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
Showing posts with label Taiwan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taiwan. Show all posts
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
30,000 jobs await Pinoy workers in Taiwan
May 03, 2010 -- MANILA, Philippines - At least 30,000 jobs still await Filipino workers in Taiwan, local recruiters reported yesterday.
Jackson Gan, Pilipino Manpower Association of Taiwan Inc. (PILMAT) president, said factories in Taiwan are still in dire need of Filipinos and other foreign workers.
“Companies in Taiwan continue to hire workers and we have thousands of job orders that are yet to be filled up until this time,” Gan said.
He said Taiwan has bounced back from last year’s financial crisis and is hiring more workers than in past years.
However, Gan said local recruiters are having difficulty recruiting skilled workers to fill up the vacancies because of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) secretary-general’s warning that the forging of an economic cooperation agreement between Taiwan and China would adversely affect the employment of OFWs.
Gan stressed that NEDA’s fear is baseless since Taiwanese employers still prefer Filipinos compared to other workers from other countries.
He said Taiwan hires an average of 40,000 Filipino workers, including factory workers and caregivers annually.
“Although Taiwan companies hire Vietnamese and Indonesians, OFWs still have the advantage because they can speak the English language unlike other nationalities,” he said.
Gan emphasized that Taiwanese electronics manufacturing companies are not warm to the idea of hiring Chinese mainlanders.
“NEDA is sounding an alarm without basis that could jeopardize the country’s economic stability. Its warning that thousands of OFWs may lose jobs is far-fetched,” he stressed.
While the investment climate in China is now more liberal, Gan said there is little indication that the electronic manufacturing sector will transfer to China due to national security concerns.
He said the electronics sector is not among the 99 industries and business lines that Taiwan would like to liberalize. - Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)
Jackson Gan, Pilipino Manpower Association of Taiwan Inc. (PILMAT) president, said factories in Taiwan are still in dire need of Filipinos and other foreign workers.
“Companies in Taiwan continue to hire workers and we have thousands of job orders that are yet to be filled up until this time,” Gan said.
He said Taiwan has bounced back from last year’s financial crisis and is hiring more workers than in past years.
However, Gan said local recruiters are having difficulty recruiting skilled workers to fill up the vacancies because of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) secretary-general’s warning that the forging of an economic cooperation agreement between Taiwan and China would adversely affect the employment of OFWs.
Gan stressed that NEDA’s fear is baseless since Taiwanese employers still prefer Filipinos compared to other workers from other countries.
He said Taiwan hires an average of 40,000 Filipino workers, including factory workers and caregivers annually.
“Although Taiwan companies hire Vietnamese and Indonesians, OFWs still have the advantage because they can speak the English language unlike other nationalities,” he said.
Gan emphasized that Taiwanese electronics manufacturing companies are not warm to the idea of hiring Chinese mainlanders.
“NEDA is sounding an alarm without basis that could jeopardize the country’s economic stability. Its warning that thousands of OFWs may lose jobs is far-fetched,” he stressed.
While the investment climate in China is now more liberal, Gan said there is little indication that the electronic manufacturing sector will transfer to China due to national security concerns.
He said the electronics sector is not among the 99 industries and business lines that Taiwan would like to liberalize. - Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)
Taiwan’s caregivers and domestic workers need a day off
March 12, 2010 -- For the occasion of Women’s Day, Caritas Taiwan participated in the rally organized by Migrant Empowerment Network in Taiwan in front of Executive Yuan on March 5, 2010. The NGOs have been lobbying the concerns of domestic workers and caregivers who are mostly women, to be included in the Labor Standards Law.
In the situation of Taiwan, caregivers who are also considered as domestic workers are working for as much as 12.5 hours a day and they neither received overtime pay nor avail of one day off per week because employers do not allow them. Thus, they are vulnerable to stress and some recourse to running-away from their employers and become irregular or undocumented.
For several years, the NGOs that are serving migrant workers have been lobbying for the revision of the Household Service Act which governs the domestic workers.
The basic needs of the workers should not be denied nor regarded as merely public responsibility. It should be included in the Labor Standards Law to protect the rights of the migrant workers.
According to the statistics of the Bureau of Employment and Vocation Training, Taiwan has a total number of 353,805 migrant workers as of January 2010, with Indonesians as the largest in number followed by Vietnamese, Filipinos and Thai.
For several years now, Justice and Peace and Caritas Taiwan has been serving Filipino, Indonesian, and Thai migrant workers. - Caritas Taiwan
In the situation of Taiwan, caregivers who are also considered as domestic workers are working for as much as 12.5 hours a day and they neither received overtime pay nor avail of one day off per week because employers do not allow them. Thus, they are vulnerable to stress and some recourse to running-away from their employers and become irregular or undocumented.
