The implementation of the Saudi’s unified contract scheme, a proposed system in the recruitment and deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound to Saudi Arabia is indefinitely suspended. This new development is the result of the agreement reached by authorities of recruitment agencies in the Philippines and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Overseas Placement Association of the Philippines (OPAP) and Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (FAME) president, Mr. Ed Mahiya, expressed the gratefulness of the overseas employment industry to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for bringing up this issue with the Saudi officials.

Philippine recruitment agencies is against the implementation of the unified contract scheme because it will make the OFWs more prone to abuse and exploitation. Under the proposed hiring system, working visas of OFWs will be handled by a Saudi recruitment office. This practice will minimize the role of Philippine government agencies and recruitment agencies; it will also encourage the entry of brokers in the recruitment process.

Increase in the amount of placement fee is also possible if the unified contract scheme push through. Since the new hiring scheme will add a new layer in the recruitment system, fees may rise by Php 50,000 to Php 200,000.

Lito Soriano, a recruitment consultant said that this type of recruitment system when implemented increases placement fees in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, etc. The Saudi unified contract scheme was first proposed in year 2002 to 2003 but was blocked by the industry.

Under the present and traditional hiring scheme of OFWs to Saudi Arabia, workers can be deployed without paying any placement fee. This is possible through licensed agencies who has a no placement fee policy