MANILA, Philippines – A labor group federation joining the party-list elections called on President Arroyo to veto the proposed amendments to Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers Act for "compromising the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)."

“The proposed amendment arbitrarily causes diminution of seafarers’ benefits which even violates international accords under existing Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs),” said Atty. Sonny Matula, vice president of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW).

Earlier this week, FFW sent a letter to Mrs. Arroyo to veto proposed the proposed amendments for provisions not beneficial to OFWs.

The group cited Section 23 on “Compulsory Insurance Coverage for Agency-Hired Workers with the following compensation:

Accidental death        =       US$ 15,000;
Natural death        =       US$ 10,000;
Permanent disability         =       US$ 7,500.

They pointed out that under the present Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Standard Contract of Employment for seafarers, both the recruitment agency and the foreign employer are jointly and severally liable to as much as US$120,000 (with CBA) or US$60,000 (without CBA) compensation for death and permanent total disability of a seafarer.

“The discrepancy in the figures is very obvious. Clearly, the present compensation for our seafarers is far superior than what the proposed amendment to R.A. 8042 stipulates,” Matula said.

The same section provides that "it is the recruitment agency which shall choose the insurance company, to file the claim and also receive the insurance proceeds."
 
“This is highly irregular considering that the insurance proceeds should be received by the OFW himself/ herself as the insured person or his/ her heir in case of death, not the recruitment agency,” said Matula.
 
The group also found out that the proposed measure has no provision prohibiting the passing on of insurance premium payment to the OFW, with corresponding penalties for such violations.
 
Furthermore, they also noticed conflicting and confusing provisions in the proposed law. While Section 7 (2nd paragraph) provides that the performance bond to be filed by the recruitment/placement agency, as provided by law, shall be answerable for all money claims or damages that may be awarded to the workers”, Section 23 (par “f”) also provides that it is the “insurance coverage” which will answer for “all claims arising from employer’s liability which may be awarded or given the worker”.
 
The FFW official said that the main purpose of the proposed law is to provide a captured market for private insurance companies at the expense of the 8 million documented workers abroad.

The Senate adopted on January 18, the bicameral conference committee report amending Republic Act 8042, “to further improve the standard of protection, promotion of welfare and assistance to overseas Filipino workers,” the upper house said in a statement.
 
The consolidated version of Senate Bill 3286 and House Bill 5649 was said to “feature a combination of preventive measures to eliminate ill-fate of our OFWs and better rescue and assistance mechanisms,” the Senate statement said.
 
The Migrant Workers Act was enacted in 1995 as a response to the public clamor for justice and protection for migrant Filipino workers following the hanging of Filipina domestic worker Flor Contemplacion in Singapore, despite the Philippine government’s ardent appeals.