At the close of the gathering of more than 100 Filipinos at the Grandior Hotel Conference Center in Prague on 15 December 2019, Ambassador Ombra T. Jainal reminded the community, as guests of the host country, to abide by the laws of the Czech Republic, honor their employment contracts and do their best in their work, and maintain the good reputation of the Filipino as a citizen and a worker.

Members of the Filipino community came from all parts of the Czech Republic to convene for the Kapihan at Salu-Salo sa Pagtatapos ng Taon which featured three main topics: Rights and Obligations of Workers, Program of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO)–Geneva for Filipinos, and Consular Services of the Philippine Embassy in the Czech Republic.

Filipinos welcomed news on the initiative of the Philippine Government to negotiate a Social Security Agreement with the Czech Republic, with the Social Security System of the Philippines hosting the first round of negotiations with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs soon.

Antonin Kerner, Senior Director for Trade Facilitation and Services of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, explained the legal framework for the entry of Filipino workers into the Czech Republic. He cited the relationship between Philippine and Czech Government agencies and the private sector in ensuring that workers from the Philippines are able to legally work and reside in the Czech Republic. According to him, there are now 89 Czech companies employing Filipino workers. 

Karolina Aserova, Managing Director of MedStaff s.r.o., discussed with the community the computation of gross and net salaries, including contributions to social security, health insurance and taxes; authorized leaves of absence; termination and extension of employment; the employee card; and, illegal employment. Concurring with Mr. Kerner, Ms. Aserova stressed the preference of Czech employers for Filipino workers.

POLO-Geneva’s Paul Cabugao reminded Filipinos of the importance of employment contracts and invited Filipinos to become members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. Many Filipino workers enrolled in the OWWA system after his presentation. Mr. Cabugao also processed Overseas Employment Certificates for Filipino workers returning to the Philippines to save them time from doing so while on holidays with their families. 

Indhira C. Bañares, Minister and Consul General, presented the consular and assistance-to-nationals services of the Embassy to the Filipino community in the Czech Republic, highlighting every Filipino’s right to request Czech authorities to notify the Consular Section of the Embassy should they be held for any reason and the Embassy’s 24/7 on-call service.  She also invited them to register as overseas voters for the 2022 national and local elections.

Original Pilipino Music and Christmas serenades, modern dances, games and raffle draws enabled the Filipinos to enjoy the Salu-salo in the afternoon. END.