Recruiters eye to fill 3,000 jobs as Taiwan lifts hiring freeze

FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Local recruitment agencies are looking to deploy some 3,000 workers for electronic factories to Taiwan, nearly a week after the Taiwanese government lifted its hiring freeze on Filipino workers.

Angelo Tong, president of Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan, said Taiwan is in need of some 3,000 workers for electronic factories that did not hire workers from other countries and instead patiently waited for Filipinos, their preferred choice of workers, for the highly-skilled positions in their companies.

In a statement, Tong admitted that a few companies had to get Vietnamese workers for those positions that needed to be filled since OFWs, whose work contracts were up for extension or renewal, had to return home to wait for developments following tensions the past three months over the death of a Taiwanese fisherman.

“With the issue now behind, we are very optimistic that these workers will be recalled by their companies to their previous positions,” he said.

Last week, Taiwan lifted a freeze on the hiring of Filipino workers, after the Philippines relayed its apology to the family of the fisherman killed in an encounter with Philippine Coast Guard personnel in disputed waters last May 9.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s office in Manila on Tuesday posted online the guidelines for prospective Filipino job seekers.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office said this applies to work permit applications of blue-collar workers, including first-time applications, substitutes and re-hiring.

TECO said those applying for visas with issued work permits are required to submit the following:

* a “unified multi-purpose ID (UMID)” issued by the Philippine government;

* a birth certificate issued by National Statistics Office, authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and TECO; and

* Certificate from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI clearance) authenticated by the DFA and TECO.

“The processing of visa application will take six working days,” it said, adding expedited visa processing will take three working days.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, on the other hand, renewed its warning to recruitment agencies collecting excessive placement fees. “We will maintain strict enforcement of regulations on excessive or illegally exacted placement fees,” he said.

“We are still discussing with agencies measures to cut placement fee but we made it clear that the POEA rules on placement fees are non-negotiable,” he added.