TWO-THIRDS OF WEST COAST FISHING BOATS FACED HARDSHIP AFTER LAST CRACKDOWN
Fresh fears have emerged that Scottish fishing skippers are to be forced to stop recruiting crew from the Philippines.
Emergency measures agreed by the Home Office in July allowed breathing space for Scotland’s fishing fleet amid a crisis which had threatened to leave it with severe crew shortages.
Two-thirds of fishing boats on Scotland’s west coast faced hardship after the UK Border Agency (UKBA) ordered all Filipino crew on inshore vessels to go home.
But the emergency measures and further steps taken by the industry in September, when fishing leaders secured an agreement on visas for Filipino crewmen, allowed recruitment from the south-east Asian country to continue.
Now, it is feared the situation could be about to change – leaving skippers at risk of losing existing crew members as well as an important source of industry-ready workers.
According to Mallaig and North West Fishermen’s Association secretary John Hermse, there are about 900 Filipinos currently working on Scottish boats.
Mr Hermse said they were making a huge contribution to the industry, bringing skills which were difficult to find in Scotland.
He highlighted the recent case of a west coast skipper who advertised locally for crewmen, only to be let down badly by all three people who took up jobs.
Two of the recruits lasted just a few days and the third just wanted the work to satisfy benefit requirements, said Mr Hermse, adding that none of the trio were suited for work at sea.
Mr Hermse said: “If recruitment from the Philippines is stopped, then a lot of boats will not have enough crew to go to sea.
“They will find it extremely difficult to attract and retain other workers.”
The latest fears are based on reports from recruitment agents in the Philippines who have allegedly been told that a UKBA crackdown is on its way.
But the UKBA insisted talks aimed at resolving the matter were still ongoing.
Jonathan Sedgwick, the agency’s chief executive, said: “We have been holding discussions with those involved in the fishing industry and devolved governments about how the health, safety and welfare of foreign nationals working in the fishing fleet can be protected and how we can ensure that they are not being exploited.”
“The viability of the UK’s fishing fleet cannot be delivered on the back of exploitation.”
Mr Sedgwick said it was “inappropriate to import unskilled labour”, especially while restrictions remained on some EU nationals.
He added: “The agency will enforce our laws and ensure that those who are in the UK illegally, leave.
“This tough action works alongside the points-based immigration system to safeguard the interests of local workers.”
Western Isles SNP MP Angus MacNeil urged the UK Government to put any planned changes on hold until the results of a submission to the migration advisory committee – making the case for fishing crewmen to be added to the Scottish shortage occupation list – are known. - KEITH FINDLAY, The Press and Journal, 18/11/2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Philippine floods spur move to high-rises
MANILA: High-rise living has suddenly become more popular in Manila after killer storms caused massive flooding in the Philippine capital, property industry officials said here on Tuesday.
Businesses are also moving to higher ground to avoid a repeat of the devastation from recent storms, which killed more than 1,100 people in Manila and other parts of the island of Luzon, the officials told a business forum.
"More Filipinos will embrace high-rise living. They still prefer single-detached homes, but now they are more open to high-rises," Robinsons Land Corporation vice president Henry Yap told the forum.
After the storms "we had a barrage of calls (from people) wanting to rent out our high-rise units."
Tropical storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rains in more than four decades on Manila on September 26, leaving more than 80 per cent of the city flooded.
This was compounded a week later by Typhoon Parma, which caused most damage further north on Luzon but also brought more rains to Manila.
Nearly two months after Ketsana, hundreds of thousands of people are still living in flooded areas on the outskirts of Manila.
"Some people were traumatised (by the floods) and don't want to go home," said Corazon Guidote, head of SM Investments Corporation, a holding company with real estate interests.
"You can already see a migration to certain areas. People are going to areas which are of higher elevation. Rental rates in some areas have gone up because of the migration. There will be more demand for high-rises," he added.
However, Guidote did not give specifics.
Other companies said they were also reviewing their plans for disaster preparedness in the wake of the floods.
"We are putting some of our treatment plants on stilts," said Frank Beaumont, group director of Manila Water Company, the capital's main water distributor. - AFP/sc, channelnewsasia.com, 17 November 2009 1718 hrs (SST)
Businesses are also moving to higher ground to avoid a repeat of the devastation from recent storms, which killed more than 1,100 people in Manila and other parts of the island of Luzon, the officials told a business forum.
"More Filipinos will embrace high-rise living. They still prefer single-detached homes, but now they are more open to high-rises," Robinsons Land Corporation vice president Henry Yap told the forum.
After the storms "we had a barrage of calls (from people) wanting to rent out our high-rise units."
Tropical storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rains in more than four decades on Manila on September 26, leaving more than 80 per cent of the city flooded.
This was compounded a week later by Typhoon Parma, which caused most damage further north on Luzon but also brought more rains to Manila.
Nearly two months after Ketsana, hundreds of thousands of people are still living in flooded areas on the outskirts of Manila.
"Some people were traumatised (by the floods) and don't want to go home," said Corazon Guidote, head of SM Investments Corporation, a holding company with real estate interests.
"You can already see a migration to certain areas. People are going to areas which are of higher elevation. Rental rates in some areas have gone up because of the migration. There will be more demand for high-rises," he added.
However, Guidote did not give specifics.
Other companies said they were also reviewing their plans for disaster preparedness in the wake of the floods.
