PRESS RELEASE
PASEI reiterates “No Placement Fee Policy” in Guam, warns agencies from collecting fees
September 2, 2010
The Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI) reiterated its warning to all Philippine manpower service providers against illegal collection of recruitment or placement fees on Guam bound H2 B workers. It fears the continued violation of the US policy of no placement fees against workers may compromise the chances of many Filipinos landing jobs in Guam. At the same time, the organization composed of about 700 manpower recruitment companies, urged Guam employers to likewise provide a fair value to the services of manpower recruitment companies by paying corresponding charges to insure that local agencies do not resort to unethical recruitment practices.
Alien Labor Processing and Certification Division (ALPCD) of the Guam Department of Labor, Administrator Greg S. Massey told PASEI that his agency will take measures to warn employers against doing business with recruiters who have a verifiable poor history with regards to recruitment fees.
An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 jobs may be made available to temporary H2B workers, comprising mostly of skilled laborers who will work in the construction of naval and civilian facilities. The transfer of US military presence from Okinawa, Japan to Guam would entail the relocation of about 8,600 marines and 9,000 of their dependents. The US government had enacted a law which exempts Guam workers from the annual H2B cap of 66,000.
PASEI has worked since 2008 to ensure that the gateways to employment in the Guam US$10 billion military build up are opened to Filipino workers. The organization has established good working relationships with the Guam political leadership including governor Felix P. Camacho and First Lady Joann. The two had visited the country several times and brought along an official delegation to invite Filipino companies to participate in the military build up which is crucial to the economic development of Guam. The association is also coordinating with important Guam entities that take active participation in construction activities like the Guam Contractors Association (GCA) and US Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC).
PASEI is concerned about removing irritants to safeguard the preference of Guam employers in hiring Filipino workers which the Guam governor himself had announced during his July 2009 visit. It will propose to POEA the creation of a special accreditation focused on Guam that would require participating agencies to commit to a strict code of ethics of non-charging of recruitment/ placement fees on Guam-bound workers. ALPCD Administrator Massey encouraged PASEI to work closely with the Fraud Prevention Unit of the US Embassy to provide information on illegal practices perpetrated by Filipino recruitment agencies or US employers.
It is widely recognized that Guam’s estimated 170,000 population, 26.3 percent of which are Filipinos would not be able to sustain the labor requirement of the US military build up. There are now 39 other countries that have been given the green light to send H2B workers to Guam. Though US employers and Guam political leadership have stated their preference to hire Filipino workers, PASEI believe there are skills competency conditions that have to be met and not given much attention by media and policy makers. Guam may turn to hire workers from other countries if US standards skills requirement are not met by local applicants. It laments the lack of a concerted effort on various stakeholders to upgrade the skills of workers that may be required to work in Guam. The skills standard of carpenters with local experience, who may be paid a wage of about US$15 per hour, for example, are way, way different than what a US employer would expect from a certified carpenter. No doubt Guam wages, which range from upwards of US$11- 16 per hour for construction workers, are very attractive to OFWs. Filipino workers in similar skills categories as required in Guam are not as preferred in the Middle East as they demand higher salaries than their counterparts from South Asia.
According to the Department of the Navy and the Guam Joint Program Office’s Environmental Impact Statement, the buildup will require 3,186 construction workers for the military projects that will begin late 2010. That figure will jump to 7,672 in 2011 and to 12,358 in 2012. More than 15,800 workers will be needed for construction projects which will peak in 2014.
Already some PASEI members are experiencing difficulty in finding qualified skilled workers who meet US skills qualification standards. It laments the absence or lack of local training programs to prepare skilled workers to meet US standards. While our government is eager to jump on the bandwagon to encourage Filipinos to work in Guam, the irony is there is hardly any government support or initiative that was established to prepare our workers to meet US skills qualification standards.
Notes: Media representative who may want to get a PASEI representative to talk on the subject may contact Mr. Noel C. Litan, vice president and acting president (noel.litan@profilemanpower.com, noel.profile@gmail.com) in the absence of Mr. Victor E.R. Fernandez.
Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI)
Ground Floor, David Building I
567 Shaw Boulevard, 1552 Mandaluyong City
Fax No.: (+632) 723-9083
Telephone Nos.: (+632) 724-9986
Telefax Nos.: (+632) 725-7030, 725-7028, 725-7024
Email Address: pasei.info@gmail.com, pasei.secretariat@gmail.com
