SECRETARY
MANILA,
JULY 8, 2011 (TRIBUNE) Up to 140,000 Philippine workers
could lose their jobs in Saudi Arabia due to a domestic helper ban and a program
to compel firms to employ more locals, Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda
Baldoz (photo) said yesterday.
Between 20,000-50,000 Filipino domestic workers in
hit by Saudi Arabia's decision announced last month to stop granting work
permits to Philippine and Indonesian maids, Baldoz said.
Another 90,000 Filipinos of the 1.3 million working there could be affected
by the new policy of imposing quotas for local staff, though the specializ0ed
skills of the majority should allow many to hang on to their jobs, she added.
"Let us not talk about everyone being sent home. That is impossible. You
can't just replace skilled workers," Baldoz told a news forum.
However, the "Saudization" policy would affect mainly unskilled workers like
manual laborers, janitors, drivers and gardeners, she added.
Saudi Arabia said last week it would stop granting work permits to Philippine
and Indonesian maids after failing to agree on hiring conditions imposed by the
Asian countries.
Baldoz said the maids ban would mainly affect new applicants and not those
already working there.
However, the exact implications were still unclear and she said she hoped to
negotiate with Saudi officials to minimize their effects.
The main issue appears to be the demand, backed by Philippine law, for a base
monthly salary of 400 dollars for domestic workers, she said. Saudi Arabia
rejects the salary floor, she added. AFP
VP Binay asks POEA, government agencies not to burden OFWs
07/08/2011 DAILY TRIBUNE
Vice President and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers' (OFW)
Concerns Jejomar Binay today asked the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration (POEA) and other frontline government agencies to immediately
find ways to simplify the processing of documents for overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs).
"Government should not be a burden to our OFWs. We should exert all effort to
assist them and make their interaction with government offices simple,
convenient and pleasant," he said.
Binay issued the statement in reaction to an article published in a
broadsheet yesterday which related the experience of an OFW applying for an exit
clearance at the POEA.
The Vice President said he hopes POEA Administrator Carlos Cao would
investigate and resolve the matter as soon as possible.
"We must take the comments of our OFWs seriously and we are grateful to those
who take the time to comment on how government could improve its service
delivery. I trust that Administrator Cao shares my sentiments that the
government should work for the welfare of all OFWs and this entails facilitating
their papers speedily and without hassles," Binay said.
The Vice President also said he expects that corrupt practices could be
stemmed by cutting the red tape at the POEA.
"Streamlining our processes and procedures would also eliminate the risk of
our kababayans falling prey to human trafficking syndicates and other
unscrupulous individuals," added Binay, who is also the chairman emeritus of the
Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.
Aussie court gives 4 Pinoy oil rig workers chance to claim
backpay By Michaela P. del Callar 07/08/2011
Four underpaid Filipino oil rig workers would have the chance to reclaim more
than AUS$100,000 worth of back payments owed them after an Australian labor
dispute settlements court decided to prosecute three companies, and one company
director for labor violations.
The Australian Workers' Union (AWU), which has been fighting for the rights
of the Filipinos since the beginning of the year, discovered that the four were
only being paid AUS$3 an hour or about P137 in local currency — less than what a
high school student working at a suburban McDonald's outlet gets in Australia.
"The sad fact for those four Filipino workers was that they were earning only
$900 a month for working an 84-hour week on a floating oil rig located several
hundred kilometers off the coast of Western Australia in a cyclone zone," Paul
Howes, AWU National Secretary, lamented.
Howes said this is not the first time that the union has discovered and
campaigned to protect foreign workers subjected to "slave-labor style
conditions" on local off-shore oil and gas fields.
Every year, thousands of Filipinos leave the Philippines in search for better
opportunities abroad. But many of them, in their desperation to seek greener
pastures, end up in dire working conditions and exploited by their employers.
A favorable court ruling would grant the Filipino victims at least
AUS$120,000 worth of unreceived salaries.
Howes said the Australian government promised to ban Asian workers from
toiling on oil fields off Western Australia. But three years after, he said big
oil firms continue "misusing Asian workers."
"Filipino and other Asian workers are now being brought in by dodgy
sub-contractors, while the big brand name oil and gas multinationals wash their
hands of all responsibility," he said.
"The best way is to ensure responsibility is taken right across the labor
supply chain to deliver decency and respect and then to act quickly, and
decisively, to shut down scams," Howes said.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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