27 February, 2010- An Amnesty International report, entitled “Disposable labour: Rights of migrant workers in South Korea,” documents the abhorrent working conditions that immigrants face. The study, released last October, clearly establishes that while South Korea was one of the first Asian countries to formally recognise the rights of foreign migrant workers, its Employment Permit System (EPS) does nothing more than legitimise the brutal exploitation of cheap labour from poorer countries.
Under the EPS, introduced in 2004, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that employ less than 300 workers can hire migrants from 15 approved countries, mainly from China (especially Korean-Chinese), Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand. As of October 2009, there were about 680,000 migrant workers in South Korea, mainly working in factories producing textiles and electronics, but also involved in prostitution.
South Korea’s export-led economy has been increasingly squeezed, as it cannot compete with China’s vast cheap labour, nor is it technologically advanced enough to rival Japan. Introducing foreign low-cost labour became a key policy, not only to boost profitability for the corporations directly hiring them, but to use them to undermine the wages and conditions of the working class as whole. More than five million workers, or one-third of the South Korean workforce, have already been made contract workers, receiving just 60 percent of the average wages of permanent workers.
The report noted: “Although low-skilled South Korean workers also suffer from some of the abusive work conditions documented in this report, migrant workers are at greater risk because of their status. Both regular and irregular migrant workers face discrimination, and verbal and physical abuse in the workplace. They are required to work long hours and night shifts, many without overtime pay, and often have their wages withheld. On average, they are paid less than South Korean workers in similar jobs and are at greater risk of industrial accidents with inadequate medical treatment or compensation. EPS workers are tied to their employer and face restrictions in changing jobs, making them particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation such as unfair dismissal.”
The introduction of cheap immigrant labour is bound up with the contradictions of South Korea’s industrialisation. Large Korean corporations are able to move parts of production overseas, where wages are much lower than in South Korea. But Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with no capital to do so, can remain competitive only by relying on migrant workers who are attracted to South Korea by the illusion that they will be offered good jobs and earn money to support their families. From the 1980s, illegal migrant workers appeared in South Korea, forcing the government to introduce various schemes in the 1990s to regulate this market.
Before 2004, the system allowed the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses to extract exorbitant recruitment fees from foreign workers, forcing many to incur large debts, thus leading them to stay as “irregular” workers beyond the legally allowed three-year period. Proposed legislation for limited reform of the migrant work scheme was put on hold at the outbreak of Asian financial crisis in 1997–98.
By 2002, a staggering 85 percent of the low-skilled migrant workers were “irregular”—a situation that led to the introduction of the EPS, under the pretext of providing basic protections lacking in the former programs.
The EPS, however, traps workers even before they leave their home countries. Workers seeking to immigrate often must pay outrageous broker fees in order to obtain work permits. Amnesty International reports that these broker fees, on average, cost $US2,000, but can go as high as $9,500. In other words, workers are often in debt even before they arrive.
Workers under the EPS are bound to their employers for a three-year period, during which they are forbidden to change jobs without their employers’ permission. Even then, workers may shift employment only four times, making it less likely that they will complain about poor working conditions. On top of that, workers are allotted two months to find a new job after leaving an employer, or they become irregular, a status most workers want to avoid.
What makes the situation worse is that employers must renew workers’ contracts each year. This is to ensure that workers remain submissive, no matter how bad the conditions, placing migrant workers at the risk of verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment and the withholding of wages.
According to a 2008 survey cited by Amnesty International, more than 50 percent of migrant workers indicated that their wages, working hours, provision of food and accommodation, and breaks and rest days were different from what their employer had originally promised. Wages were often withheld from migrant workers, especially in the months leading up to the conclusion of a contract, because employers knew that workers would not have the time or ability to file a complaint and stay in South Korea long enough to recover lost wages.
Many migrant workers find that the accommodation promised to them is nothing more than shipping containers on land owned by the company. Migrants are also forced to work long hours with few rest days. A Filipino worker employed at an electronics factory told Amnesty: “We were given only one day off per month and sometimes when it was busy, the management would even make you work on your free day. Korean workers were able to take days off regularly and didn’t have to work such crazy hours like we did. On top of all this, our severance pay did not include overtime, which is significant considering the amount of overtime we did.”
For many female migrant workers, sexual harassment—which can take place in the workplace or in their living quarters—becomes the norm. Out of fear of losing their jobs, many choose not to report sexual abuse. Even if a woman does so, she often has little choice but to stay at the company with which she is employed, until the case is resolved. In some cases, that can take two months, but the process can drag on for much longer because investigations are conducted at the convenience of the employer.
The ugliest exploitation of female workers occurs in the “entertainment sector”. Women are unknowingly recruited to be prostitutes, which is illegal but essentially sanctioned by the government, which issues special E-6 visas for them. Amnesty noted: “Upon arrival in South Korea, they discover that their job in reality is to serve and solicit drinks from US soldiers and at some establishments they are forced to have sex with their clients. With little recourse available to them, trafficked E-6 workers either remain in their jobs or run away. Those who run away are doubly victimised, first as trafficked women and then as ‘illegal’ migrants under South Korean law.”
Just as the global financial crisis erupted in September 2008, the government announced it would “harshly deal with illegal foreigners” and halve the estimated 220,000 illegal migrant workers by 2012. The result is dramatically increased, and sometimes violent, raids in workplaces, streets, markets and even homes, resulting in deportations. At the same time, thousands of foreign workers are being recruited into the country each month “legally”.
This fact alone should make it abundantly clear the government’s true purpose. By last year, one third of migrant workers had become “irregular”. The threat of illegal status is used to provide the capitalist elite with cheap labour that is more compliant and easily manipulated, in order to lower the wages and conditions of the entire working class. - By Ben McGrath, WSWS.org
Showing posts with label Challenges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Challenges. Show all posts
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Verdict favours Filipino workers
November 26, 2010 - THE Dubai Labour Court (DLC) has ruled in favour of four cleaners who are among 83 women workers from the Philippines, who had filed a case against their Emirati employer for abandonment since 2009.
On Thursday, Labour Attache for Dubai and the Northern Emirates Amilbahar Amilasan told The Gulf Today that the DLC had decided that Maria Elena Amba, Merly Perez, Jonalyn Dordas and Mary Grace Teneros, be paid their two months salary of Dhs1,400 each by Lavito Cleaning Services firm owner KHAM.
Amilasan said the four are expected to receive their salary 15 days after the DLC announced the verdict on Nov. 24.
Amilasan said the DLC gave weight on KHAM’s non-appearance throughout the trial, thereby waiving his right to contest the complaint for the non-payment of salaries.
He said, Dubai Ministry of Labour (MoL) would release the payment for the salaries, secured from the bond KHAM had deposited with the government office, when he hired over 90 Filipino women cleaners.
Of the over 90, at least seven had gone home for health reasons and after experiencing delayed salaries, inhumane living conditions.
“The court has also allowed the four to seek re-employment in the UAE,” Amilasan said.
Assistant Labour Attache Venus Abad said the employment papers of the four women are already being processed by the Micro for Services cleaning firm.
Micro for Services is one of two companies-the other one is Prime Technical Services-which have been accredited by the Philippine Overseas Labour Office in Dubai (Polo-Dubai)-to employ at least 25 of the 83 women.
These firms passed all of the standards set by the Philippine government in terms of the employees’ benefits and privileges, the physical existence of their offices as well as the accommodations, Abad said.
The four women said they will be cleaners at a government school in Fujeirah.
They were the first to lodge the complaint against KHAM before the MoL on July 27, 2010.
They filed a case against KHAM before the Naif Police Station for the retrieval of their passports on Aug.10.
DLC hearings began on Sept.3.
Thereafter, the DLC has been attending to three other related cases filed against KHAM by the other 79.
The 79 must be paid Dhs7,000 each, once they win their respective cases, based on the MoL computations and analysis of their gratuities, unpaid salaries and other unmet benefits and privileges, Amilasan said.
It was learnt that 55 of the 79 are currently sheltered at the Polo-Dubai Filipino Workers Resource Centre.
Of these, 11 had expressed their desire to return home and awaiting their airline tickets to be shouldered in the meantime by the Philippines’ Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
As stipulated in the laws governing the overseas employment of Filipinos, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) shall press for the manpower agencies of these women to pay for their repatriation tickets.
These are the Al Dana in Dubai and the Al Farabi in Metro Manila.
Al Dana remains to be blacklisted by Polo-Dubai from May 2, 2009 when then Labour Attache Virginia Calves received the first major complaint of contract substitution (salary down to Dhs800 from Dhs1,800) contrary to contracts signed in Metro Manila.
Al Farabi was shut down by the POEA. - Mariecar Jara-Puyod, http://gulftoday.ae
On Thursday, Labour Attache for Dubai and the Northern Emirates Amilbahar Amilasan told The Gulf Today that the DLC had decided that Maria Elena Amba, Merly Perez, Jonalyn Dordas and Mary Grace Teneros, be paid their two months salary of Dhs1,400 each by Lavito Cleaning Services firm owner KHAM.
Amilasan said the four are expected to receive their salary 15 days after the DLC announced the verdict on Nov. 24.