"We are putting some of our treatment plants on stilts," said Frank Beaumont, group director of Manila Water Company, the capital's main water distributor. - AFP/sc, channelnewsasia.com, 17 November 2009 1718 hrs (SST)
Harnessing OFW remittances
A NEWS report quoting a study conducted by a civic group, Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities, as saying that about 70 percent of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are unable to save or invest for themselves due to financial-management illiteracy reflects lost opportunity.
With 10 percent of the 92 million Filipinos, or 9 million, working abroad and sending money back home, there is so much money that could have been invested in productive enterprises.
Last year OFWs sent home $16.4 million. If the projection of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) proves right that the OFW remittances will grow 4 percent this year, these remittances will top $17 billion this year. Remittances have been valued at 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and have been credited with fueling household consumption, which accounts for 70 percent of the country’s economy.
For next year, the BSP predicts that remittances will grow by another 6 percent because of the global economic recovery.
Think how much impact it would have if the country can harness the potentials of this big money coming in from other countries every year, beyond fueling household consumption like the purchase of appliances and home improvements. To think that the exports of Filipino labor have been going on since the Marcos years in the 1970s, which at the time served as a safety valve for disgruntled Filipinos who couldn’t find jobs in the country.
The Filipino diaspora has continued since then. And, yes, OFWs were able to provide for the expenses of their families back home, for the purchase of household appliances and for the education of their children. But not much beyond that. We’re thinking in terms of savings and investments, not expenses for fiestas or other profligate ways that dry up savings. We’re thinking of making OFWs entrepreneurs.
Atikha executive director Mai Añonuevo says the OFWs’ failure to save and invest negates the opportunity to harness their remittances for developing communities, especially the rural areas, through the establishment of social enterprises funded by OFW money. This means creating businesses, owned by the OFWs and which will create jobs.
The biggest hurdle seems to be the lack of financial literacy of the OFWs themselves. We have to realize that most of these OFWs did not have training in business and finance before they left the country to work abroad. Neither did they have the opportunity to get training abroad because they have been busy working and earning.
The European Commission (EC) and the United Nations (UN) have taken the initiative to help by collaborating with local nongovernment organizations. They provided P52.3 million for various projects, including one that seeks to maximize the gains and minimize the social cost of overseas migration through the development of initiatives that will enhance the OFWs’ financial literacy and their families.
Mayan Villaba, who handles the “Enhancing the Capacity of Migrants as Partners of Economic Development” program, also funded by the EC and the UN, explains that remittances have the potential to develop rural communities and provide jobs to townsfolk, if OFW savings are invested in social enterprise.
This is really a matter of proper budgeting and goal-setting, says Añonuevo, and the OFWs will be able to save and invest for their future. We agree and we should work for that, because OFWs, after years of working abroad, will have to think about the time when they come back home for good. They would need something to do with their time and savings. Wouldn’t it be nice if they can contribute something to their communities with their enterprises that create jobs? - Editorial, Business Mirror, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:55
With 10 percent of the 92 million Filipinos, or 9 million, working abroad and sending money back home, there is so much money that could have been invested in productive enterprises.
Last year OFWs sent home $16.4 million. If the projection of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) proves right that the OFW remittances will grow 4 percent this year, these remittances will top $17 billion this year. Remittances have been valued at 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and have been credited with fueling household consumption, which accounts for 70 percent of the country’s economy.
For next year, the BSP predicts that remittances will grow by another 6 percent because of the global economic recovery.
Think how much impact it would have if the country can harness the potentials of this big money coming in from other countries every year, beyond fueling household consumption like the purchase of appliances and home improvements. To think that the exports of Filipino labor have been going on since the Marcos years in the 1970s, which at the time served as a safety valve for disgruntled Filipinos who couldn’t find jobs in the country.
The Filipino diaspora has continued since then. And, yes, OFWs were able to provide for the expenses of their families back home, for the purchase of household appliances and for the education of their children. But not much beyond that. We’re thinking in terms of savings and investments, not expenses for fiestas or other profligate ways that dry up savings. We’re thinking of making OFWs entrepreneurs.
Atikha executive director Mai Añonuevo says the OFWs’ failure to save and invest negates the opportunity to harness their remittances for developing communities, especially the rural areas, through the establishment of social enterprises funded by OFW money. This means creating businesses, owned by the OFWs and which will create jobs.
The biggest hurdle seems to be the lack of financial literacy of the OFWs themselves. We have to realize that most of these OFWs did not have training in business and finance before they left the country to work abroad. Neither did they have the opportunity to get training abroad because they have been busy working and earning.
The European Commission (EC) and the United Nations (UN) have taken the initiative to help by collaborating with local nongovernment organizations. They provided P52.3 million for various projects, including one that seeks to maximize the gains and minimize the social cost of overseas migration through the development of initiatives that will enhance the OFWs’ financial literacy and their families.
Mayan Villaba, who handles the “Enhancing the Capacity of Migrants as Partners of Economic Development” program, also funded by the EC and the UN, explains that remittances have the potential to develop rural communities and provide jobs to townsfolk, if OFW savings are invested in social enterprise.
This is really a matter of proper budgeting and goal-setting, says Añonuevo, and the OFWs will be able to save and invest for their future. We agree and we should work for that, because OFWs, after years of working abroad, will have to think about the time when they come back home for good. They would need something to do with their time and savings. Wouldn’t it be nice if they can contribute something to their communities with their enterprises that create jobs? - Editorial, Business Mirror, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:55
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