New Direct Hiring Rules Suspended
Feb 15, 2008
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) as instructed by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Arturo Brion ordered the immediate suspension of Memorandum Circular No. 4, Series of 2007 or the new guidelines for direct hiring.
Documents of direct-hired overseas Filipino wokers (OFWs) will now be processed via the method used before
The government agencies decided to suspend the implementation of the new direct hiring rules after it has spawned active and various protests and negative criticisms from migrants and OFWs worldwide.
Under Memorandum Circular No. 4; foreign employers need to go through the screening process of labor attaché or the Philippine embassy to get the approval of the DOLE secretary. The POEA memorandum also obliges employers to present a performance bond (amounting to the workers’ 3-month salary), a repatriation bond (USD 5,000), and medical insurance.
As stated in MC1 “To carry out the presidential directives relating to MC 4, series of 2007, relaxing the rules (on) direct hires for professionals, those to be employed by reputable companies already providing adequate protection and similarly situated employers and pending deliberation on the matter by the POEA governing board, the implementation of MC 4 is hereby immediately suspended until further orders. Accordingly, direct hired workers will be processed in accordance with the rules existing prior to MC 4, series of 2007."