Amilasan said the DLC gave weight on KHAM’s non-appearance throughout the trial, thereby waiving his right to contest the complaint for the non-payment of salaries.
He said, Dubai Ministry of Labour (MoL) would release the payment for the salaries, secured from the bond KHAM had deposited with the government office, when he hired over 90 Filipino women cleaners.
Of the over 90, at least seven had gone home for health reasons and after experiencing delayed salaries, inhumane living conditions.
“The court has also allowed the four to seek re-employment in the UAE,” Amilasan said.
Assistant Labour Attache Venus Abad said the employment papers of the four women are already being processed by the Micro for Services cleaning firm.
Micro for Services is one of two companies-the other one is Prime Technical Services-which have been accredited by the Philippine Overseas Labour Office in Dubai (Polo-Dubai)-to employ at least 25 of the 83 women.
These firms passed all of the standards set by the Philippine government in terms of the employees’ benefits and privileges, the physical existence of their offices as well as the accommodations, Abad said.
The four women said they will be cleaners at a government school in Fujeirah.
They were the first to lodge the complaint against KHAM before the MoL on July 27, 2010.
They filed a case against KHAM before the Naif Police Station for the retrieval of their passports on Aug.10.
DLC hearings began on Sept.3.
Thereafter, the DLC has been attending to three other related cases filed against KHAM by the other 79.
The 79 must be paid Dhs7,000 each, once they win their respective cases, based on the MoL computations and analysis of their gratuities, unpaid salaries and other unmet benefits and privileges, Amilasan said.
It was learnt that 55 of the 79 are currently sheltered at the Polo-Dubai Filipino Workers Resource Centre.
Of these, 11 had expressed their desire to return home and awaiting their airline tickets to be shouldered in the meantime by the Philippines’ Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
As stipulated in the laws governing the overseas employment of Filipinos, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) shall press for the manpower agencies of these women to pay for their repatriation tickets.
These are the Al Dana in Dubai and the Al Farabi in Metro Manila.
Al Dana remains to be blacklisted by Polo-Dubai from May 2, 2009 when then Labour Attache Virginia Calves received the first major complaint of contract substitution (salary down to Dhs800 from Dhs1,800) contrary to contracts signed in Metro Manila.
Al Farabi was shut down by the POEA. - Mariecar Jara-Puyod, http://gulftoday.ae
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Need for inter-cultural education in South Korea
March 26, 2008: South Korean President Lee Myung Bak’s initiative to curb abuses experienced by foreign wives of Koreans, particularly those from China, the Philippines and Vietnam, is highly commendable, especially in March, women’s month.
But these wives are not the only victims of abuse by some Koreans. Foreign workers are also experiencing maltreatment from some Korean employers. Compulsory study by Koreans of another culture, whether for inter-racial marriage or employment, is important.
Statistics show that misunderstanding between Korean employers and foreign workers is basically cultural. These foreign workers experience culture shock from misunderstandings due to difficulty with the Korean language. As South Korea welcomes the whole world, it also creates a negative image in the foreign community.
Last February the South Korean Ministry of Labor announced its plan to bring in 132,000 foreign workers to supply the workforce for small and medium-scale industries in the country. But studies show that as the number of foreign workers increases, so do work-related problems.
The foreign community is asking for regular monitoring of the working conditions of foreign workers. There are reports of their predicaments and struggles in their work conditions. Problems usually occur when a foreign worker loses a job and it takes time to find a new one, especially for female workers. Foreign workers and NGOs are requesting for shelter houses for distressed workers under the government-to-government Employment Permit System.
All foreign workers need protection from both the country of origin and South Korea as both sides benefit from foreign workers.
There must also be intensive culture study programs to educate both employers and workers, along with foreign wives and Korean husbands. - Elizer Peñaranda (elizer_penaranda05@yahoo.com), INQUIRER.net
But these wives are not the only victims of abuse by some Koreans. Foreign workers are also experiencing maltreatment from some Korean employers. Compulsory study by Koreans of another culture, whether for inter-racial marriage or employment, is important.
Statistics show that misunderstanding between Korean employers and foreign workers is basically cultural. These foreign workers experience culture shock from misunderstandings due to difficulty with the Korean language. As South Korea welcomes the whole world, it also creates a negative image in the foreign community.
Last February the South Korean Ministry of Labor announced its plan to bring in 132,000 foreign workers to supply the workforce for small and medium-scale industries in the country. But studies show that as the number of foreign workers increases, so do work-related problems.
The foreign community is asking for regular monitoring of the working conditions of foreign workers. There are reports of their predicaments and struggles in their work conditions. Problems usually occur when a foreign worker loses a job and it takes time to find a new one, especially for female workers. Foreign workers and NGOs are requesting for shelter houses for distressed workers under the government-to-government Employment Permit System.
All foreign workers need protection from both the country of origin and South Korea as both sides benefit from foreign workers.
There must also be intensive culture study programs to educate both employers and workers, along with foreign wives and Korean husbands. - Elizer Peñaranda (elizer_penaranda05@yahoo.com), INQUIRER.net
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Brokers of migrant workers in Taiwan protest to secure profits
March 10, 2008 - On Jan 28, protesters gathered round the CLA (Council of Labor Affairs); instead of angry unemployed laborers, they were brokers who have made bucks by "importing" migrant labors into Taiwan, protesting for their tarnished business by the "direct employment" policy implemented by the CLA.
"Direct employment" is a policy that labor NGOs have demanded for years. Taiwan has been using migrant workers for 18 years, for as long its society somehow has held discrimination against them, regarding them as highly replaceable workforces. Foreign labor policy is one of the major exploiters of the migrant workers.
Wu Jing-Ru (吳靜如), Secretary General of TIWA (Taiwan International Workers Association,台灣國際勞工協會) pointed out five major problems in Taiwan's foreign labor policy, including the limit imposed on working duration, the broker system, the inapplicability of Labor Standards Law (勞基法) on migrant workers, deprivation of rights to form labor unions and choose their employers. Wu said the discriminating policies have justified the exploitation of migrant workers, and the NGOs have
to unite and ask for changes in the policy.
In 2005, migrant workers for Kaohsiung's MRT system rioted against slavery, which case exposed the inadequacy of migrant labor policies. However, the case only resulted in political quarrels, bringing hardly any change on policies.
Brokers, of course, become the beneficiaries. Before 2001, the commission of introducing migrant workers depended solely on demand and supply, when brokers knew how desperate southeastern Asians were to go to richer countries to make a living, therefore demanding a sky-high commission. In most cases, during the three years the migrant worker is allowed to stay in Taiwan, they spent their first two years working to pay off the commission. Because the workers in debt have no
freedom to choose their employers, they either put up with unfair treatment, or become "runaway workers," who often take the blame for rising criminal activities.
On November 9, 2001, under the pressure of labor NGOs, the CLA finally announced a regulation, prohibiting the brokers from getting "commission;" instead, they can only ask for "service charges," which is no more than $1800 NT per month during the first year, $1700 per month during the second year, and $1500 during the third.
However, Taiwanese brokers have teamed up with brokers in the workers' home countries, cheating the migrant labors into signing an enormous loan contract, so the brokers on both sides can share the commission in the dark.
Though the CLA knows about it, there is nothing they can do. For one thing, the broker system enables the officials and employers to easily manage and control the workers. The government wants to get cheap labor on one hand, but doesn't want the migrant labors to establish their own job seeking networks on the other hand. For another thing, the brokers are connected to huge amount of interests, like the broker company for Kaohsiung MRT who hooked up with the secretary of presidential office.
Through years of fighting, the CLA finally got their hands on the ''direct employment'' policy suggested by the labor NGOs. Currently it is applicable only on employers who have already hired household helpers and have demand for re-employment after a three-year contract, and the CLA has said the policy would be extended to first-time migrant workers and factory workers later only if the first stage goes well. However, since the brokers' interests have been tarnished, they gathered on Jan 28, 2008 to protest by the CLA.
Mr. Ou, former chairperson of Taipei Employment Service Institute Association (台北市就業服務公會) said the protest of the brokers was not targeted toward the direct employment policy, because all the other countries are adopting both broker system and direct employment.
According to Ou, the brokers are angered because the procedures required in direct employment are much simpler than the brokers, who are asked to provide more documents. The brokers are protesting against the government's intention to take profits away from the people who make a living as brokers.
But, Wu Jing-Ru thinks that service offered by the government should of course be better. What's more, the employment procedures of blue-collar labors are still much more complicated than those of white-collar ones, which Wu considers to be class discrimination.
Meanwhile, this is why brokers manage to find profits from the complexity of the procedures.
That is to say, though the employment of some of the migrant workers have been made easier, the brokers can still play around with the regulations; some of them are already trying to convince the employers that direct employment still incorporates many procedures, which they can help simplify with extra charges, and the migrant workers will still be the victims.
Wu also thinks that, apart from the realization of direct employment, there are still many things the CLA should do. Not until the CLA examines its migrant worker policies as a whole regardless of pressure from the brokers, the situation of labors will never be better off. - http://www.newscham.net
* People's Media Chamsaesang starts exchanges with Coolloud, a progressive media in Taiwan. You can visit coolloud at http://www.coolloud.org.tw
"Direct employment" is a policy that labor NGOs have demanded for years. Taiwan has been using migrant workers for 18 years, for as long its society somehow has held discrimination against them, regarding them as highly replaceable workforces. Foreign labor policy is one of the major exploiters of the migrant workers.
