SULYAPINOY Online Forum

Hard-working foreign workers can be reemployed in Korea after 3-month stay in their home countries

Foreign workers who have worked with integrity in Korea for 4 years and 10 months and then return to their home countries will be allowed to re-enter and find work again in Korea after a lapse of three months since their return. They will also be able to work in the same workplace where they used to work just before departure without having to undergo a Korean language proficiency test or employment training.

- Currently, if a foreign worker goes back to his/her home country after the end of his/her employment period, he/she can be re-employed in Korea under the Employment Permit System after six months. In such cases, the foreign worker is not guaranteed a job in his/her previous workplace, let alone re-employment, and is required to go through a Korean language test, employment training and other procedures again.
The new amendment requires departing foreign workers to stay in their home countries for at least three months. This requirement is imposed in order to avoid inadvertently meeting the general naturalization requirements (staying in Korea for five consecutive years or more) under Article 5 of the Nationality Act.
To re-enter and find employment again in Korea, a foreign worker will have to have worked in a workplace of the type and size determined by the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee in accordance with the amendment for 4 years and 10 months without a change of workplace.
(The size and type of business will be determined in a way that will cover workplaces having difficulties in employing native Korean workers, such as those in agricultural, livestock and fishing industries and small manufacturers. A separate public notice will be given of such size and type.)

The government promulgated the amendment to the Act on Foreign Workers Employment, etc., containing these features, on February 1. The amendment will come into effect on July 2, 2012.

The …

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Minimum Wage Council sets 2012 minimum wage per hour

At its 13th meeting held from July 12 at 8 p.m. until July 13 at 1:58 a.m., the Minimum Wage Council (Chairman Park Joon-sung) deliberated on the minimum wage applicable in 2012, and set it at 4,580 won an hour, up 260 won or 6.0% from 4,320 won an hour in 2011.

Next year's hourly minimum wage works out to 957,220 won a month for those working 40 hours a week (209 hours a month).

When deliberating and deciding on the minimum wage this time, the Council gave priority to stabilizing the livelihoods of low-paid workers. For instance, the increase rate was set at a higher level than the previous year's 5.1% considering this year's high price increase.

It also took into account micro, small and medium enterprises' ability to pay wages, including the fact that the proportion of enterprises paying less than this year's minimum wage reached 11.5%.

Unlike previous years, both labor and management submitted almost no minimum wage proposals during this year's deliberation process. So the public interest members suggested a range of minimum wages to promote their negotiation and discussion, and urged both sides to negotiate. But they failed to narrow the difference in their positions.

With the statutory deadline (Jun. 29) having passed, the public interest members made their first proposal on July 1 at the request of both labor and management. For all this, things didn't go smoothly as employers' and workers' members resigned or walked out of negotiations.

The Council could not deliberate and decide on the minimum wage at its 10th, 11th and 12th meetings because it lacked a quorum to make decisions.

At the 12th meeting on July 6, the public interest members requested labor and management to submit their final proposal within the suggested range in a week's time, and decided that the minimum wage would be set via a vote on such proposal.

Accordingly, at its 13th meeting, the Council voted on the final …

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WHAT: EPS- 8TH KLT IN PHILIPPINES
WHERE: CHECK POEA WEBSITE
REGISTRATION DATE: 2012.02.06~2012.02.09
EXAM DATE: 2012.03.18
QUALIFIED:
... 1. SA MGA ANDITO PA NA PAPAUWI NANG MARCH & APRIL (you can e-register on but you must need personal registration between 2012.02.06~09 so ibig sabihin kailangan nyon umuwi these dates para maka-avail kau sa 8th klt exam.
2. TOTOO PO BA KAILANGAN MAG STAY NANG 6 MONTHS BAGO MAKA TAKE NANG EXAM? hindi po totoo yun u can take the exam anytime as soon as you arrive in the philippines if you will follow the number 1.
3. BAKIT SABI-NEED STAY 6 MONTHS BAGO MAKABALIK kung sakali kau po ay makapasa po agad and then ma select nang employer agad and then hindi pa kau naka stay nang 6 months stay sa pinas the day you arrive from korea.please don't attemp to depart...kc in that case ma A to A po kau,,,ITS VERY LOUD AND CLEAR NA KAHIT PO KAU NAKAPASA NANG KLT YOU MUST STAY 6 MONTHS IN THE PHILIPPINES BEFORE COMING BACK TO KOREA....
4. TAKING KLT IS NOT REQUIRED THAT YOU MUST STAY 6 MONTHS BAGO MAKAPAG E-XAM ( ASK THIS INFO FROM THE PHIL EMBASSY)
5. and above all hangang 38 years old parin..po./thank you.....
**as of now wala pa pong exemption kung ano yung mga lumalabas ngaun magpasalamat na po tau...
6. kung saan man ngaun naka address ang mga registration sa 8th klt exam sa pinas sundin nalang po natin at tayo po magpasalamat at mayron na ang matagal natin hinihintay at sa mga nangangarap na makarating din dito.
7. kung tayo po malayo sa mga lugar na naka- address and I think since Manila naman ang ating capital doon nalang po kau dumerectho..maraming salamat po...
thank you god bless...sana ma satisfy ko po kau sa lahat nang mga nagtatanong..matagal ko po nasasagot dahil I need na manigurado pa po muna.thank you

