Labor pact between PHL, Israel to cut ‘exorbitant’ fees for Pinoy househelps

The number of Filipino caregivers deployed to Israel increased in 2017 compared to 2016, but the increase is considered "minimal" compared to the increase in 2016.

Records from the Philippine Embassy in Israel showed that for 2017, the deployment of Filipino caregivers in Israel increased by 2.53 percent — way lower compared to the 24.6 percent increase in 2016.

The embassy cited "exorbitant placement fees" as the reason behind this.

According to the report, deployment from January to December 2017 reached 2,922 compared to 2,850 from January to December 2016.

"Although the minimum wage in Israel is bigger than the rest of other Middle East countries in the Household Service Workers category, caregivers coming to Israel still pay for exorbitant placement fees which is illegal in the Philippines and in Israel," it said.

To address this, the Philippines is negotiating with Israel for a bilateral labor agreement that will get rid of high placement fees that discourage Filipinos from working in the Middle Eastern country.

The embassy said it "expects the deployment of Filipino caregivers in Israel to increase further once a bilateral labor agreement is finalized between the two countries." —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News