Wu Jing-Ru (吳靜如), Secretary General of TIWA (Taiwan International Workers Association,台灣國際勞工協會) pointed out five major problems in Taiwan's foreign labor policy, including the limit imposed on working duration, the broker system, the inapplicability of Labor Standards Law (勞基法) on migrant workers, deprivation of rights to form labor unions and choose their employers. Wu said the discriminating policies have justified the exploitation of migrant workers, and the NGOs have
to unite and ask for changes in the policy.
In 2005, migrant workers for Kaohsiung's MRT system rioted against slavery, which case exposed the inadequacy of migrant labor policies. However, the case only resulted in political quarrels, bringing hardly any change on policies.
Brokers, of course, become the beneficiaries. Before 2001, the commission of introducing migrant workers depended solely on demand and supply, when brokers knew how desperate southeastern Asians were to go to richer countries to make a living, therefore demanding a sky-high commission. In most cases, during the three years the migrant worker is allowed to stay in Taiwan, they spent their first two years working to pay off the commission. Because the workers in debt have no
freedom to choose their employers, they either put up with unfair treatment, or become "runaway workers," who often take the blame for rising criminal activities.
On November 9, 2001, under the pressure of labor NGOs, the CLA finally announced a regulation, prohibiting the brokers from getting "commission;" instead, they can only ask for "service charges," which is no more than $1800 NT per month during the first year, $1700 per month during the second year, and $1500 during the third.
However, Taiwanese brokers have teamed up with brokers in the workers' home countries, cheating the migrant labors into signing an enormous loan contract, so the brokers on both sides can share the commission in the dark.
Though the CLA knows about it, there is nothing they can do. For one thing, the broker system enables the officials and employers to easily manage and control the workers. The government wants to get cheap labor on one hand, but doesn't want the migrant labors to establish their own job seeking networks on the other hand. For another thing, the brokers are connected to huge amount of interests, like the broker company for Kaohsiung MRT who hooked up with the secretary of presidential office.
Through years of fighting, the CLA finally got their hands on the ''direct employment'' policy suggested by the labor NGOs. Currently it is applicable only on employers who have already hired household helpers and have demand for re-employment after a three-year contract, and the CLA has said the policy would be extended to first-time migrant workers and factory workers later only if the first stage goes well. However, since the brokers' interests have been tarnished, they gathered on Jan 28, 2008 to protest by the CLA.
Mr. Ou, former chairperson of Taipei Employment Service Institute Association (台北市就業服務公會) said the protest of the brokers was not targeted toward the direct employment policy, because all the other countries are adopting both broker system and direct employment.
According to Ou, the brokers are angered because the procedures required in direct employment are much simpler than the brokers, who are asked to provide more documents. The brokers are protesting against the government's intention to take profits away from the people who make a living as brokers.
But, Wu Jing-Ru thinks that service offered by the government should of course be better. What's more, the employment procedures of blue-collar labors are still much more complicated than those of white-collar ones, which Wu considers to be class discrimination.
Meanwhile, this is why brokers manage to find profits from the complexity of the procedures.
That is to say, though the employment of some of the migrant workers have been made easier, the brokers can still play around with the regulations; some of them are already trying to convince the employers that direct employment still incorporates many procedures, which they can help simplify with extra charges, and the migrant workers will still be the victims.
Wu also thinks that, apart from the realization of direct employment, there are still many things the CLA should do. Not until the CLA examines its migrant worker policies as a whole regardless of pressure from the brokers, the situation of labors will never be better off. - http://www.newscham.net
* People's Media Chamsaesang starts exchanges with Coolloud, a progressive media in Taiwan. You can visit coolloud at http://www.coolloud.org.tw
Sunday, November 14, 2010
More than 1,400 runaway migrant workers detained
CRACKDOWN:As well as the workers, 18 illegal labor brokers and 150 people who had illegally employed foreigners have also been uncovered
6 Nov 2010 -- More than 1,400 runaway migrant workers have been detained during a crackdown over the past month in response to the deaths of illegally employed migrants at a construction site in late September, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
“As of Nov. 3, 1,414 runaway foreign workers had been rounded up since the launch of a massive crackdown on Oct. 1,” Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said. “Absconded migrant workers are encouraged to come forward and to end their days in hiding, which puts them at risk of being mistreated by employers who hire them illegally.”
The National Immigration Agency will help those who give themselves up return to their home countries quickly and safely, he said.
Over the past month, 150 people who had illegally employed foreign workers and 18 illegal labor brokers were also uncovered, Jiang said.
The latest crackdown was launched days after six illegal foreign workers were killed in an accident at a freeway construction site in Nantou County.
According to statistics compiled by the ministry, 6,558 runaway foreign workers, 649 illegal employers and 52 illegal brokers were uncovered in the first nine months of this year.
In one of the latest cases, the Coast Guard Administration’s branch office in southern Taiwan announced the arrest of an illegal immigrant from northern Vietnam in a private house in Taichung on Friday.
The Vietnamese was cited as having said that he wanted to work in Taiwan because there were few jobs in his home country and that wages were very low there.
Many of his Vietnamese compatriots had already come to Taiwan through legal or illegal channels, he said.
A coast guard official who did not want to be named said an increasing number of illegal immigrants from Vietnam had been detained in recent years. Many of them used to work in the Vietnamese military. - Staff Writer, with CNA, http://www.taipeitimes.com
Taiwan Considers "Fugitive Slave" Law for Migrant Workers
14 Oct 2010 -- Taiwanese labor groups are outraged by a proposed law which would offer a reward to citizens who catch "runaway" migrant workers and turn them in. The legislation would be a second cousin to the Fugitive Slave Law in the 19th century U.S., which required citizens to return runaway slaves to their owners. Is Taiwan taking its legal system all the way back to the 19th century when people were property?
Taiwan's Council on Labor Affairs (CLA) has been struggling with a problem: migrant workers who travel to Taiwan on employer-specific visas keep running away from their employers. In fact, there are currently over 33,000 migrant workers in Taiwan who have gone MIA since taking a job. So what's the CLA's solution? Turn each one of its citizens into some xenophobic version of Dog the Bounty Hunter by offering cold, hard cash for the capture of a runaway worker. The pay day turns out to be roughly $160 per "fugitive" — not a fortune, but a way for someone struggling to make a living in a downed economy to get a leg up. And if people are hurt in a mob of cash-crazy vigilantes? Well, they're only migrant workers.
Of course, what the CLA or the Taiwanese government hasn't done is ask itself why migrant workers are running away in the first place. Most of them spend serious time and money getting visas to come work in Taiwan and many workers from Southeast Asian countries have families back home relying on that paycheck. Things must be pretty bad to leave a paying job and a place to live in a foreign country where you don't have immigration papers. And for some workers, things are that bad. Southeast Asian women and girls are trafficked into domestic servitude in Taiwan, often beaten and degraded by their employers. And just recently six men were killed at an unsafe work site, which probably hadn't been kept up to code because the men at the site were undocumented. But no one is proposing a law to reward citizens for spotting human trafficking, exploitation, or unsafe working conditions.
And what awaits these runaway workers when spotted by a vigilant public and turned in for reward money? Apparently, they will "be assisted with a passport and provided with the expenses for repatriation." That a really, really polite way of saying they'll be deported but the government will foot the bill for getting them the hell out. No attempt to figure out why these people have fled from their employers, no counseling or aid for trafficked people, no attempt to reform what is obviously a broken system.
The Fugitive Slave Law didn't help the U.S. two centuries ago, Taiwan, and its cousin won't help you now. Let's make sure the U.S. doesn't step back two hundred years like Taiwan threatens to by asking your state to support domestic workers' rights, many of whom are migrants. Together, we can make sure the Fugitive Slave Act stays a historical document. - Amanda Kloer, October 14, 2010, http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/taiwan_considers_fugitive_slave_law_for_migrant_workers
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
RP agencies warn vs dubious job offers in Italy, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago
Government agencies have issued separate warnings on the veracity of job offers and job orders in at least three countries, in what seems to be a resurgence of illegal recruitment schemes for overseas employment.
The Philippine Embassy in Venezuela, for one, recently warned Filipinos seeking jobs abroad against dubious firms offering supposed lucrative employment in nearby Trinidad and Tobago in the south Caribbean.
This came after the Embassy received reports that some Filipino applicants are being asked by companies to secure a certification applicable only to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member-countries.
Applicants are also being asked to pay a certain amount prior to the processing of their employment, the Embassy further said in a release posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
The Embassy cited the case of a Filipino fire engineer in a Saudi Arabian company, who sent an email seeking assistance on how to acquire a CARICOM skills certification for employment.
Earlier, the fire engineer received an email saying that he was accepted as Maintenance and Fire Safety Engineer in an unnamed energy firm in Trinidad and Tobago.
The job offer involved a high salary, the release noted.
However, the company advised the applicant to get a CARICOM Skills Certificate and pay US$765.00, for notary and legal service fees for his documents to be used in Trinidad and Tobago.
