NEWS RELEASE

December 18, 2007

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration warns recruitment agencies against charging or collecting any recruitment and placement fee from workers to be deployed to Canada and countries which have laws that prohibit the same.

Administrator Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said POEA Governing Board No. 4, Series of 2001 and the 2002 POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-based Overseas Workers prohibit a land-base agency from collecting any placement fee from workers who will be deployed in any country where the prevailing system, either by law, policy or practice does not allow said collection because the employer shall pay the cost of placement and recruitment services.

The prohibition is specifically applicable to agencies that are deploying workers to the Canada provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

Baldoz said that hiring of foreign workers in occupations that usually require a high school diploma or a maximum of 2 years of job-specific training (level C and D) under the Pilot Project of the Government of Canada is also covered by the prohibition on collection of placement fee. Under the prevailing policy of the Canada government, employers shall cover all recruitment costs related to the hiring of the foreign workers under the pilot project.

The POEA will cancel the license of the recruitment agency found violating this policy.