terms in the POEA contract." Saudi-bound OFWs can see the contract before their departure but this can still be legally substituted once in Saudi Arabia. In the UAE, the Employment Agreement for Domestic Workers and Sponsors signed between GRP and UAE in 2007 gives undue advantage to UAE as it does not honor any employment contract signed in the Philippines between the worker and the recruitment agency. As the OFW arrives in the UAE, a new employment contract between the employer and worker is signed and approved by the UAE Ministry of Labor. Domestic workers are called "servants" and fall under the Naturalization and Residence Department and are not covered by labor laws. There is no guarantee for paid day offand the "servant" has to pass a four-month probationary period before the wage is fixed. Worse, when a conflict occurs between "servant" and employer, the "servants" rights are null and void if she absconds. Standard contracts have in principle been applied to Filipinos going to Taiwan but with addendums that subsequently excluded such essentials as food, accommodation and airfare. The Manila Exchange Cultural Office (MECO) had mentioned to Migrante that there is a "special relationship" with Taiwan with corresponding "special arrangements" apparently including higher placement fees, brokers' fees, and taxes. In South Korea, the Employment Permit System (EPS) passed in 2003 stipulates that while employers can renew migrant workers visa yearly, the OFWs have no right to change employers. Major Filipino migrant destinations Saudi Arabia and Malaysia for a long time did not recognize days-offfor their workers, invoking different labor standards, and has yet to fully implement these even if they are formally recognized now. The POEA itself in effect also sanctions contract-shifting when, in its seminars, officers or resource persons explain that different countries have different laws including minimum wage laws, which is the reason migrant workers are forced to sign contracts stipulating lower wages as soon as they arrive in their receiving countries. Some Philippine embassies have also become notorious for providing limited support to migrants seeking redress against their employers for contract violations prompting workers to accept poor settlements or otherwise being unsupportive to the filing of cases. (See Box: Contract substitution and labor malpractice in Libya) Apparently they also often argue that host country laws are different from the Philippines' and cannot but be deferred to. Box 3: Contract substitution and labor malpractice in Libya IWs CIFIX World is a company operating in Libya. In March 2009, 50 OFWs working there complained to Migrante-Middle East about contract substitution, poor living conditions and inhumane and prison-like treatment by their employer. The OFWs allege that they signed on for work on contracts 31