When contacted by the fire engineer, the Embassy thus clarified that the CARICOM Skills Certificate is meant for the free movement of citizens of CARICOM member-countries to work in other Caribbean states, and is not for Filipinos and other foreigners.
CARICOM member-countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat (UK), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Embassy also advised Filipino job seekers that the companies' profile, registration and the prospective employment contract should be examined carefully.
These documents should all be notarized and authenticated by the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy added.
Applicants should also verify the existence of the companies with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or the Embassy further transacting with them.
On seasonal jobs in Italy
In a separate advisory, the POEA similarly warned applicants against recruitment agencies and individuals promising seasonal jobs in Italy.
POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili said in the advisory that seasonal workers are allowed only in countries with special agreements with Italy, which does not include the Philippines, and those already working legally in the European country.
The agency cited a report from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Rome saying that the new illegal recruitment scheme has already victimized a number of Filipino workers now stranded there because of lack of proper work documents.
The workers have paid up to P500,000 each for non-existent jobs, the report added.
Manalili said opportunities for employment as seasonal workers cover only those who are already in Italy with a valid work permit (soggiorno).
She added that Italy allows direct recruitment of foreign workers only from countries that have signed bilateral agreements providing for such labor arrangement.
The countries include Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovine, Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Croatia, India, Ghana, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. The Philippines is not included.
The release also noted that foreign workers illegally staying in Italy face penalties, imprisonment or deportation.
Only 11,000 job orders in Taiwan
The POEA further clarified there are only 11, 547 remaining job orders for Taiwan, contrary to reports from private recruitment agencies that there are 30,000 jobs awaiting Filipino workers there.
In a separate release, it said more than 20,000 job orders have already been filled up for the deployment of workers, so that only over 11,000 remain based on the POEA database.
The POEA added that the government hiring scheme for Taiwan-bound factory workers, called the Special Hiring Program for Taiwan (SHPT), expired in March this year.
Negotiations for the renewal of the SHPT are still under way.
Manalili urged applicants to verify with the POEA the job orders that have been approved for host countries of Filipino labor.
Applicants may visit the POEA Web site at www.poea.gov.ph or verify through Globe SMS at POEA Txt 2917, or call POEA hotlines 722-1144 or 7221155.—JV, GMANews, May 06, 2010
The Philippine Embassy in Venezuela, for one, recently warned Filipinos seeking jobs abroad against dubious firms offering supposed lucrative employment in nearby Trinidad and Tobago in the south Caribbean.
This came after the Embassy received reports that some Filipino applicants are being asked by companies to secure a certification applicable only to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member-countries.
Applicants are also being asked to pay a certain amount prior to the processing of their employment, the Embassy further said in a release posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
The Embassy cited the case of a Filipino fire engineer in a Saudi Arabian company, who sent an email seeking assistance on how to acquire a CARICOM skills certification for employment.
Earlier, the fire engineer received an email saying that he was accepted as Maintenance and Fire Safety Engineer in an unnamed energy firm in Trinidad and Tobago.
The job offer involved a high salary, the release noted.
However, the company advised the applicant to get a CARICOM Skills Certificate and pay US$765.00, for notary and legal service fees for his documents to be used in Trinidad and Tobago.
When contacted by the fire engineer, the Embassy thus clarified that the CARICOM Skills Certificate is meant for the free movement of citizens of CARICOM member-countries to work in other Caribbean states, and is not for Filipinos and other foreigners.
CARICOM member-countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat (UK), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Embassy also advised Filipino job seekers that the companies' profile, registration and the prospective employment contract should be examined carefully.
These documents should all be notarized and authenticated by the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy added.
Applicants should also verify the existence of the companies with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or the Embassy further transacting with them.
On seasonal jobs in Italy
In a separate advisory, the POEA similarly warned applicants against recruitment agencies and individuals promising seasonal jobs in Italy.
POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili said in the advisory that seasonal workers are allowed only in countries with special agreements with Italy, which does not include the Philippines, and those already working legally in the European country.
The agency cited a report from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Rome saying that the new illegal recruitment scheme has already victimized a number of Filipino workers now stranded there because of lack of proper work documents.
The workers have paid up to P500,000 each for non-existent jobs, the report added.
Manalili said opportunities for employment as seasonal workers cover only those who are already in Italy with a valid work permit (soggiorno).
She added that Italy allows direct recruitment of foreign workers only from countries that have signed bilateral agreements providing for such labor arrangement.
The countries include Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovine, Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Croatia, India, Ghana, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. The Philippines is not included.
The release also noted that foreign workers illegally staying in Italy face penalties, imprisonment or deportation.
Only 11,000 job orders in Taiwan
The POEA further clarified there are only 11, 547 remaining job orders for Taiwan, contrary to reports from private recruitment agencies that there are 30,000 jobs awaiting Filipino workers there.
In a separate release, it said more than 20,000 job orders have already been filled up for the deployment of workers, so that only over 11,000 remain based on the POEA database.
The POEA added that the government hiring scheme for Taiwan-bound factory workers, called the Special Hiring Program for Taiwan (SHPT), expired in March this year.
Negotiations for the renewal of the SHPT are still under way.
Manalili urged applicants to verify with the POEA the job orders that have been approved for host countries of Filipino labor.
Applicants may visit the POEA Web site at www.poea.gov.ph or verify through Globe SMS at POEA Txt 2917, or call POEA hotlines 722-1144 or 7221155.—JV, GMANews, May 06, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Florida couple pleads guilty to abusing Filipino workers
WASHINGTON – A Florida couple pleaded guilty to conspiring to hold 39 Filipino employees against their will working in country clubs and hotels, the US Justice Department said Friday.
Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., 45, were owners of a labor contracting service based in the Florida city of Boca Raton.
Manuel and Baldonado "conspired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor pool, by making false promises to entice the victims to incur debts," read a Department of Justice statement, quoting court documents.
"The defendants then compelled the victims' labor and services through threats to have the workers arrested and deported, knowing the workers faced serious economic harm and possible incarceration for non-payment of debts in the Philippines."
Once the workers arrived at Manuel and Baldonado's Florida residence, the couple confiscated their passports, then "housed them in overcrowded, substandard conditions without adequate food or drinking water; put them to work at area country clubs and hotels for little or no pay; required them to remain in the defendants' service, unpaid when there was insufficient work."
They ordered them not to leave the premises without permission and "threatened to have the workers arrested and deported for complaining about these terms and conditions," the statement said.
Manuel also pleaded guilty to lying in an application filed with the US Labor Department to obtain foreign labor certifications and visas under the federal H2B guest worker program.
"These defendants victimized vulnerable individuals for profit," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.
Agencies involved in investigating the case include Immigration and Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the US Department of Labor. - Agence France-Presse/Inquirer.net, September 18, 2010
Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., 45, were owners of a labor contracting service based in the Florida city of Boca Raton.
Manuel and Baldonado "conspired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor pool, by making false promises to entice the victims to incur debts," read a Department of Justice statement, quoting court documents.
"The defendants then compelled the victims' labor and services through threats to have the workers arrested and deported, knowing the workers faced serious economic harm and possible incarceration for non-payment of debts in the Philippines."
Once the workers arrived at Manuel and Baldonado's Florida residence, the couple confiscated their passports, then "housed them in overcrowded, substandard conditions without adequate food or drinking water; put them to work at area country clubs and hotels for little or no pay; required them to remain in the defendants' service, unpaid when there was insufficient work."
They ordered them not to leave the premises without permission and "threatened to have the workers arrested and deported for complaining about these terms and conditions," the statement said.
Manuel also pleaded guilty to lying in an application filed with the US Labor Department to obtain foreign labor certifications and visas under the federal H2B guest worker program.
"These defendants victimized vulnerable individuals for profit," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.
Agencies involved in investigating the case include Immigration and Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the US Department of Labor. - Agence France-Presse/Inquirer.net, September 18, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
16 OFWs held in Singapore due to unconfirmed e-tickets
Some 16 Middle East-bound Filipino workers were briefly held at an airport in Singapore last week after authorities found they were traveling with unconfirmed electronic tickets (e-tickets).
In a release posted on its website, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the workers were prevented from boarding their connecting flights to Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Riyadh at Singapore’s Changi Airport due to unconfirmed e-tickets.
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda Calaguian-Cruz is thus urging the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to investigate this “new deployment scheme" by no less than accredited recruitment agencies.
The Philippine Embassy said that before the workers’ connecting flights, they were required by their airlines to present at the check-in counter the credit card used to purchase the tickets.
The workers, however, were unable to do so as they were given only photocopies of the credit card by their agencies.
Based on the workers' statements, their employment papers were processed by the POEA, while their agencies gave them two separate tickets — one for their flight to Singapore, and another for their connecting flights to their various Middle East destinations, the release said.
It added that the workers were given photocopies of a credit card to be shown at the airline check-in counter, and were not aware that their connecting flights were unconfirmed.
An unconfirmed flight means the airline has not yet committed to allowing the passenger to fly as scheduled due to a full flight, and the passenger’s name is simply on the waitlist.
The Embassy said the stranded workers were provided shelter at its Filipino Workers Resource Center for three days.
They departed for their respective overseas destinations after the Embassy negotiated their airline tickets with the agencies.
