Korea employers to extend contract of “loyal workers” - 2007 POEA Advisory
PRESS RELEASE - 13 July 2007
Filipino workers in Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS) who
have worked for three consecutive years with only one employer can return
and work for the same employer for another three-year contract, the
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration announced yesterday.
Deputy Administrator Viveca Catalig, POEA’s officer-in-charge said workers
returning from Korea with a Certificate of Re-employment from their same
employer for the past three (3) years can return to work in Korea after
only one month.
The Certificate of Re-employment is issued by Korean employers who want to
extend the contract of an EPS worker.
The new scheme is implemented by the Korean Government to facilitate the
re-entry of foreign workers to work in their manufacturing and other
industries coming from the 12 countries, including the Philippines which
signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of EPS.
Catalig said this move by the Korean government underscores the value of
perseverance and loyalty to stay with the same employer for at least three
years to gain an easier way to work again in Korea for another three (3)
years.
Returning workers are advised to bring their certificate of re-employment
for employees whose work authorization has expired together with a
Certificate of Confirmation of Visa Issuance or CCVI to the Korean Embassy
for issuance of E-9 visa which costs Php2,500. Afterwards, they should
also secure an exit clearance from the POEA as a balik-manggagawa in the
form of an electronic receipt after payment of the necessary fees or
Php2,275 consisting of POEA processing fee, OWWA membership fee and
Philhealth annual premium.
The EPS is a government-to-government arrangement which started in 2004
between the DOLE and the Ministry of Labor of Korea which is being
implemented by the POEA as the only authorized sending agency.
Industrial trainees who are coming back with the said re-employment
certificates shall be processed as EPS workers but as balik-manggagawa who
are already exempted from the Korean Language Test (KLT), a
pre-qualification for selection instituted in 2005 for all EPS workers.
The POEA, however, cautions workers to follow these procedures strictly
and avoid falling victims to unauthorized persons who may attempt to dupe
them to pay more than what they are supposed to do. Concerned workers may
call the POEA 24/7 Information Center (7221144 and 7221155) for further
inquiries.
