The Philippines, through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), has signed a new labor agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government, marking the resumption of the formal deployment of Filipino workers there.
"PH-UAE signs new labor accord; HSW (household service workers) deployment resumes this month," DOLE Information and Publication Service (IPS) Director Rolly Francia told reporters in a viber message Tuesday, March 2.
Francia gave no other details about the new pact as of this posting, although DOLE-International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) Director Alice Visperas said last week that the UAE would send a "high-level" delegation to Manila for a series of meetings between March 1 and 2.
The top agenda of the meetings was supposedly the signed, but not consummated, memorandum of agreement (MOA) between UAE and the Philippines.
"Inaasahan na po natin na magkakaroon na tayo ng kasunduan doon sa attached standard employment contract, mahalaga po ito (We expect to finalize the agreement on the attached standard employment contract, this is important)," Visperas said.
This key provision guarantees basic workers' rights while in the UAE, including the prohibition on the employer to keep the overseas Filipino workers' (OFW) passport, reasonable working hours, having rest days, and proper salary.
There has been no formal deployment of Filipino workers to the Middle Eastern country in at least three years.