"The POEA should investigate the case and punish those responsible for allowing their deployed overseas workers to leave the country with unconfirmed bookings," Calaguian-Cruz said.
"Workers should personally check with airline companies if their bookings are confirmed; otherwise, their security and safety would be compromised before they can even start to work overseas," she added.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV, September 09, 2010
In a release posted on its website, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the workers were prevented from boarding their connecting flights to Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Riyadh at Singapore’s Changi Airport due to unconfirmed e-tickets.
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda Calaguian-Cruz is thus urging the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to investigate this “new deployment scheme" by no less than accredited recruitment agencies.
The Philippine Embassy said that before the workers’ connecting flights, they were required by their airlines to present at the check-in counter the credit card used to purchase the tickets.
The workers, however, were unable to do so as they were given only photocopies of the credit card by their agencies.
Based on the workers' statements, their employment papers were processed by the POEA, while their agencies gave them two separate tickets — one for their flight to Singapore, and another for their connecting flights to their various Middle East destinations, the release said.
It added that the workers were given photocopies of a credit card to be shown at the airline check-in counter, and were not aware that their connecting flights were unconfirmed.
An unconfirmed flight means the airline has not yet committed to allowing the passenger to fly as scheduled due to a full flight, and the passenger’s name is simply on the waitlist.
The Embassy said the stranded workers were provided shelter at its Filipino Workers Resource Center for three days.
They departed for their respective overseas destinations after the Embassy negotiated their airline tickets with the agencies.
"The POEA should investigate the case and punish those responsible for allowing their deployed overseas workers to leave the country with unconfirmed bookings," Calaguian-Cruz said.
"Workers should personally check with airline companies if their bookings are confirmed; otherwise, their security and safety would be compromised before they can even start to work overseas," she added.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV, September 09, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Palace cuts by half OFW legal help fund in 2011 budget
MANILA, Philippines—Malacanang has cut by almost half the legal assistance fund for overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) in the proposed 2011 national budget from P50 million this year to P27 million next year, it was disclosed Wednesday at the budget hearing in Congress.
The amount is only a quarter of what is prescribed in the Migrant Workers Act.
Nueva Vizcaya Representative Carlos Padilla noted that the law provides that the fund should not be less than P100 million. He proposed that the DFA budget be raised.
“These are instances when we can show that congressional insertions are vital and necessary especially for our OFWs. They send us $17 billion in remittances, why should we deprive them of assistance?” Padilla said.
Minority leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said the slash in the legal assistance fund violates the provisions of the law.
“Are you going to accept this kind of aberration or violation of the law?” he asked DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo.
Romulo replied, “We will do our best to make representations to comply with the law. We will insist that the law is complied with.”
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said the fund pays for legal fees of lawyers hired to defend OFWs in jail, especially those facing serious offenses such as murder or drug trafficking.
In capital offenses, the aim is to commute the death sentence to imprisonment for humanitarian reasons, he added.
For 2011, Malacanang has proposed an P11-billion budget for the DFA, almost P2 billion short of the current DFA budget of P12.7 billion. The proposed 2011 DFA budget represents 0.67 percent of the P1.654-trillion proposed national budget.
Lawmakers, including Lagman, Padilla, and Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros Magsaysay, said they commiserate with the DFA’s measly budget for next year, but wondered why Romulo is not whining.
In his opening statement, Romulo said he fully supports President Benigno Aquino’s austerity program to reduce the budget deficit, “that’s why we are not going to ask for any increase in our budget.”
“In the spirit of teamwork and (because of the) gaping deficit…we abide by the decision of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to cut our budget by almost 40 percent,” he said.
Romulo said they initially proposed P19 billion, which was reduced to P10.98 billion. He said he supports the Aquino administration’s huge funding for education, social service, and health.
Magsaysay, however, said it would be impossible for the DFA to fulfill its role in assisting distressed OFWs and becoming the country’s showcase agency to the world.
“Kung wala sa lugar ang austerity measure, useless lang (Misplaced austerity measures are useless),” she added. - Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Reporter, INQUIRER.net, September 08, 2010
The amount is only a quarter of what is prescribed in the Migrant Workers Act.
Nueva Vizcaya Representative Carlos Padilla noted that the law provides that the fund should not be less than P100 million. He proposed that the DFA budget be raised.
“These are instances when we can show that congressional insertions are vital and necessary especially for our OFWs. They send us $17 billion in remittances, why should we deprive them of assistance?” Padilla said.
Minority leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said the slash in the legal assistance fund violates the provisions of the law.
“Are you going to accept this kind of aberration or violation of the law?” he asked DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo.
Romulo replied, “We will do our best to make representations to comply with the law. We will insist that the law is complied with.”
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said the fund pays for legal fees of lawyers hired to defend OFWs in jail, especially those facing serious offenses such as murder or drug trafficking.
In capital offenses, the aim is to commute the death sentence to imprisonment for humanitarian reasons, he added.
For 2011, Malacanang has proposed an P11-billion budget for the DFA, almost P2 billion short of the current DFA budget of P12.7 billion. The proposed 2011 DFA budget represents 0.67 percent of the P1.654-trillion proposed national budget.
Lawmakers, including Lagman, Padilla, and Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros Magsaysay, said they commiserate with the DFA’s measly budget for next year, but wondered why Romulo is not whining.
In his opening statement, Romulo said he fully supports President Benigno Aquino’s austerity program to reduce the budget deficit, “that’s why we are not going to ask for any increase in our budget.”
“In the spirit of teamwork and (because of the) gaping deficit…we abide by the decision of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to cut our budget by almost 40 percent,” he said.
Romulo said they initially proposed P19 billion, which was reduced to P10.98 billion. He said he supports the Aquino administration’s huge funding for education, social service, and health.
Magsaysay, however, said it would be impossible for the DFA to fulfill its role in assisting distressed OFWs and becoming the country’s showcase agency to the world.
“Kung wala sa lugar ang austerity measure, useless lang (Misplaced austerity measures are useless),” she added. - Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Reporter, INQUIRER.net, September 08, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Duped by recruiter, 2 Filipinos stranded in Haiti
MANILA, Philippines—Two Filipino workers have been stranded in Haiti after they were duped by an illegal recruiter there with Filipino accomplices for non-existing jobs in the Caribbean country.
A report from the Philippine Embassy in Cuba said that the victims, whose names were withheld, gave P500,000 each to the recruiter who promised them jobs in Haiti supposedly with a Korean company with a salary of US$3000 a month.
The plight of the two OFWs was relayed by Fr. Andrew Labatorio, a Filipino community leader, who arrived recently in Port-au-Prince.
The embassy suspected that the two were actually part of a 15-member batch who were victimized by the same recruiter with Filipino accomplices based here and in Haiti.
One of the victims arrived in Haiti on May 23 with another Filipino. They were recruited by a certain Marla Consolacion, aka Marla Wong or Marla Habas, a resident of Parañaque and Laguna.
“As a result, the two are penniless and destitute in Port-au-Prince and are depending on the largesse of the Filipino community members to survive. They are also awaiting their repatriation to Manila,” said Philippine Ambassador to Cuba Dr. Macarthur Corsino. - Cynthia Balana, Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 23, 2010
A report from the Philippine Embassy in Cuba said that the victims, whose names were withheld, gave P500,000 each to the recruiter who promised them jobs in Haiti supposedly with a Korean company with a salary of US$3000 a month.
The plight of the two OFWs was relayed by Fr. Andrew Labatorio, a Filipino community leader, who arrived recently in Port-au-Prince.
The embassy suspected that the two were actually part of a 15-member batch who were victimized by the same recruiter with Filipino accomplices based here and in Haiti.
One of the victims arrived in Haiti on May 23 with another Filipino. They were recruited by a certain Marla Consolacion, aka Marla Wong or Marla Habas, a resident of Parañaque and Laguna.
“As a result, the two are penniless and destitute in Port-au-Prince and are depending on the largesse of the Filipino community members to survive. They are also awaiting their repatriation to Manila,” said Philippine Ambassador to Cuba Dr. Macarthur Corsino. - Cynthia Balana, Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 23, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
12 Filipinos stuck and discriminated against in Frankfurt
MANILA, Philippines—Twelve Filipinos traveling to the United Kingdom on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight (CX275 from Hong Kong to London) have been refused entry into Germany and were held Thursday night at Frankfurt International Airport.
The Filipinos, all holders of UK visas, were en route to London when their flight was diverted to Frankfurt because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland on Wednesday. They landed in Frankfurt at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday (1:30 a.m. Friday in Manila).
Other passengers on the flight were accommodated in hotels by the airline but the Filipinos were kept in the airline lounge and had to sleep on floors and cushions because they lacked Schengen visas, according to passenger Kimberly Lim, 20.
“We had to wait for four hours with no food or water and were then told we could not enter Germany,” Lim said by phone. “We saw other Asian passengers from Taiwan and China—who also lacked visas—being allowed to enter. But the Filipino passengers were told they had to stay. We felt totally discriminated against.”
3-day visas
Lim said the German authorities were issuing temporary 3-day Schengen visas that were going to be paid for by Cathay Pacific.
