contracts signed in the Philippines pertaining to the OFW's payment of their airfare to and from Taiwan . Mr. Gopez emphasized that this is not allowed. But when requested if he could make a public announcement on this in ICRT and the English language papers in Taiwan , he became hesitant and said he would check first with the POEA.

As a whole, it seems that MECO and the Philippine government in general is more interested in extracting more fees on its citizens in Taiwan and in protecting the interests of the Taiwanese brokers and Philippine placement agencies. It would also want to ensure that the OFW?Ts retain their work even if their rights are being violated like in its hesitancy to press those working in homes to have a regular day off.

This is not surprising as the main job of the Labor Representative is to look for markets in Taiwan . It is to ensure that migrant workers continue to prop up a bankrupt and fascist regime with their dollar remittances.

The OFW's should not let this happen They should resolutely campaign to be included in the Balik Manggagawa through a petition campaign for this and press on the government to assure that they would have days off and a standard employment contract that would do away with side agreements. They also agreed to raise these issues to the legal counsel of Bayan Muna this coming Nov. 12 so that said political party could raise this to the Philippine Congress. ###

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