Recruiters set to protest new POEA plan on job contract

MANILA, Philippines - Recruitment agencies threaten to stop deploying workers overseas as protest against the plan of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to remove the probationary period in the standard employment contract without consultation with foreign employers.

Lito Soriano, executive director of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters, said this could lead to a decline in the hiring of Filipino workers abroad.

He said many countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe recognize and implement the probationary period of three to six months.

“A probationary period of three to six months is part of a standard contract in most countries of destination in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe,” Soriano said.

“Private recruitment agencies may stop processing new jobs once this rule is enforced without any agreement with the host countries or its foreign employers,” he said.

Soriano urged the POEA to postpone the implementation of the new policy until the host countries and foreign employers have been informed and consulted.

“The government should consult those who will be mostly affected before implementing this proposal,” he said.