Imagine this: You were able to find an employer who offered you a caregiver job in Canada. You processed the visa and was approved. You thought you can already leave for Canada only to find out that you still can't go due to new rules on OEC Issuance for Direct Hired Workers. Not fair!
For the longest time, Filipino Caregivers bound for Canada are being issued Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) without any problem as long as they comply with the requirements. But right now, OEC for Caregiver should be processed through a POEA Registered Recruitment Agency.
Here's a recent email we received from a Recruiter in Canada:
Here's a news report about a month ago from Balitang Tanghali.
It appears that there is a suspension order for OEC issuance for all direct hired workers pending the investigation of corruption/extortion related to OEC applications.
If you are a Canada bound caregiver and you need to leave ASAP, you need to contact a POEA Registered Recruitment Agency to process the OEC. This would mean your employer needs to be reported/registered to POEA by the Agency before your OEC may be processed. This would also mean additional cost for your employer and possibly additional cost for you.
What if the employer refused to pay the additional cost? Then that is a problem. Typically, some workers would offer to pay for these expenses if they are desperate to leave. It is not right, but if they will not do it, they can't go.
Time to abolish the OEC? What do you think?
