More overseas Filipino workers (OFW) may soon be deployed in Romania following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) with the Romanian government.
In a news statement issued on Monday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the bilateral agreement was signed last week and aims to strengthen existing bilateral relations of the country with Romania.
Romania is currently eyeing to hire additional hotel caregivers and skilled migrant workers from countries like Vietnam, Nepal, India and the Philippines.
DOLE’s International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) Director Alice Visperas said they will be meeting with their Romanian counterparts later this month to finalize the details of the MOU.
“So the number of job orders [for OFWs] may come after that,” Visperas told the BusinessMirror in a phone interview.
She said among the details they are still ironing out are the potential salaries for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to be deployed in Romania.
The newly signed MOU is the country’s first bilateral accord with Romania and the 7th in Europe after United Kingdom, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain.
Currently, there are about 1,500 OFWs, who are mostly employed in health and safety and transportation companies in Romania.
Aside from job vacancies, the MOU, Bello said, is also expected to “foster the exchange of expertise, good practices, and information between the two countries, particularly in the areas of labor and employment relations; social security and protection; labor migration; and occupational safety.”
“The MOU signing will significantly improve labor relations between the Philippines and Romania,” Bello said.
