The insurance coverage for each OFW migrant worker shall be secured by the recruitment or manning agency at no cost to the OFW, an official from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said.
POEA Koronadal Regional Director Axel Jay Santander said that the cost or expense for the insurance cover of rehires and direct hires shall be borne by their foreign employers or the workers themselves subject to a full refund upon the first day of arrival of the OFW at the worksite or country of destination.
Citing a definition stated by the POEA on its Memorandum Circular No. 10, rehires or balik-manggagawa refer to overseas Filipino workers who have served or currently serving employment contracts and are returning to the same employer and the same job site; or returning to the same employer in a new job site. It also includes OFWs who have started employment with a new employer and are returning to the said employer.
Direct hires or name hires, on the other hand, refer to workers who are able to secure an overseas employment opportunity without the assistance or participation of the recruitment agency.
Both types of workers have their documents processed by the POEA.
