THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is eyeing to sign a new bilateral labor agreement with Russia during President Duterte’s second state visit there next month.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III admitted they are still ironing out the details of the proposed accord, particularly if it will involve the private sector.
“There is still no consensus if it will be G-to-G [government-to-government]. They [Russian officials] want it to be G-to-G, but the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) does not support this so it is being discussed,” Bello said in an interview.
POEA had worried that with an exclusive G-to-G arrangement, it may not be able to efficiently accommodate the large number of applicants for Russia, Bello added.
The labor chief said POEA administrator Bernard Olalia will fly to Russia ahead of Duterte’s group for “expert level consultations” with his Russian counterpart.
He said the accord is expected to be signed during Duterte’s Russia trip in early October.
Bello, who will join Duterte’s delegation, said the agreement is on the deployment and labor protection of household service workers and skilled workers.
There is no quota on the number of Filipinos who could be deployed to Russia under the proposed accord.
“As soon as the bilateral agreement is signed and the Implementing rules and regulations has been issued, they can already file their applications,” Bello said.