She added: “[The authorities] took all the passports of our group, which consisted of Chinese, Taiwanese and Filipino passengers. The Chinese and Taiwanese passengers managed to get visas after a long while, and could leave the airport to travel within Germany.
“Then [the authorities] came out with our passports, handed these back and said they have decided that anybody with a Filipino passport wouldn’t be issued a visa.
“They didn’t say why; they just gave us our passports back...”
Another passenger, Jay Madronero, 37, said: “It was poor decision-making on the part of the German immigration officials with regard to issuance of visas in an emergency situation.”
Out of their hands
Local representatives seemed powerless to help.
In an e-mail, Klaus Muller, first secretary of the German Embassy in Manila, said: “The embassy has no influence at all [over] the decisions of the German Border Control Police.”
Cathay Pacific also said in a phone interview from Hong Kong that the situation was “out of [their] hands.”
The Filipinos are facing an indefinite period of being trapped with no bedding, luggage or proper meals in the small airport lounge.
Authorities have said the disruption in air travel could continue past the weekend, until the ash clouds from the volcanic eruption clear up. David Guerrero, Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 17, 2010
The author is chair/CCO of BBDO Guerrero.
The Filipinos, all holders of UK visas, were en route to London when their flight was diverted to Frankfurt because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland on Wednesday. They landed in Frankfurt at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday (1:30 a.m. Friday in Manila).
Other passengers on the flight were accommodated in hotels by the airline but the Filipinos were kept in the airline lounge and had to sleep on floors and cushions because they lacked Schengen visas, according to passenger Kimberly Lim, 20.
“We had to wait for four hours with no food or water and were then told we could not enter Germany,” Lim said by phone. “We saw other Asian passengers from Taiwan and China—who also lacked visas—being allowed to enter. But the Filipino passengers were told they had to stay. We felt totally discriminated against.”
3-day visas
Lim said the German authorities were issuing temporary 3-day Schengen visas that were going to be paid for by Cathay Pacific.
She added: “[The authorities] took all the passports of our group, which consisted of Chinese, Taiwanese and Filipino passengers. The Chinese and Taiwanese passengers managed to get visas after a long while, and could leave the airport to travel within Germany.
“Then [the authorities] came out with our passports, handed these back and said they have decided that anybody with a Filipino passport wouldn’t be issued a visa.
“They didn’t say why; they just gave us our passports back...”
Another passenger, Jay Madronero, 37, said: “It was poor decision-making on the part of the German immigration officials with regard to issuance of visas in an emergency situation.”
Out of their hands
Local representatives seemed powerless to help.
In an e-mail, Klaus Muller, first secretary of the German Embassy in Manila, said: “The embassy has no influence at all [over] the decisions of the German Border Control Police.”
Cathay Pacific also said in a phone interview from Hong Kong that the situation was “out of [their] hands.”
The Filipinos are facing an indefinite period of being trapped with no bedding, luggage or proper meals in the small airport lounge.
Authorities have said the disruption in air travel could continue past the weekend, until the ash clouds from the volcanic eruption clear up. David Guerrero, Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 17, 2010
The author is chair/CCO of BBDO Guerrero.
Placement firm ordered to refund $1.8M to Filipino teachers
NEW ORLEANS – A business that brought hundreds of Filipino teachers to Louisiana to work in public schools has been fined and ordered to refund placement fees that a teacher union estimates will total $1.8 million.
An administrative law judge with the Louisiana Workforce Commission said California-based Universal Placement Inc. operated without the proper Louisiana license. Les Landon, spokesman for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said Friday that the union estimates about 360 teachers are affected and the placement fees averaged about $5,000 per person.
Judge Shelly Dick, who is based in Baton Rouge, also fined the company $500 and ordered the payment of legal fees totaling $7,500.
Dick turned down the teachers’ request that she nullify their contracts with Universal Placement, saying she lacked that authority. Also, she did not order the return of all fees collected from the teachers, such as those for helping them obtain visas and other documents needed to work in the United States.
“Scrutiny of these fees is not within the regulatory authority of this commission,” Dick wrote.
In complaints to state and federal authorities, teachers have complained of fees totaling in excess of $10,000 in some cases.
Dick noted in the ruling that Universal Placement claimed it didn’t need a Louisiana license because it operated in California, placing teachers in various states.
“UPI is splitting hairs,” she wrote, going on to recount evidence of the company’s extensive work in Louisiana.
A telephone call to a spokeswoman for Universal Placement was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers also have filed complaints with the state attorney general’s office and the US Department of Labor about Universal Placement and its sister operation in the Philippines, PARS.
In the federal complaint, the union says Universal Placement and its president, Lourdes “Lulu” Navarro, arranged for one-year-visas, instead of more commonly used three-year visas, and charged visa renewal fees to the teachers, not the school systems. - Associated Press, Posted date at Inquirer.net: April 17, 2010
An administrative law judge with the Louisiana Workforce Commission said California-based Universal Placement Inc. operated without the proper Louisiana license. Les Landon, spokesman for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said Friday that the union estimates about 360 teachers are affected and the placement fees averaged about $5,000 per person.
Judge Shelly Dick, who is based in Baton Rouge, also fined the company $500 and ordered the payment of legal fees totaling $7,500.
Dick turned down the teachers’ request that she nullify their contracts with Universal Placement, saying she lacked that authority. Also, she did not order the return of all fees collected from the teachers, such as those for helping them obtain visas and other documents needed to work in the United States.
“Scrutiny of these fees is not within the regulatory authority of this commission,” Dick wrote.
In complaints to state and federal authorities, teachers have complained of fees totaling in excess of $10,000 in some cases.
Dick noted in the ruling that Universal Placement claimed it didn’t need a Louisiana license because it operated in California, placing teachers in various states.
“UPI is splitting hairs,” she wrote, going on to recount evidence of the company’s extensive work in Louisiana.
A telephone call to a spokeswoman for Universal Placement was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers also have filed complaints with the state attorney general’s office and the US Department of Labor about Universal Placement and its sister operation in the Philippines, PARS.
In the federal complaint, the union says Universal Placement and its president, Lourdes “Lulu” Navarro, arranged for one-year-visas, instead of more commonly used three-year visas, and charged visa renewal fees to the teachers, not the school systems. - Associated Press, Posted date at Inquirer.net: April 17, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Call to bar Filipino workers from going to Gulf
MANILA // A group of Philippine congressmen and women are calling on the country's government to bar domestic workers from going to the Middle East and Gulf states, claiming they are being treated “as nothing more than modern-day slaves”.
More than one million Filipinos, mostly poorly educated women, work in the Middle East and Gulf states as domestic helpers.
The New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch, in its World Report 2010, said many female domestic workers throughout the region are subjected to unpaid wages, food deprivation, forced confinement, physical or sexual abuse and long working hours.
More than eight million Filipinos live and work in more than 120 countries around the world, many of them as domestics. The Philippine Central Bank reported this month that remittances from January to November last year rose 5.1 per cent over the corresponding period in 2008 to US$15.8 billion (Dh58bn), an amount equivalent to roughly 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.
“Overseas Filipino workers have now become an integral part of the economy,” said Ellene Sana, executive director of the Centre for Migrant Advocacy.
“They are no longer considered as people but as commodities,” she said.
This mass migration of Filipinos, especially female domestic helpers, has become a major concern as there are no internationally accepted standards for protecting them or migrant workers in general.”
Three Filipino politicians recently toured the Middle East and Gulf states on a fact-finding mission to see for themselves the condition of domestic workers and they are in the process of finalising a report to present to Congress. But with elections due in May the report will probably not see the light of day until a new government is sworn in at the end of June.
Luz Ilagan, who represents the women’s group Gabriela in Congress, was on the fact-finding trip. She said the group was primarily concerned with the plight of domestic workers. “These are the most vulnerable and least protected of our overseas workers.
“The stories we were told ranged from sexual and physical abuse to non-payment of wages and long work hours. Basically we were looking at 21st-century slavery.”
She said the group would like to see the government – either the present government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the president, or whoever takes her place – implement a ban on those employers cited for abuse.
The politicians also urged the government, particularly the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, which is responsible for overseeing the deployment of Filipino workers, to punish agencies involved in illegal recruitment or contributing to the abuse of Filipino domestic workers.
“The problem is not only on the employer’s side, it is on our side as well,” she said.
Mrs Ilagan and her colleagues, the congressmen Carlos Padilla and Rufus Rodriguez, who are all members of the House committee on workers affairs, interviewed 400 Filipino domestics who had run away from their employers and sought refuge in embassies or consulates in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE.
Mr Padilla described how one of the runaways hid inside a rubbish bin while waiting to be rescued by a representative of the Philippine Embassy.
Mrs Ilagan recounted the story of one Filipina who was so desperate she jumped from the second-storey window of her employer’s house and broke her back.
“In another case one woman told how she escaped the home of her abusive employers and was raped by a taxi driver who had picked her up,” Mrs Ilagan said.
Despite the problems the Middle East and Gulf states are consistently at the top of the list of overseas destinations for Filipino workers.
According to the latest figures from the overseas employment agency, 72 per cent of migrant Filipino workers went to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman in 2008, compared with 65 per cent in 2007. Figures for 2009 are not available. Most were female domestic workers.
