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Pinoy nurse to future OFWs: Beware of sweet-talking agencies

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/08/2008 9:44 PM

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A Filipino nurse in Australia has advised potential overseas contract workers going into the same profession to be careful when dealing with recruiters and employers to prevent applicants from being victimized by sweet talk.

“Just be careful. Kilatisin lang ng mabuti. Common sense lang…kung ang sinasabi matamis na matamis, may alat 'yan," said the nurse identified only as "Jason."

Like other nurses in Philippines, Jason dreamed of working in Australia where the pay is good and the quality of life is better.

“This is my dream place, Australia. Nice destination. Laid-back lifestyle and ultimate dream destination for me and not only because of the money you're earning but the quality of life in Australia," Jason said.

Jason was assigned to work in a nursing home. However, he noticed that his salary failed to compensate for the amount of work he was doing.

In the end, Jason even had to borrow money from friends since he no longer had money for daily expenses.

"There was a time na we need to borrow money, kailangan naming mang hiram ng money sa friends namin and ask them for help to be able to meet yung daily expenses dito sa Australia. It’s degrading," he said.

He decided to bring his case to court and challenge his employer, the Healthcare Recruitment Australia owned by Filipino-Australian Michelle Santos Lloyd.
 
Recently, the court fined Lloyd US$48,000 after it was proven that the recruitment agency unlawfully deducted some fees from the salary of Jason and other Filipino nurses.

However, the recruitment agency’s license was not canceled giving it the opportunity to further employ Filipino nurses to Australia. Gigi Grande, ABS-CBN Australia News Bureau, Sydney