Domestic workers gather in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: iStock
Domestic workers gather in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: iStock

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) has reminded domestic workers with valid National Certificate in Household Services (NCII) certificates from Hong Kong that they need not pay any retraining fees to agencies back home.

Holders of the five-year NCII can just exchange them for a new domestic worker NCII and be exempt from the training requirement, the sunwebhk.com reported, according to a memorandum posted on POLO’s Facebook page.

The reminder was put out after a number of complaints from domestic workers against employment agencies in the Philippines who had required them to pay for costly retraining, even if their NCII certificates were still valid.

Many domestic workers said they were required by their Philippine agencies to pay Php 18,000 to Php 30,000 (US$331 to US$552) to undergo training so they could return to Hong Kong.

They were sent to a training center but ended up watching a video with a group of workers, instead of getting practical training.

The Domestic Work NCII was put in place in 2015 by the Technical Education and Skills Development Administration which mandates re-training for former overseas Filipino workers who apply to work overseas again.

Except for the change in name, the DW NC II is the same as the HS NCII. Both confer a certificate to those with proven competency in house cleaning, washing and ironing clothes and the preparation of meals and drinks.

Read: Overcharging agency suspended by Philippine Labor Office

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