First batch of Filipino seasonal workers depart for South Korea

The initial batch of Filipino workers participating in the 2024 seasonal workers program (SWP) in South Korea have departed from the Philippines, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Friday.

The DMW said a total of 39 seasonal farm workers from the towns of Apalit, Lubao, and Magalang in Pampanga flew to South Korea on Thursday under the SWP.

The SWP allows the short-term employment of foreign agricultural workers to address the chronic labor shortages during the peak planting and harvesting season in South Korea. It is managed by the Korean Ministry of Justice and the Korean Immigration Service.

“Ito ang unang batch ng mga seasonal farm workers na napaalis ng DMW sa ilalim ng ‘Interim Pipeline Processing’ procedure na naglalayong maglaan ng mga probisyon at garantiya para sa karapatan at kapakanan ng mga manggagawang nakapaloob sa programang SWP ng mga local government units ng Pilipinas sa South Korea,” the DMW said in a statement.

(This is the first batch of seasonal farm workers that we deployed under the ‘Interim Pipeline Processing’ which aims to guarantee the rights and welfare of Filipinos employed under the SWP.)

There are 3,353 Filipino seasonal workers in South Korea as of December 2023.

In January, the DMW imposed a moratorium on the deployment of seasonal workers following complaints from Filipino workers.

To address the situation, the agency earlier said it will issue permanent guidelines for the deployment of Filipino seasonal workers which would cover their standards of protection, fair treatment, decent working hours and wages, access to justice, and the monitoring and prohibition against exorbitant fees.

Meanwhile, the DMW reminded Filipinos the application for the SWP is free and advised the public to report individuals asking for recruitment fees. — Sundy Locus/RSJ, GMA Integrated News