Rep. Tulfo: Salaries of PH seamen, others should be similar with foreign counterparts
DEPUTY Majority Leader and ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo wants the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to make sure that Filipino seafarers and other professionals would sign contracts wherein their salaries would be similar with what is being received by other nationalities.
“For a long time my office has been receiving these kinds of complaints but our kababayans are helpless because we Filipinos are not choosy,” said Rep. Tulfo.
“I encourage the DMW to make sure that our kababayans are not be at a disadvantage when it comes to salaries and benefits,” he added.
ACT-CIS Rep. Edvic Yap also urged the DMW to talk to the manning, placement, and recruitment agencies regarding this matter.
“This is not only happening to our seafarers but also to land-based contract workers such as engineers, accountants, draftsmen and others. It seems Filipinos are receiving a smaller salary compared to other nationalities, particularly the Europeans and Americans,” said Rep. Yap.
“I think it is high time we do something about this because we do not complain when it comes to salaries especially when our kababayans are based abroad,” Tulfo added.
Filipino seafarers receiving a smaller salary compared to their counterparts recently became an issue after it was reported that a seafarer went to court in The Netherlands and demanded the same salary as the European seafarers.
Rep. Tulfo, along with Rep. Yap, is scheduled to meet with officials from the DMW this week to discuss this issue.