NOTE: THIS IS A COPY OR LINK FROM THE FACEBOOK ACCOUNT OF GENNIE KIM, in (Q & A)

courtesy of Gennie Kim, Sulyapinoy Online Forum

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2012년도 최저임금 안내

1. Period of application: Jan. 1 2012 ~ Dec. 31 2012
적용기간 : 2012.1.1~2012.12.31
2. Minimum wage
최저임금액
○ Hourly wage rate : 4,580 won, daily wage rate( on a 8-hour basis): 36,640 won
시급 4,580원, 일급(8시간 기준) 36,640원
○ In the case of 40 hours per week(209 hours per month) the monthly wage will amount
957,220won.
주40시간제(월 209시간)의 경우 월급 957,220원
3. Target of application : every business or workplace employing workers
적용대상 : 근로자를 사용하는 모든 사업 또는 사업장
○ Workers whose minimum wage can be reduced
감액 적용 근로자
- Apprentices: his/her minimum wage may be reduced as much as 10% up to 3
months (hourly wage rate : 4,122 won)
수급근로자 : 최장 3개월간 10% 감액 적용 가능(시급 4,122원)
4. Workers who are not applied the minimum wage
적용제외대상
- A person who has remarkably low abilities to work due to a mental or physical
handicap (when approved by the Minister of Labor).
정신, 신체 장애로 근로능력이 현저히 낮은 자(노동부 장관 인가시)
- An employee who works for the workplace which employ only relatives living
together or domestic workers.
동거의 …

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Pinaalalahan ang mga Pilipino sa South Korea na gumamit lamang ng mga lehitimong remittance agents sa pagpapadala ng pera sa Pilipinas.
Ang mga sumusunod na problema ay madalas mangyari dulot ng hindi paggamit ng lehitimong remittance agents:

1. Walang kontrol o kasiguruhan sa padala. Minsan ay �nawawala� ang padala o kaya ay nauuwi sa pautang;

2. Kawalan ng resibo na magpapatunay ng transaksyon;

3. Para sa nagdadala, pagiging delikado ng pagbitbit ng malaking halaga; at

4. Money laundering. Kailangang ideklara ang higit sa USD10,000 na ipapasok sa Pilipinas. Mahigpit din ang customs ng South Korea sa mga inilalabas na pera, lalo na kung ang pinagmulan ay sa iligal na transaksyon.

May mga bangko sa South Korea na hinahayaang magbukas ng bank account ang foreigner, may visa man o wala. Sumangguni sa mga bangko at iba pang lehitimong remittance/ money transfer agents para maiwasan ang problema.

ADVISORY ON REMITTANCES

The public is reminded to use only legitimate remittance agents when sending money to the Philippines.

The use of illegitimate agents commonly leads to the following problems:

1. Lack of control or security over the remittance. Remittances are sometimes �lost� or become debts owed to the remitter;

2. Lack of receipts and other documentary evidence of the transaction;

3. Security risks for those carrying large amounts of cash; and

4. Money laundering. Amounts greater than USD10,000 need to be declared upon entry to the Philippines. The South Korea Customs Service also implements strict regulations pertaining to exiting money, especially if obtained through illegal means.

Some South Korean banks allow foreigners to open bank accounts regardless of whether one has a valid visa or none. Please consult with the banks and other legitimate remittance / money transfer agents to avoid complications in the future.

courtesy of Philippine Embassy in

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Philippine Ambassador to Seoul Luis T. Cruz reported to the Department that the Korean Parliament recently adopted measures to ease the rehiring of foreign workers who are about to finish their contracts with Korean SMEs under the Employment Permit System (EPS).

Representative Kang Sung-chun of the ruling Grand National Party, together with nine other parliamentarians, introduced amendments that created Act. No. 11276 (Revision on the Act on Employment of Foreign Workers). It was promulgated on 01 February 2012 and will take effect on 02 July 2012.

The new amendments will reduce the waiting period of foreign workers who wish to return to South Korea after completing their contracts from six months to three months. It will also exempt them from taking the Korean language test and employment training. They should meet however, certain criteria such as no record of transfer during the employment period except for justifiable cause; the sector they were engaged in is still experiencing labor shortage; and a new work contract prior to reentry to South Korea.

On 8 February, Ambassador Cruz, together with diplomats from six other embassies, met Representative Kang to thank him personally for the passage of Act. No. 11276. He recalled that the amendments were two of the four petitions signed by 2,355 OFWs and their 633 Korean employers, requesting changes in the EPS law. He added that the Philippine Embassy positively endorsed their petitions to the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) in March 2011.

However, Ambassador Cruz remarked that the EPS law could stand further improvements in order to address the disruption of the operation of Korean SMEs at the end of the employment contract of their foreign workers, and the need to retrain their replacements. He suggested that the contract period of four years and ten months be reviewed and that measures be introduced in the process that will not violate the law on permanent residency and naturalization. He …

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