POEA suspends ‘expanded mandatory insurance’ for OFWs

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Scrapping compulsory insurance is high on the list of demands by OFWs 

Migrant workers in Hong Kong are rejoicing over the decision by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to suspend the collection of fees for the “expanded mandatory insurance” from all overseas Filipino workers.

The POEA move came just days after more than 100 OFW leaders in Hong Kong held a forum denouncing all government fees forcibly collected from them, including that for the compulsory insurance.

Organizers of the July 31 forum, the Rise Against Government Exactions or Rage, issued a statement welcoming the POEA move, but said the implementation of the scheme should not just be suspended but scrapped as it was not only burdensome and unnecessary, it was also illegal.

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This was because the POEA advisory said the order was merely being suspended pending consultations with industry stakeholders “and submission of an offer from the insurance providers for the improved package of services beneficial to the needs of the OFWs.”

RAGE said in its statement that it was due to the collective action of OFWs that the government was “pressured to suspend the collection.”

Bayan Hong Kong chair Eman Villanueva who was among those who spoke at the July 31^st forum, said, “I think this only proves that it is important for migrant workers to create noise when faced with unfair government policies.”

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Villanueva noted that Hong Kong migrants were the most vocal about their concerns over unjust government exactions on OFWs because they are given more space and freedom to speak out.

“So tayong nasa Hong Kong, let us maximize whatever space we have to advance the rights and welfare of OFWs,” he said.

“Napatunayan natin na kapag nagsasama-sama tayo ay may mangyayaring tama,” he added. (We have proven that something right would emerge if we all worked together).

During the forum, migrant leaders said POEA Circular No 10 which mandated the collection of insurance premium from all OFWs leaving the country, including “rehires and direct hires,” was repulsive as it was patently illegal.

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They said the POEA Circular contravened Republic Act No 10022, which required insurance coverage only for agency-hired OFWs, which effectively meant only those leaving the country for the first time.

Under Philippine laws, a mere department order cannot amend or repeal a law which went through the legislative process and signed by the incumbent president. Thus, the POEA did not have the power to override any law.

Despite this, the POEA Circular which implemented an order from the Department of Labor and Employment, was made to take effect starting in May this year by tying it up with the overseas employment certificate or OEC.

Through this, all home-bound OFWs who needed to secure the OEC to be able to return to their work site had to present proof of coverage by any of the government-accredited insurance companies, for which they had to pay Php8,000 in premium.

This eventually caused problems for vacationing OFWs who were not allowed to return to their jobsites unless they could provide proof of insurance coverage. Some migrant leaders said POEA offices required them to pay for the insurance before issuing them with an OEC.

RAGE also denounced the mandatory fee collection as unnecessary as Hong Kong laws already require all employers to take out an insurance on migrant workers in their employ. This insurance not only pays for their medical expenses, but also for employee compensation and repatriation costs.

In a bid to ease the situation, POLO Hong Kong told OFWs that they could present proof of their employers’ insurance coverage to secure the OEC here. But during the forum, some leaders balked at this, saying asking employers for insurance proof caused unnecessary friction between them.

POEA merely suspended, not withdrew, expanded mandatory insurance 

In the advisory, POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said the “interim rule” was implemented only to protect OFWs during a public health emergency caused by the pandemic and threats of other emerging infectious diseases.

“Considering the improving state of global health, and consequently the opening of borders as well as the high vaccine rollout, this rule on expanded insurance coverage needs to be revisited,” said the advisory.

Curiously, the directive was put into effect only in May, when the number of Covid infections caused by the new Omicron variant had gone down considerably, not just in  the Philippines and Hong Kong, but in most parts of the world.

DoLE’s move was taken despite the repeated failures of legislators to pass a law implementing mandatory insurance for all OFWs, whether first-timers or rehires.

The last attempt was made in late 2019, when a consolidated bill pushing for expanded insurance was tabled at the House of Representatives.

Section 46 of the draft legislation provided that compulsory insurance “shall be expanded to cover all overseas Filipino workers, including agency-hires, rehires, name hires or direct hires.”

The provision, which was supposed to promote better protection for all OFWs, also stated that the premium payment amounting to US$144 (HK$1,120) per two-year contract for land-based workers, should be made by the foreign employers.

Under the bill, all new contracts could only be verified by the labor attaché on site if there was proof that the mandatory insurance had been paid for. Such proof of payment would also serve as a requirement for the issuance of the OEC.

The bill failed to pass scrutiny after it came under fire from groups that saw it as yet another attempt to add to the financial burden of OFWs.

 

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