DoLE eyes Slovenia for OFW

The Labor secretary added that a Philippine technical working group “early next month” will present Slovenia a draft of a bilateral agreement spelling out the working hours, salary, days off, and vacation of Filipino workers. #SilvestreBelloIII #Sloveniajobs

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) revealed on Wednesday that Slovenia needs up to 5,000 overseas Filipino workers including factory workers, truck drivers, engineers and other skilled workers.

In a radio interview, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that employers from Slovenia told him in a meeting last week that they need 2,000 to 5,000 workers and noted that the deployment of OFW to the Central European nation will get the go-signal after the signing of a bilateral agreement ensuring their safety.

The Labor secretary added that a Philippine technical working group “early next month” will present Slovenia a draft of a bilateral agreement spelling out the working hours, salary, days off, and vacation of Filipino workers.

“We need terms of reference to give our workers enough protection. Without that, we cannot deploy them,” said Bello. “If they agree, we will sign it and that will start the deployment of our workers in Slovenia.”

Bello also stressed that the Philippines is seeking a bilateral agreement that will legitimize its workers in Russia, many of whom entered the country as tourists.

“With Russia, there is some difficulty because there are terms of reference where we do not agree. Slovenia is easier because they are open to bilateral agreement, template contract,” said Bello.