My experience with POLO

[dben]

I am a Canadian living in Interior BC. After HRSDC, CIC and POLO processing which took over 2 years, a caregiver has just arrived at my home but not after more hassle form the POLO office in Vancouver which I consider another scam and illegal as far as I am concerned.
 
When my caregiver  obtained his VISA from CIC, he needed to get a exit pass before getting an air ticket so he went to POEA to get the seminar and certificate and was told that he had to go to OWWA Intramuros to get an OWWA certificate, and that person at OWWA told him to get his work contract verified by the Canadian Consul. He  then went to the Canadian embassy the next day in Makati and they told him that they don't verify contract or put a stamp on the work contract. He went back to POEA and there he found out from another employee that he didn't need an OWWA certificate and the one that needs to verify the contract is the POLO located in Vancouver. They didn't even say sorry! He subsequently texted me about this new requirement.
 
I then drove 450 KM to the Vancouver POLO personally to get the contract verified. When I arrived at the POLO office, I found that they were not at the address that POEA gave. They had moved their office to another floor. When I arrived at the new address, there was no one in the open unsecured office. After 10 minutes a man and woman with a guilty look appeared from outside the office and I was told that I had to sign an addition to the work contract and pay $41.75 processing fees! The additional requirements on the work contract that they wanted from the employer were quote:
1.   Employer shall bear the cost of the transportation from place of origin to destination and back, during the period of employment,
2.   Termination of contract/ employee shall only be for just cause,
3.   Employer shall be responsible for medical treatment of the employee during the time the employee is not yet covered by provincial health plan,
4.   In the event of work related death during the term of employment, the employer shall be responsible for the repatriation of the remains.
I told the person at POLO that we had already booked a flight in 2 working days The man at POLO said he would fax the verified contract addendum to POEA at 11PM that day. He also said I either had to come back to the POLO office to pick the “red ribbon” certification or pay for a return envelope for the papers to be sent to my home.

The next day, my caregiver went back to POEA and got a photocopy of the verified list from POLO in Vancouver and found that they had misspelled his middle name. He texted me about this and I emailed and faxed POLO in Vancouver to inform them about the misspelled name. Fortunately when he received the exit pass he found that his middle name appeared correctly spelled so he was able to get his plane ticket just in time.

Two days later my caregiver arrived. We went to the POLO office to get the so called “red ribbon” and found that it was not ready for pickup. They said they would mail it free. We received it a week later in the mail.

The main part of all these procedures that I am angry and frustrated about is:

Where is POLO getting the authority to collect money from Canadian employers for processing when they are not within their own jurisdiction?
If POLO wants these additional requirements, why don't they ask CIC Manila to put on their web site instead of collecting more money from the employer/employee?

Finally, since POLO has no jurisdiction in Canada, they cannot themselves enforce the additional requirements that they call for so what is the point they themselves asking for them?

[BCguy]

Actually They have every right to do so,We(BC Provincial Goverment) signed an agreement with them and So did AB,SKS,MB and ON.This is a valid international treaty between said provinces and the Philippines valid for the next 10 years,I believe that you can complain,But a treaty is a treaty and BC HONORS its International obligations

[dben]

BC Guy

I beg to disagree with you. The provincial governments did not authorize POLO to collect fees from employers. Please post a copy of the agreement on this web site or a link where evryone can read the agrement. Also you did not explain how POLO is going to enforce the four adendums to the worker contract. They don't have the legal right to enforce or sue any emplyee for breach of contract. As I said, the Philippine government should have an agreement with CIC to make contract  agreements work and the Canadian Border Services Agency are the ones to enforce immigration violations. At this time, CIC does not have any information on their web site about POLO requirements. Actually if any caregiver wants to fly to Canada without going through POLO, they just have to fly to another country like Hong Kong and then to Canada. If you read my other post about the the screwup between POLO and POEA you would see that they don't even have their acts trogether. POLO is just making it more difficult and more expensive for a caregiver to come to Canada.

[BCguy]

BC Guy

I beg to disagree with you. The provincial governments did not authorize POLO to collect fees from employers. Please post a copy of the agreement on this web site or a link where evryone can read the agrement. Also you did not explain how POLO is going to enforce the four adendums to the worker contract. They don't have the legal right to enforce or sue any emplyee for breach of contract. As I said, the Philippine government should have an agreement with CIC to make contract  agreements work and the Canadian Border Services Agency are the ones to enforce immigration violations. At this time, CIC does not have any information on their web site about POLO requirements. Actually if any caregiver wants to fly to Canada without going through POLO, they just have to fly to another country like Hong Kong and then to Canada. If you read my other post about the the screwup between POLO and POEA you would see that they don't even have their acts trogether. POLO is just making it more difficult and more expensive for a caregiver to come to Canada.

Sure It was signed between Colin Hansen When he was Economic Development Minister and the Former Labour Minister Brion of the Philippines,Search for it under Ministry of Advanced Education and Labor Market Development.It was signed between the Provinces and the Philippines since the jobs are Provincially Regulated not Federal,Therefore NO CIC,You make me sound like a POLO Defender havent you BOTHERED to read my past criticisms of POLO,I personally agree with you But have to toe the Goverment Line,I will PM you the direct Phone line of the Labor Market Director in Victoria so you can confirm this.Please Dont argue with somebdy who does this for a living.

[BCguy]

I have PM ed the Direct line of the Executive Director of Employment Standards so that you confirm the fees are legal,He and I and Julve had a meeting last year in Victoria on cooperation between POLO and Employment Standards and I sent also the Direct Line of One of the Directors in the BC Goverment who negotiated the treaty withe Philippines.Please get back to me what these officials inform you,Yes I work for the Province in the Immigration Area.I am also married to a Filipina and off board I could tell you horror stories of how rotten POLO is and I know Bernie Julve and Company very well.Ask the Filipinos of his performance when he was Labour Attache in Hong Kong and He is here on a 8 year assignment,The law may be unfair but its still the law no matter if it sucks

[dben]

OK BC Guy. I don't want to argue with you. I will contact the labour dept and ask them how they will verify that the new requirements will be enforced in conjunction with POLO, Labor DEpt and CBSA. I personally don't think the new requirements will be enforced any more than the old ones were unless someone complains to the Labour Dept. Most foreign workers don't understand what are the different responsibilities and areas of jurisdiction between POLO, Provincial Labour ministries, CIC and CBSA. In fact, most employers are probably don't understand the system either.
It's too bad that a few rotten apples in the barrel have spoiled it for honest Filipino employees and Canadian employers in the past.