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Employers told to file complete JVAs
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Posted on Aug 19 2004
The Division of Employment Services has urged employers to comply with all the job vacancy announcement requirements to avoid paying double and facing the inconvenience of re-announcing.
This came on the heels of the Aug. 6 implementation of the new Alien Labor Rules and Regulations, which require employers to include all compensations and benefits they offer workers to be included in the JVA. The policy change aims to encourage more resident workers to apply for jobs in the private sector.
DES director Alfred Pangelinan said the division is now working to ensure that JVAs contain all the necessary information before employers bring them to the media for publication or broadcast.
He admitted that some JVAs manage to “slip through the cracks and go to the media” with incomplete information. One of the most common cases involves employers who declare no benefits in their JVA application. This could never be the case as the worksman compensation and medical benefits are mandatory.
Employers, however, cannot get away with it even then, he added.
Pangelinan noted that when the 15-day announcement period is finished, the certified JVA and employment contract are both submitted to the Division of Labor. If the Labor Division finds upon comparison that the employer did not advertise any of the benefits given to the hired alien worker, then the employer will be required to re-announce the available position for another 15 days and again pay for advertising.
“We encourage employers to put everything on the JVA, if they want their hiring process to go smoothly,” the director said.
In related development, Pangelinan said more local workers are now responding to job vacancy announcements since the new rule was implemented. This, he said, shows that resident workers, who were discouraged by $3.05-per-hour wage offered by employers, are growing more interested in private sector jobs because of the benefits.
“We also urge all part-time job seekers to register with us, so we can refer them to employers,” he said. “And for those who are applying to fill an announced vacancies and are told that the position was only for the renewal of a guest worker, report to us immediately so we can address it.”
