The overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in South Korea can expect a higher salary after the minimum wage council has approved a 7.1-percent minimum wage increase. The salary increase will be implemented next year, 2015 once it will be approved by Korean Minister of Employment and Labor.
Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement that Over 35, 000 Filipinos workers can benefit with this new development. Â Foreign workers which is under the Employment Permit System (EPS) will receive an hourly rate of 5,580 Korean won (US$5.5) from 5,210 Korean won (US$5.14).
EPS is the system used by South Korea government to introduce non-professional workers from  foreign countries to their small business and industries. The transaction is done through a government-to-government arrangement.
Rolalinda Baldoz said the wage hike was passed by Chairman Park Jun-sung during the 7th Plenary Session of South Korea Minimun Wage Council (SKMWC) and it was reported to her by Seoul-based Labor Attaché Felicitas Bay.
According to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the wage hike will not cover “those working in their family business and living in the same residence, domestic workers, seafarers governed by the Seafarers Act, and those whose ability to work is apparently low due to physical or mental disabilities.”
Meanwhile, 1, 600 workers are being sought by POEA for potential jobs in South Korea as part of this year’s EPS Roster of the country.
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