A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the government of Taiwan and the Philippines was recently signed making it possible for employers in Taiwan to directly hire overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).The recruitment scheme is also called the Special Hiring Program for Taiwan (SHPT).

The said MOU was signed in Cebu City by officials of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) during the Philippines-Taiwan Third Joint Labor Conference.

During the signing, MECO was represented by its managing director, Antonio I. Basilio while TECO's representative was Donald C.T. Lee. The chief of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), Rosalinda Baldoz, and Council of Labor Affairs of Taiwan (CLA) director-general Chen-Min of the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, were also present.

The new recruitment scheme permits direct hiring of OFWs by Taiwanese employers and without the assistance of Philippine-based brokers and recruitment agencies. Recruitment of OFWs for Taiwan can also be done through the Philippine government and not through private agencies.

The said recruitment scheme was deemed favorable for the OFWs as it would take away the brokerage fees and would allow them to save as much as NTD100,000 (Php 144,991).

In the said labor conference, the secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) mentioned that the signing of the SHPT is a proof of the commitment of both governments to improve the welfare of OFWs in Taiwan.

On the other hand, Pan Shih-Wei, Political Deputy Minister of the CLA hopes that the new hiring guidelines would make the deployment process of OFWs simpler and would reduce if not eradicate red tape for employers and OFWs.

The OFWs that are covered by the SHPT are factory workers; construction workers; household workers; caregivers; caretakers and institutional nursing workers; and, fishermen.

Under the new guidelines, all professional and skilled OFWs will be under the facilitative services of MECO. Assistance in the information dissemination campaign to encourage runaway OFWs to surrender would also be the responsibility of MECO.

Assistance for immediate repatriation to the Philippines of OFWs who surrendered or detained would also be part of MECO’s tasks. Filipino workers also have the right to report Taiwanese employers who would confiscate their passport to the CLA and they would be banned from hiring OFWs.