The unified contract being pushed by the Saudi National Recruitment Committee (SANARCOM) for adoption and implementation in the Philippines and Indonesia has been rejected by both countries, according to the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI). “During the joint meeting between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia held on Jan. 21 in Manila on the subject of labor and manpower, which was attended by Rosalinda D. Baldoz, representing the Philippines, and Mohammad Al-Mohamadi, head of the Saudi delegation and chairman of SANARCOM, the unified contract was rejected outright by the Philippines,” said Victor E.R. Fernandez, Jr., PASEI president. Fernandez said Indonesia, which was earlier visited by the SANARCOM delegation, also rejected the unified contract. He said the Indonesian Overseas Employment Service Providers sent an email to PASEI informing their Philippine counterparts of their (Indonesia) rejection of the unified contract. Under the unified contract rule, work visa applications submitted by recruitment agencies will be processed by the Saudi Royal Embassy only if they have a contract from SANARCOM. Under the unified contract rule, only the SANARCOM work contract will be honored in Saudi Arabia instead of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) standard employment contract. A communiqué signed between Baldoz and Al-Mohammadi stipulated that “the unified contract is not mandatory as a document for recruitment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and is applicable only to Saudi recruiting agencies hiring Filipinos through Philippine recruiting agencies.” According to Jun Joseph Macas, general manager of RRJM International Manpower Services, Inc. and PASEI member, the Philippine Congress House Committee on Overseas Filipino Affairs also rejected the unified contract because it violates existing laws and regulations in the Philippines protecting the welfare of OFWs.
