A recruitment agency sending Filipino workers to Malta and Poland to work as hotel workers, cleaners or waiters has been shut down by the Manila Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) as part of an investigation on 2 June.
The recruitment agency charged around ₱460,000 (€7,600) as a processing fee for each individual hoping to find work.
Prospective workers were required to pay a down payment of ₱60,000 (€1,000), making up the remaining funds after a visa was issued.
The company OVM Visa Assistance and Travel Consultancy was registered as a travel agency in the Philippines, lacking the accreditation and approved foreign employers to act as a recruitment agency.
Speaking to ABS-CBN News, Manila DMW spokesperson Susan Ople said, “A travel agency, even if you pay them hundreds of thousands, cannot issue an Overseas Employment Certificate. Overseas foreign workers rely on these certificates to be recognised as legal workers abroad.”
“They are deceiving innocent applicants,” she added.
A sign for OVM Visa Assistance and Travel Consultancy advertising services to Malta – Image: Google Maps/Feb 2023
Last February, The Shift reported how the Philippine National Police shut down another illegal overseas worker migration scheme. In that case, hopeful workers were charged between €2,000 and €6,000 for “guaranteed” jobs in Malta and Malaysia.
By June 2022, Malta had almost 50,600 declared non-EU workers, excluding the thousands more working precariously and unregistered.
Of the declared workers, many occupied jobs in administrative and support services, construction, accommodation and food services. More than half earned less than €10,000 a year. Some 11,000 workers earned under €192 for a 40-hour work week.
This is simply a case of human slavery and trafficking.
How much of this money gets siphoned into the pockets of the local weasels?
It is a known fact that there is a racket running where ONLY persons processed by these racketeers get a permit. Even worse , local establishments have been forced to become part of the racket. Only workers imported by these racketeers are available. A maltese applying for a job in these establishments are even being told so. So the right to be considered for a job has been thrown to the dogs. The Maltese unemployed are being refused employment.
Same as Ozo Group. They only care about money and put 10 Philippines to live all together in the same flat, and the payment is too low since they also take a part from their salaries.
Nothing less than cheap labour and modern day slavery.
And our ex job plus big boy clyed caruana doing just nothing.
Judging by the amount who were waiting for their identity cards, it’s a lucrative business. Does anyone actually physically check that the job exists before handing out id cards to people for jobs that the Maltese could do.
Philippines scammers should be imprisoned for at least 10 years