Recruitment firm loses license for imposing illegal fee on maid in Singapore

Philippine Overseas Labor Employment office. Photo from www.poea.gov.ph

MANILA — The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has cancelled the license of a recruitment firm for allegedly deducting a non-existent placement fee from a domestic worker in Singapore.

POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac announced on his Facebook page the voiding of the license of SML Human Resources based in Ermita, Manila.

Cacdac said this was the third act of misrepresentation by the firm, which prompted the POEA to cancel its license as a penalty.

In a post dated July 20, Cacdac said the recruiter imposed an eight-month salary deduction as placement fee for a helper working in Singapore.

This was despite the fact that no placement fee was charged to the domestic helper at all.

“The helper was told that there will be an eight-month salary deduction in Singapore. So instead of a $ 520 monthly salary, the helper only received $70 a month,” Cacdac said in his post.

The POEA administrator pointed out that the penalty of canceling the POEA license is imposed on recruitment firms, which would charge placement fees on outbound domestic helpers.

“Misrepresentation on important information on recruitment is also unlawful,” Cacdac added.

Meanwhile, the POEA also closed down a travel agency in Sta. Cruz, Manila, for allegedly engaging in illegal recruitment.

The Pearl Asia Travel and Tours was shut down by the POEA and operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group early this week.

Cacdac said the travel agency had no license to recruit workers and that surveillance showed that the agency would recruit unsuspecting workers to work in messman, steward, bartender and housekeeper positions aboard yacht or cruise ships.

The firm will be charged with illegal recruitment before the Department of Justice.  SFM