A newly signed labor agreement between the Philippines and Israel is expected to generate as many as 1,000 jobs for Filipinos in hotels across Israel, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato said Tuesday night.
Cato said the document, signed by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, would allow Filipino workers to work as cleaners in Israeli hotels.
The agreement comes three months after a landmark accord on Filipino caregivers was signed between the two nations during the visit of President Rodrigo R. Duterte in Israel last September.
The deployment cost to Israel has been lowered from as high as $12,000 to only more than $2,000 upon a bilateral agreement recently signed by the two states.
The deployment process to Israel was also improved on government-to-government basis through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
Citing data from the Philippine Embassy, Cato said there are around 28,000 Filipinos currently working in Israel.