The period of stay and employment of overseas Filipino workers in Korea who are under the Employment Permit System (EPS) and whose contract term expires within the period April 13 to December 31, 2021 will be extended for one year.
In a report to Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Philippine labor attaché to Korea Maya Valderrama cited the recent issuance from Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor and Ministry of Justice which extends the stay of foreign workers given the prevailing condition brought about by the pandemic.
According to Valderrama, the MOEL expects that this measure will resolve the difficulties of workers entering and leaving the country during the pandemic and the manpower shortage of small and medium-sized companies.
Bello thanked the South Korean government for the move that will benefit hundreds of workers.
“We welcome this unprecedented employment measure extended by the Republic of Korea to our EPS workers especially during this time of the pandemic. The preservation of jobs of our OFWs everywhere in the world is our primordial concern, and this development highlights the value of our 15 years of continuing bilateral cooperation on labor with the ROK,” Bello said.
According to the guideline, the extension period of stay and employment also applies to EPS workers who have been given a 50-day visa extension by Korea authorities, provided that the extended period also falls within the same period.
The EPS is a government-to-government hiring system that allows Korean employers to legally employ foreign workers in cases of unavailability in the local workforce.
The Philippines was the first sending country that signed the Memorandum of Understanding on EPS with ROK in 2004.