Poland Needs Filipino Workers

POLAND has opened its labor market to Filipinos and other nationals in its bid to recruit more than 100,000 workers, according to the largest organization of licensed recruitment service providers in the Philippines.

“Poland is in need of thousands of workers for its manufacturing and agriculture sectors. Our estimate, based on our meetings with Polish employers, is that this could reach over 100,000,” said Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) president Elsa U. Villa on Tuesday.

Villa led a 22-man road show to Poland and three other European countries to promote the professional capabilities and occupational skills of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

But Villa pointed out that while Poland could be an alternative work destination for OFWs being devoutly Catholic as well, the Philippine government, specifically the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and of Labor and Employment (DoLE), and Polish authorities need to sit down to address differences in labor laws.

“The labor market realities in Poland are different, such that many provisions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Rules and Regulations do not apply,” she said.

Despite these, Villa explained, Poland is very much willing to welcome OFWs because it is in much need of skilled labor, aggravated by an aging population and the exodus of Polish workers to more prosperous EU countries.

Villa said Philippine Ambassador to Warsaw Patricia Ann Paez broached in a meeting with the PASEI marketing mission delegation that a bilateral labor agreement would be the “most orderly, the safest, and legal way to deploy OFWs to Poland.”

Such agreement would “provide the framework for PASEI member-agencies and other licensed recruitment agencies in the country to conclude recruitment agreements with Polish employers,” she added.

The PASEI official said some issues that need of joint and several liability; transfer during the employment period; and workers’ benefits, such as food and accommodation. WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL

(Source: ManilaTimes.net)