Filipino HSWs to Benefit as Singapore Eases Work Permit Rules
SINGAPORE:The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) of Singapore has brought into force the new work permit regulation to reduce possible disruption for migrant HSWs in completing their employment contracts, media reports said.
This means that Filipino household service workers (HSW) in Singapore can now apply for a two-year work permit without being restricted by the expiry date of their passports, reported Manila Bulletin.
“Foreign household service workers in Singapore will now be given the full work permit duration of two years, provided that their passports are valid at the point of issuance or renewal,” Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz was quoted as saying, citing a report from Labor Attaché Ramon T. Tionloc Jr.
“Singapore will allow this even if the remaining validity of the HSWs passports is shorter than two years,” she reportedly said.
The labor chief, however, clarified the new regulation will not affect the separate processing being conducted by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) on the work permits of HSWs.
The report quoted her as saying that Filipino HSWs would still have to renew their passports within the six months from its expiration to avoid unnecessary delays in the renewal of work permits.
According to the 2013 data from the Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO), there are currently around 160,000 overseas Filipino workers in Singapore. A large portion of them are HSWs, it added.