National Pension System (NPS): Security or Subsidy?

More than two years have passed after the Filipino migrant workers in Korea expressed strong oppo-sition to the Bilateral Social Security Agreement between the Philippines and South Korea.

Different sectors, especially the EPS workers, joined the campaign by gathering signatures to show their rejection of the Bilateral Agreement signed by the Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary, Alberto G. Romulo and the Minister of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), Ban Ki-Moon. Until today, the position of the EPS workers remains the same - refusal to compromise.

Under the Bilateral Agreement, the EPS workers are now entitled to social security benefits such as retirement, disability, accident, and death insurance as part of the benefits program of the Social Security System (SSS). As a result, the worker’s monthly NPS contribution which is supposedly to be claimed by them in lump sum after the end of their contract is now impossible since the said contribution shall be forwarded to social security agency’s account. While those workers whose contract are not under Employment Permit System cannot also claim the said benefits as they shall also be covered under the Korean National Pension System (NPS).

Moreover, this measure could eventually lead to corruption. The money which is the fruit of the EPS workers’ years of hard labor can become an easy target for some greedy government officials in the Philippines, particularly in the social security agency. There are also speculations claiming that if this money gets into the hands of the agency, it will be allocated to other government agencies. When all these happen, the time and effort spent by the workers in working and waiting for their well-deserved benefits may just end up in frustration and grief.

The workers do not only have the right to be informed and consulted but, more importantly, they have the right to make decisions on issues concerning the status of their NPS contribution and other labor-related issues.

The workers’ right to decide where to allocate their contribution and benefits granted by the NPS of Korea should be upheld. The Philippine government should realize how miserable is the life of an OFW and how necessary is the NPS in the reestablishment of their economic condition upon returning back.

On the other hand, the Korean government should not allow the NPS contributions and benefits to be sent into the hands of some corrupt officials. As Sangsu Lee of the Ministry of Labor of Korea expressed during last year’s celebration of International Migrants’ Day, he wished that the migrant workers can go back home with “a big smile on their faces.” The Korean government should make sure their decisions do not betray their intentions for the migrant workers.