Here’s a wonderful news for anyone planning to work in New Zealand.
The Philippines and New Zealand recently inked a labor cooperation agreement which implements many fantastic benefits for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) while employed in the said country.
Rosalinda Baldoz, secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Michel Woodhouse, minister of New Zealand’s Workplace Relations and Safety, signed the agreement during Baldoz’ visit to New Zealand.
Entitled “Arrangement of the Principles and Controls on the Recruitment and Protection of Filipino workers in New Zealand,” this important document will be a big advantage for skilled and professional OFWs in the country.
Baldoz said “Two countries working together to eliminate costly job placement and other recruitment-related fees, illegal recruitment and human trafficking, document fraud and fake training and qualifications credentials will make a strong case for a model bilateral arrangement for other sending and receiving countries to emulate.”
Baldoz noted that the new agreement does not entirely replace the “Memorandum of Agreement on Labor Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of New Zealand” which was inked way back November 4, 2008.
Currently, there are almost 40,000 OFWs working in New Zealand with about 23,682 of them being permanent migrants while 9,444 are temporary workers and 1,024 irregular workers.
Based on the reports, the top industries that hire Filipino workers in New Zealand include production, agriculture and animal husbandry, administrative and managerial, service, and sales.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) also recently noted the growing number of OFWs in New Zealand with 1,638 newly hired employees sent to the country in 2014 alone.
Clearly, the country is fast becoming one of the top destinations for skilled and professional Filipino workers. With OFW-friendly laws in place, it’s a safe bet that more Filipinos will continue to increase.