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Global Pinoy Bulletin: Filipino Workers Still in Demand FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said that despite the global financial crisis mostly gripping developed economies such as the United States and Europe, Filipino workers will “so far” remain in demand in Middle East countries, as well as Australia and Canada. Romulo met separately with Labor Secretary Marianito Roque and Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco to discuss the impact of the global financial crisis on the more than eight million Filipino migrant workers and their remittances that continue to buoy the local economy. Romulo said Labor Secretary Marianito Roque informed him that up to now, countries remain in constant demand for Filipino workers, particularly in Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia. Filipino workers also remain in demand in Australia and Middle East countries with their current booming infrastructure sectors, said Romulo. Search for greener pastures PRESIDENT Arroyo has ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to map locations that offer job opportunities to overseas Filipino workers as a government countermeasure against massive job losses as a result of global economic crisis. She instructed the POEA to identify “Code Green” destination countries for OFWs as the government braces for the homecoming of some 50,000 workers starting next month who will lose their jobs. Mrs. Arroyo signed two administrative orders instructing the POEA to draft the global employment map and the Labor Department to make available P250 million for the Filipino Expatriate Livelihood Support Fund in a bid to cushion the impact of the global economic meltdown on OFWs whose dollar remittances have helped keep the local economy afloat. In AO 247, she ordered the POEA to identify Code Green areas or countries that are aggressively recruiting foreign workers and as such are natural deployment sites for OFWs. Nurses, teachers remain in demand FILIPINO nurses and teachers would remain in demand in North America and Europe despite the global economic crisis. Ernesto Herrera, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines secretary general, said teachers, nurses, pharmacists, medical technologists, physical therapists and trained caregivers are still welcome in countries hardest hit by the economic meltdown. Filipino nurses who acquire post-graduate training to qualify themselves in teaching posts are even more attractive to the US market, the TUCP officer said. More than 20,000 Filipinos strive to enter America's nursing profession every year, according to the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for unskilled Filipino workers such as domestic staff as well as semi-skilled laborers in construction, semiconductors and electronics, and the travel and hospitality industries, which Herrera said are “exceptionally susceptible” to job cuts. Help for retrenched OFWs THE Department of Labor and Employment has said it would be dispatching “reintegration teams” to companies employing overseas Filipino workers who face layoffs due to the global financial crisis. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the teams would be led by welfare officers from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and other staff from the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices that are located in various parts of the world. The teams would be sent to work sites starting January in South Korea, Taiwan and other countries affected by the crisis, Roque said. He said the skills and work experiences of the OFWs would also be assessed if they want to be redeployed for available jobs in the country where they are or in other countries. For those who want to return home, they can either undergo skills retraining to help them get new jobs, whether local or overseas, or avail of government assistance in the form of microfinancing loans and livelihood programs, he added. Assistance for families left behind SENATOR Miriam Defensor Santiago has filed a bill that will provide welfare assistance and counseling services to the families of overseas Filipino workers. Known as “The Left-Behind Households of OFWs Act,” Santiago’s bill aims to establish OFW Family Centers that will serves as a link of left-behind households to various services offered by government agencies and non-government organizations concerned with overseas employment. “Despite the economic benefits brought by overseas employment, there are attendant costs in terms of family displacement,” Santiago said. Santiago cited reports from cases handled by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and NGOs that there is a link between social problems and the long separations between spouses and children. The social problems cited in the reports include broken marriages, drug addiction, sexual immorality, crime, suicide, and psychological breakdowns. Santiago's bill also seeks to direct the OWWA to develop a comprehensive re-unification, reintegration and replacement plan for returning OFWs. Pinoys top migrant group in Canada in 2007 FOR the first time, the Philippines has become Canada's largest source country for immigrants and temporary workers combined, signalling an important shift in immigration patterns. China has been the No. 1 source country for several years; but as its economy soared, it was surpassed by the Philippines, which sent 19,064 immigrants and 15,254 temporary workers to Canada in 2007. Permanent residents from China, while still the most numerous, decreased by one-third between 2005 and 2007, while immigrants from India, the second-largest group, dropped by 20 per cent in this period. Permanent residents from the Philippines are the third-largest group, and their numbers have more than doubled in the past decade. In 2007, more Filipinos arrived in Canada as temporary workers than any other nationality, except for Americans. VP goes after illegal recruiters VICE President Noli de Castro has vowed to rid the country of unscrupulous individuals involved in recruitment syndicates. De Castro, who heads the Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (TFAIR) and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipinos, on Dec. 16 reported the arrest of illegal recruiters and the rescue of 28 of the syndicate’s victims in Parañaque City. They allegedly promised the aspiring OFWs employment as domestic helpers in Lebanon and Syria. “In a month's time, we have already busted five alleged illegal recruitment syndicates,” he said. “TFAIR ensures that the country will be cleaned of illegal recruiters. Justice will be meted to these unconscionable culprits.” He added: “I appeal to the public to double check with POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) first before transacting with individuals concerning overseas employment.” 3,000 laid off workers return home FROM October to December 208, a total of 3,000 overseas Filipino workers who were laid off from their jobs had arrived home due to the global economic meltdown. Carmelita Dimzon, head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), said many of those laid off were factory workers from Taiwan. Some came from Macau. “The numbers aren’t alarming but it’s a cause of concern," Dimzon said adding that about 3,500 Filipinos continue to leave the country jobs overseas. Factory workers in semiconductor companies in Taiwan were among the hardest hit by the global economic crisis. Taiwan still needs Filipino workers DESPITE the global financial crisis, Taiwan would still need Filipino workers as it pushes ahead with major construction projects in 2009, a Taiwanese official said. Andrew LY Hsia, political deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei, said Taiwan set to launch 12 major projects next year that are expected to create jobs, both for Taiwanese and migrant workers. At present, there are 90,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan. In 2009 Taiwan may cut a total of 50,000 jobs, affecting both Taiwanese and migrant workers, according to earlier reports. Hsia claims Taiwan is not in a recession, unlike some industrialized countries, and the Taipei government is engaged in a number of measures, such as boosting consumer spending by giving out vouchers and building infrastructure. “The migrant workers, including Filipinos, are helping our economy,” he said. “As such, our government will be responsible in keeping it that way.” Migrant workers face layoffs -- ILO MILLIONS of migrant workers face layoffs and worsening conditions as the global financial crisis bites in the countries where they are employed, the International Labor Organization said. “While the full impact of the crisis on migrant workers is yet to unfold, there are reports of direct layoffs, worsening working conditions including wage cuts, increasing returns and reductions in immigrant intakes,” ILO Director General Juan Somavia said in a statement on the eve of International Migrants Day on Dec. 18. Somavia appealed to governments in host countries to “assess their labor market needs before resorting to general layoffs of migrant workers. It is important that migrant workers do not become scapegoats for the current financial and economic crisis.” In October, he warned that the financial crisis could lead to record global unemployment, with 20 million more people out of work by the end of 2009. If you have any feedback, reaction or comment about the article, please email buzzwordmedia@yahoo.com.
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