MANILA -- The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) urged on Saturday a formal government to government agreement (G2G) on labor standards with South Korea to intensify labor security and guarantee a better life for Filipino seasonal workers in the country.

“Sa mga darating na araw, nakadalawang pulong na rin tayo sa Korean counterparts natin/government – ang gusto nating ilatag din sa Korean government ay magkaroon ng pormal na national government-to-national government na kasunduan,” DMW officer in charge Undersecretary Hans Cacdac said in a news forum in Quezon City.

Cacdac said they are advocating for G2G basis for seasonal workers, just like the Employment Permit System (EPS) administered for non-seasonal laborers operated through government-to-government memorandum of understanding (MOU) that has been running for more than 20 years already.

“So gusto rin natin, katulad ng factory workers na pinapadala natin on a government-to-government basis sa Korea, magkaroon din ng ganoon for seasonal workers para talagang ganap ang proteksiyon,” Cacdac said.

“Kasi kaigihan ng national government-to-national government, mismong national government ng Korea ang magsasabi, “Sagot din namin sila…” – katulad doon sa factory workers. Bibigyan namin sila ng proteksiyon; ‘pag may reklamo, tanggap kaagad ng aming labor justice system at ipuproseso namin,” he added.

The said appeal was made following the around 160 labor complaints filed before the Migrant Workers office in South Korea, pertaining to violations of contract, uncomfortable or undesirable working and living conditions in farms i, underpayment of wages, withholding of passports, five cases of physical abuse, and six cases of natural deaths over the course of two years, to which DMW took actions by issuing an advisory last January 11, imposing a moratorium on the deployment of seasonal workers in the country.

Two weeks later, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued a similar instructive moratorium to local government units.

“So, ang kasalukuyang nangyayari ay pinapatupad natin na ang paglatag ng safeguards, protection, standard contract, siguradong may limited working hours para hindi mapagod ang seasonal workers, may standard wage or wages that comply with the Korean minimum wage and mayroong mga safety protections para sa aspetong pangkalusugan ng ating mga OFWs,” Cacdad said.

Cacdad also said they are now screening contracts of workers and making them a member of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for added protection.

The LGUs are also conducting orientation for their constituents and monitoring their situation through social media group chats.

“But, ang gusto nating mangyari, standardize iyong protection at halimbawa iyong nangyaring… ‘pag may namatay sa kinasamaang-palad, sana wala nang mamatay ‘no… at may masaktan, mayroong karampatang aksiyon – pupuntahan sa lugar ng farm at bibigyan ng lunas iyong pagpapagamot at agarang pag-uwi ng OFW sa tamang panahon. Kasi ang nangyari doon sa anim na namatay, nagturuan pa kung sino iyong mag-uuwi kasi nga hindi dumaan sa DMW iyong nakaraan,” Cacdac said.

There are more or less 3,400 seasonal workers in South Korea that did not go through DMW, and the agency is currently collecting the lists of seasonal workers from respective LGUs to monitor and address the situation.

Last year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. vowed that under his administration “ethical recruitment, fair employment, and the safe and orderly migration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remains to be among the top priorities of the government.” (PND)