In 2006 the Philippine government introduced a series of reforms to better prepare workers for overseas jobs, including upgrading the skills of domestic workers and introducing a minimum salary of $400 a month. “But under a regime which encourages labour export, these reforms only encouraged creative countermeasures from recruiting agencies and prospective employers abroad. Illegal deployment and trafficking, for instance,” Mrs Ilagan said.
She said local Philippine agencies with partners in the Middle East scour the Philippine provinces for recruits they bring abroad without even passing through the employment administration.
“The Philippine government is doing a pitiful job protecting the rights and welfare of Filipino workers, especially in the Middle East,” Garry Martinez, the chairman of Migrante International, said recently. “When OFWs are in trouble, more often than not it is migrant organisations like Migrante who come to their aid.”
Mr Padilla said one of the problems was the lack of any bilateral agreements between the Philippine government and governments in the Middle East and the Gulf protecting the rights of Filipino workers.
From January to September last year, Mr Padilla said, the government repatriated more than 8,000 overseas Filipino workers from around the world.
“One of the basic problems is the deep cultural differences between the Philippines and the Middle East,” Mrs Ilagan said.
“By law all overseas workers should attend seminars before they are deployed abroad, but with 3,000 people leaving this country a day the government agencies responsible can’t cope.
“At the same time, our embassies do not have the money nor the staff to cope with the problems they are having to face every day with runaways.”
What started out as an experiment by Ferdinand Marcos in 1974 to promote Filipino talent overseas has now grown into an integral part of the country’s economy.
“Migration cannot be used as a development strategy,” Ms Sana of the Centre for Migrant Advocacy said. “It becomes an economic question rather than a social issue.”
Karl Wilson, Foreign Correspondent, January 31. 2010 1:33AM UAE / January 30. 2010 9:33PM GMT, http://www.thenational.ae
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Friday, February 5, 2010
8 Filipina ‘sex slaves’ flee Sabah; victims finally home
MANILA, Philippines -- Eight Filipino women who were promised decent and good paying jobs in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah but ended up as sex slaves arrived in Manila Thursday night, eight days after escaping from a prostitution den.
The women, aged 17 to 24, who arrived in Manila via a connecting flight through Cebu City at around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, broke into tears upon seeing the woman who helped arrange their flight home, Dory Villanueva, wife of Evangelist Brother Eddie Villanueva.
“Maraming salamat ma’am ... Maraming salamat ma’am [Thank you very much ma’am... Thank you very much ma’am],” the women said in broken and muffled voices as they hugged Villanueva’s wife.
Their return was considered nothing short of a miracle by leaders of the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Movement, which provided the women shelter in the Malaysian city for eight days after their escape.
“This should serve as an eye opener for our government. So many women fall victims to trafficking. We hope the government directs the embassies to protect the rights of our women,” Villanueva said.
JIL Pastor James, who declined to divulge his surname, said the women were recruited along with dozens of others by a Filipino with ties to a big-time trafficking syndicate in Malaysia. They were promised a salary of P6,500 a day for jobs in karaoke bars and restaurants.
JIL leaders are working with the police to track down the recruitment agency and stop the trafficking of women for sex trade in Malaysia.
The same agency is believed to be shipping at least 100 more Filipino women to Malaysia before Christmas, said the pastor.
“When they got there, they were sold three times,” the pastor told reporters at the airport. “They were locked up and were made to have sex with four to eight men a day. One of them even got pregnant, but she was forced to have an abortion,” Pastor James said, fuming as he related what the women had told him.
The women were virtually held prisoners in a Kota Kinabalu condominium where they were housed. They were forced every night to have sex with clients against their will.
On December 5, after a chance meeting with a JIL member in the same building where they stayed, the women mustered the courage to flee.
Circumstances of their escape were unclear as they refused to talk to media, but by Pastor James’ account, the women fled the building that same night.
“They jumped from the first floor [elevated level] of the condominium and ran to cars that JIL members [in Kota Kinabalu] sent to fetch them,” the pastor said.
The women were brought to the JIL outreach church in Kota Kinabalu, their sanctuary while gangs tried to track them down, said Pastor James. To ensure their safety, the church was kept locked.
JIL eventually contacted the Philippine embassy through Pedro Chan, the Philippine Consul General in Italy, who told Philippine officials in Malaysia about the women’s plight. Sought out by Villanueva, Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn also got in touch with the Kota Kinabalu mayor to help out.
After a few days, Pastor James finished arranging for their travel documents since the women’s passports were seized by the syndicate.
Hagedorn paid for their flight from Kota Kinabalu to Cebu City. JIL then shouldered their fare to Manila. - Tarra Quismundo, Inquirer, December 14, 2007
Anti-human traffic pact with Malaysia sought
MANILA, Philippines—A non-government organization advocating migrant workers' welfare urged the government on Thursday to forge an anti-human trafficking agreement with Malaysia following the rescue of Filipino women forced to become prostitutes in the Malaysian state of Sabah.
The Blas F. Ople Policy Center quoted recent media reports from Malaysia relating how the eight Filipino women, allegedly recruited from Zamboanga about three months ago to work as waitresses, were forced to work as prostitutes upon their arrival in arrival in Sabah.
Acting on an informant’s tip, the police raided an apartment in Penampang, a small town adjacent to the capital city of Kota Kinabalu, where the women, aged between 18 and 25, were kept.
“The illegal recruitment and trafficking of Filipino women to Malaysia is fast becoming a thriving enterprise and we call on the Malaysian and Philippine governments to forge a bilateral pact against human trafficking,” the center's president Susan Ople said in a statement.
Ople said that based on the information gathered by the Center, previous victims of human trafficking were promised decent jobs in either Kuala Lumpur or Sabah by their recruiters who turned out to be receiving P3,000 per head from a syndicate in Malaysia.
“With mere P3,000, the recruiter turns a blind eye on whatever fate awaits the recruit bound for Malaysia,” she said.
The former labor undersecretary said local governments must also work together with other NGOs and relevant government agencies in a grassroots public information drive against human trafficking.
“The recruitment is now done door-to-door in both urban and rural areas and the only way to stop this is through active public vigilance leading to higher arrest and conviction rates,” she added.
The center said the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has been doing its best to help human trafficking victims and other Filipinos detained for lack of work permits “but the tide of human misery keeps rising.”
The NGO called on the government to focus on job creation and livelihood training particularly in the countryside in order to provide viable options for economic survival.
“We must fight as one country against human traffickers who deploy our women as modern slaves not only to Malaysia but to nearly every nook and corner of the globe,” Ople said. - Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 21, 2008
3 OFWs forced into prostitution in Malaysia
Victims seek repatriation
TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines -- Three female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who alleged that the owner of a reflexology center in Malaysia forced them to take drugs and have sex with clients, have sought the help of a Bohol lawmaker for their repatriation.
Through text messages sent to the office of Bohol First District Representative Edgar Chatto, the three OFWs said they wanted be repatriated "as soon as possible" as they feared that they "might not be able to return home alive" because of their dangerous situation in Malaysia.
They claimed that their well-connected employer threatened to torture them if they refused to take drugs or have sex with clients.
In her latest text message, one of the OFWs disclosed that they had not received their salary.
One of the three OFWs also recalled that she and her two friends entered Malaysia as "tourists" although they were assured that they could work there.
However, the owner of the reflexology center did not process their working permits when they entered Malaysia.
They gave their full names and addresses in the Philippines but they asked that their identities be kept confidential to protect their honor and that of their respective families. They also gave their roaming mobile numbers.
They also gave the full name of their Malaysian boss and his business address but they also asked that the information be kept off the record for now.
Chatto, who is currently in the United States, has started contacting the Philippine Embassy in Malaysia, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the families of the three migrant workers.
He said he would check with the Department of Labor and Employment to trace the deployment of the three OFWs.
Chatto authored House Bill 5649, a measure seeking to improve standards of protection and assistance for migrant workers, and House Bill 4898, a legislation creating an OFW pension fund. - Kit Bagaipo, Inquirer Visayas, April 20, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Family, food, money cause women OFWs stress
MANILA, Philippines—Family expectations, money, relationship with employers, and food and religious beliefs in host country are five of the most common causes of stress among women overseas Filipino workers.
This was revealed by Dr. Maria Theresa Ujano-Batangan of the Action for Health Initiatives Inc. Philippines (Achieve) Tuesday, citing an initial research based on interviews and focus group discussions.
The initial research is in preparation for a more comprehensive quantitative survey of 500 OFWs in five places around the country to be funded by the European Commission as part of its Joint Migration and Development Initiative it is conducting with the United Nations Development Programme.
Achieve, in partnership with Netherlands-based Vrije Universiteit-Metamedica/Health Care and Culture (VU-MHCC), has received a 154,689-euro grant to identify the “stress factors among women migrant workers.”
“Usually, women OFWs are stressed not by work but by what happens in their home countries. Money is another key stress factor, especially if money is not enough or if it is mismanaged by relatives,” said Malu Marin, also of Achieve.
Achieve’s 18-month project to “develop interventions to address stress and mental health problems among women migrant workers” is only one of the four projects that the European Commission is funding in the Philippines.
The three others are related to increasing the linkages between the overseas employment and the development of the migrant workers’ home countries.
Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation Philippines, Migrant Forum Association, and Commission on Filipino Migrant Worker Netherlands received 200,000 euros for an 18-month project “to enhance the capacity of migrants as partners in economic development.”
Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos Philippines and COS Utrecht, Netherlands also received 200,000 euros for an 18-month project “to harness the disapora, local women’s groups, rural banks, and local government for rural development.”
Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiatives Inc. Philippines and Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli Italy received 198,575 euros for an 18-month project “to maximize the gains and minimize the social cost of overseas migration in the Philippines.”
Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, said the four projects form part of the worldwide program of the European Union’s executive arm on migration and development out of a total of 55 projects across 16 countries.
He said the 753,264 euros (about P52.35 million) for these four Philippine-based projects is part of the 10 million euros the European Commission has released for the project.
MacDonald said that while the EC has come up with a “triple win” policy approach (triple win for the host countries, the receiving countries, and the migrant workers themselves), the “reality is that migration is extremely complex that no one-size solution can be found.”
He said he hopes the four projects would help achieve the goal of migration as an informed choice, not a compulsion for OFWs.
After all, he said, the migrant workers have invested “their lives, years of their lives” to it. - Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, November 17, 2009
This was revealed by Dr. Maria Theresa Ujano-Batangan of the Action for Health Initiatives Inc. Philippines (Achieve) Tuesday, citing an initial research based on interviews and focus group discussions.
The initial research is in preparation for a more comprehensive quantitative survey of 500 OFWs in five places around the country to be funded by the European Commission as part of its Joint Migration and Development Initiative it is conducting with the United Nations Development Programme.
Achieve, in partnership with Netherlands-based Vrije Universiteit-Metamedica/Health Care and Culture (VU-MHCC), has received a 154,689-euro grant to identify the “stress factors among women migrant workers.”
“Usually, women OFWs are stressed not by work but by what happens in their home countries. Money is another key stress factor, especially if money is not enough or if it is mismanaged by relatives,” said Malu Marin, also of Achieve.
Achieve’s 18-month project to “develop interventions to address stress and mental health problems among women migrant workers” is only one of the four projects that the European Commission is funding in the Philippines.
The three others are related to increasing the linkages between the overseas employment and the development of the migrant workers’ home countries.
Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation Philippines, Migrant Forum Association, and Commission on Filipino Migrant Worker Netherlands received 200,000 euros for an 18-month project “to enhance the capacity of migrants as partners in economic development.”
Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos Philippines and COS Utrecht, Netherlands also received 200,000 euros for an 18-month project “to harness the disapora, local women’s groups, rural banks, and local government for rural development.”
Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiatives Inc. Philippines and Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli Italy received 198,575 euros for an 18-month project “to maximize the gains and minimize the social cost of overseas migration in the Philippines.”
Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, said the four projects form part of the worldwide program of the European Union’s executive arm on migration and development out of a total of 55 projects across 16 countries.
He said the 753,264 euros (about P52.35 million) for these four Philippine-based projects is part of the 10 million euros the European Commission has released for the project.
MacDonald said that while the EC has come up with a “triple win” policy approach (triple win for the host countries, the receiving countries, and the migrant workers themselves), the “reality is that migration is extremely complex that no one-size solution can be found.”
He said he hopes the four projects would help achieve the goal of migration as an informed choice, not a compulsion for OFWs.
After all, he said, the migrant workers have invested “their lives, years of their lives” to it. - Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
12 stranded Filipino seafarers in Greece helpless
INQUIRER.net
Posted date: November 30, 2009
MANILA, Philippines—The 12 Filipino seafarers stranded in Greece since July this year have not been paid their agreed salary, and live on dole-outs and the minimal allowance of food and water given to them by their employer.
“Our situation here is so difficult. Right now, our food is good enough only for three days and the drinking water is rusty,” said third engineer Jesus Hantic in a text message to INQUIRER.net.
He was reacting to a story that came out in the website which said that he and his fellow Filipino seafarers are about to be repatriated soon.
“We are in a floating prison,” Hantic said describing their situation on MV Aetea Sierra.
“We didn’t know that we would be going home because nobody has told us so,” he added.
The 11 others with him are: second officer Jose Cardenas, second engineer Gardner Monte, able-bodied seamen Constancio Cubay, Florvic Labaco, and GilJhun Moneva; Julius Cesar Flores; oilers Ricleand Camino and Wilfredo Ranara; second cook Primo Fernandico; and merchant marines Erolin Choing and Jerry Laride.
“We all want to go home. We demand our salaries and our back pay. We are now deep in debt,” he said.
Hantic also belied the statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs that Philippine embassy personnel in Greece have visited them and have looked after their welfare.
“We were visited by the embassy only once, by Attorney (George) Eduvala of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration,” Hantic said.
“Only Akbayan and Kasapi are helping us here,” Hantic said.
Ellene Sana, executive director of Center for Migrant Advocacy who connected INQUIRER.net to the seafarers, said the seafarers could not simply leave because not only are their travel documents with their employer, but also leaving the ship with its $11-million worth of cargo (20,000 of steel coil) would mean they have abandoned their jobs.
In a related development, Akbayan party-list Representative Walden Bello, who was in Greece for the Global Forum on Migration and Development, asked the Philippine embassy in Greece to “act decisively to rescue” the stranded seamen.
“Good publicity will not hide the fact that they have been sitting on this case for a long time at the expense of our stranded countrymen,” Bello said in a statement.
“The overarching issue that the embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs have to address is this long-standing issue of foreign employers abusing Filipino workers, depriving our seafarers of adequate pay, decent working conditions, and the benefits and privileges accorded to them by law and through international treaties,” he added.
Posted date: November 30, 2009
MANILA, Philippines—The 12 Filipino seafarers stranded in Greece since July this year have not been paid their agreed salary, and live on dole-outs and the minimal allowance of food and water given to them by their employer.
“Our situation here is so difficult. Right now, our food is good enough only for three days and the drinking water is rusty,” said third engineer Jesus Hantic in a text message to INQUIRER.net.
He was reacting to a story that came out in the website which said that he and his fellow Filipino seafarers are about to be repatriated soon.
“We are in a floating prison,” Hantic said describing their situation on MV Aetea Sierra.
“We didn’t know that we would be going home because nobody has told us so,” he added.
The 11 others with him are: second officer Jose Cardenas, second engineer Gardner Monte, able-bodied seamen Constancio Cubay, Florvic Labaco, and GilJhun Moneva; Julius Cesar Flores; oilers Ricleand Camino and Wilfredo Ranara; second cook Primo Fernandico; and merchant marines Erolin Choing and Jerry Laride.
“We all want to go home. We demand our salaries and our back pay. We are now deep in debt,” he said.
Hantic also belied the statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs that Philippine embassy personnel in Greece have visited them and have looked after their welfare.
“We were visited by the embassy only once, by Attorney (George) Eduvala of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration,” Hantic said.
“Only Akbayan and Kasapi are helping us here,” Hantic said.
Ellene Sana, executive director of Center for Migrant Advocacy who connected INQUIRER.net to the seafarers, said the seafarers could not simply leave because not only are their travel documents with their employer, but also leaving the ship with its $11-million worth of cargo (20,000 of steel coil) would mean they have abandoned their jobs.
In a related development, Akbayan party-list Representative Walden Bello, who was in Greece for the Global Forum on Migration and Development, asked the Philippine embassy in Greece to “act decisively to rescue” the stranded seamen.
“Good publicity will not hide the fact that they have been sitting on this case for a long time at the expense of our stranded countrymen,” Bello said in a statement.
“The overarching issue that the embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs have to address is this long-standing issue of foreign employers abusing Filipino workers, depriving our seafarers of adequate pay, decent working conditions, and the benefits and privileges accorded to them by law and through international treaties,” he added.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Filipino with 6.145 kilos of cocaine nabbed in Peru
MANILA, Philippines—A 35-year-old Filipino trying to smuggle in 6.145 kilos of cocaine alkaloid was caught in Cusco, Peru on September 30, the Philippine embassy in Santiago said.
In a statement released through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Ambassador to Chile (with jurisdiction in Peru) Maria Consuelo Puyat-Reyes said this most apprehension followed the separate arrests of a Filipina on June 2 in Arica, Chile, and of another Filipina on May 24 in Ecuador, on the same charges of drug trafficking.
“These are seemingly more daring and brazen attempts by drug syndicates in the region to use Filipinos to transport banned substances across international borders,” the ambassador said, describing the use of Filipino drug mules in South America as “especially alarming.”
The newest arrest was made at the Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport, where the suspect had the illegal drugs on both his person and his hand-carry baggage. The suspect, whom the embassy did not name for privacy reasons, was headed for Lima, Peru and to other intermediary points, with Hanoi, Vietnam as the alleged final destination.
The suspected Filipino drug trafficker is now in jail at the Quencoro Men’s Penitentiary at Cusco, where he will begin a prison sentence of six years and eight months, including payment of fines, after accepting a plea bargain agreement with the Peruvian authorities.
Ambassador Puyat-Reyes thus warned Filipinos intending to travel to South America “to be wary of drug syndicates enticing travelers to transport illegal drugs, no matter how lucrative the ‘handling’ fee may appear.” - INQUIRER.net, November 13, 2009
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