The MoU which was signed in 2007, will be renewed for another five years upon the agreement of the terms and conditions as provided by the labour laws of both the UAE and the Philippines.
Labour Attache Delmer R Cruz, who assumed the new post a few weeks back, told Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview that a meeting will be held once the draft is finalised by the TWG comprising officials and representatives from both the UAE and the Philippines.
He said that the MoU does not cover the Household Service Workers (HSWs) because under the UAE laws, HSWs are not covered by labour.
“I, however, heard that they are drafting a law that will cover HWS, but I am not privy to the details. It will also be in another forum,” he said.
He also said that currently, the UAE and the Philippines do not have any bilateral agreement on HSWs. “This MoU only concerns skilled and semi-skilled workers,” he said.
The original MoU, which was drafted in Manila in both Arabic and English languages, created a joint committee composed of an equal number of representatives from both countries for the implementation of the 14 provisions, including the organisation of working meetings, consultations and workshops, and would meet once a year alternately in the respective countries.
Among the provisions of the MoU are the terms and conditions of workers in the UAE to be defined by a separate labour contract between the worker and the employer. Article 6 says: “The contract shall clearly state the rights and obligations of the worker and the employer and shall be in conformity with the provisions of the Philippine and UAE labour laws and regulations.”
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the UAE are looking forward to a more concrete definition of the separate labour contract stipulated in the MoU as it will help reduce the ambiguities several of them face.
Ramon Solis, a Filipino semi-skilled worker in the construction industry in Dubai, told Khaleej Times that his cousin experienced a contract substitution upon arrival to the emirate.
“She signed Dh2,500 salary in a contract with her agency in Manila verified by the Philippine Overseas Empoyment Administration (POEA). But, on arriving here, her employer asked her to sign a UAE labour contract with a lower salary and longer daily working time.”
Joseph Calvez, who works as a foreman in Abu Dhabi, said that as per the contract he signed in Manila with a South Korean construction company, a 125 per cent overtime pay was promised. but has not received any overtime pay for working more than eight hours a day.
“All of us have not seen our pay slips when we go to an exchange centre to get our salary. Also, when I complained and demanded it from my employer, I was suspended.”
