SEOUL, 10 March 2015 – Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez met with Minister Lee Ki-kweon of Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on 09 March 2015 to discuss issues relevant to the welfare of Filipino workers in South Korea and recommend ways to further enhance their protection and safety.

Ambassador Hernandez expressed gratitude to the Korean government for giving jobs to more than 20,000 Filipino workers and affording them the opportunity to contribute to the development of the country. He also thanked Korea for instituting reforms in its labor laws and system to safeguard the rights and welfare of foreign workers in South Korea.

Ambassador Hernandez and Minister Lee then proceeded to discuss important issues facing Filipino workers in Korea, such as current restrictions on the employment contract under the Employment Permit System (EPS) program; poor working conditions in the entertainment and agricultural sectors, and the presence of a number of undocumented workers.

In the meeting held at the MOEL main office in Sejong City, Ambassador Hernandez also apprised Minister Lee of the Philippine government's unrelenting efforts to ensure that Filipino workers are sufficiently prepared for foreign employment through the regular conduct of post-arrival orientations, workplace adaptation training and labor education sessions.

In the same manner, Korean employers should also be directed to attend orientations aimed at fostering better understanding of the culture of their foreign workers, he said, referring to the Korean employers 'continuing education on EPS regulations, compliance with labor standards and practices, occupational health and safety, and on social insurance.

Ambassador Hernandez and Minister Lee agreed to closely cooperate to address these long-standing issues as well as to eradicate blind spots in efforts to protect foreign workers in Korea. Minister Lee also vowed to safeguard the basic rights of foreign workers in Korea and ensure that these are not infringed upon.

The Philippines currently sends Filipino workers to Korea via the EPS program, which was devised by the Korean government to allow mainly SMEs that fail to attract Korean laborers to resort to the hiring of foreign workers in Korea. Currently, 45.41 percent of 52,000 Filipino residents in Korea are under the EPS, with a quarter of that figure on irregular status.

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