For several years, the NGOs that are serving migrant workers have been lobbying for the revision of the Household Service Act which governs the domestic workers.
The basic needs of the workers should not be denied nor regarded as merely public responsibility. It should be included in the Labor Standards Law to protect the rights of the migrant workers.
According to the statistics of the Bureau of Employment and Vocation Training, Taiwan has a total number of 353,805 migrant workers as of January 2010, with Indonesians as the largest in number followed by Vietnamese, Filipinos and Thai.
For several years now, Justice and Peace and Caritas Taiwan has been serving Filipino, Indonesian, and Thai migrant workers. - Caritas Taiwan
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
Taiwanese employers threaten to stop hiring OFWs
MANILA, Philippines – Taiwanese employers are threatening to stop hiring Filipino workers next year to protest the Philippine government’s mandatory insurance regulation.
Jackson Gan, Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (PILMAT) president, said employers from Taiwan have expressed their intention to cancel 50,000 job orders for Filipino workers in 2011.
“Taiwan principals have sent a letter of their opposition to the mandatory insurance coverage with the warning that if our government will insist on implementing the double coverage for Filipino workers to be deployed to Taiwan they will cancel all the 50,000 job orders for 2011 and just get workers from Indonesia or Vietnam,” Gan said.
He said every contract worker in Taiwan is covered by two types of insurance, one for personal and the other is group insurance. Each overseas Filipino worker (OFW) is given a personal insurance coverage worth NT$800,000 equivalent to more than P1.2 million, and at the worksite a group insurance covers all workers at the factory.
“This is definitely more superior to the insurance coverage under the law which only provides $15,000 for accidental death and $10,000 for natural death,” he said.
There are about 100,000 OFWs employed in Taiwan, most of them employed as factory workers or caregivers.
Earlier, employers and Filipino workers in Hong Kong also expressed their opposition to the mandatory insurance coverage, which the Philippine government started implementing last week.
But Philippine labor officials said they are obliged to enforce the requirement since is it provided under the newly amended Migrant Workers Act.
Labor officials further stressed that the mandatory insurance coverage would provide additional protection for OFWs. - Mayen Jaymalin, The Philippine Star, November 14, 2010
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
Filipina for Filipinas in Taiwan
CAVITEÑOS are known for their valor. In Taiwan, a Caviteña has done the province proud by standing up for the rights of Filipinas married to citizens of that island nation.
What’s more, Eleanor “Nene” B. Ho has made it her life’s work to help her compatriots through an organization she founded some 10 years ago, the Filipinos Married to Taiwanese Association (FMTA). She is also the publisher of The Migrants, a monthly newspaper for Filipinos in Taiwan. Among others, these have earned her recognition last year as one of the Philippines’ Banaag awardees for significant contributions to overseas Filipino communities.
While she has been an activist for the rights of overseas Filipino workers and Filipina spouses of Taiwanese, Nene has maintained a harmonious relationship with the Taiwanese in general, and most especially with her loving Taiwanese husband with whom she has a daughter.
She is a mainstay in Filipino affairs in Taiwan and is one of the most active partners of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in taking care of expat Filipinos.
All about respect
“It is all about respect,” says this former English teacher born in Cavite City in 1944. “Filipinos have to respect themselves and show that they are worthy of respect, no matter where they are.”
Nene knows this firsthand because she herself was among the first Filipinos to work in Taiwan, host to almost 90,000 Filipinos working as factory workers, domestics, construction workers and fishermen, and professionals. Many Taiwanese men have also chosen Filipinas as brides through arranged marriages. An estimated 7,000 Filipinas now live there with their Taiwanese husbands.
Nene’s own marriage to a Taiwanese 20 years her senior developed along similar lines. A Business Administration degree holder from the Philippine Women’s University, she decided to try her luck in Taiwan after working in Manila companies. Arriving on a tourist visa, Nene wangled a job at the front desk of Taipei’s then-leading hotel, the Lai Lai Sheraton.
But though she did well enough for the hotel to request her extended stay, the Sheraton already had five other foreign workers so Nene transferred to a travel agency where she wrote promotional material.
Loving a Taiwanese
“My boss found me very useful for his business, so he really tried all means to get me to stay in Taiwan. The only means he found was for me to get married to a Taiwanese, so he introduced me to his friend and we got married for that purpose— to get a better visa for me to stay in Taiwan,” she says.
But Nene’s story does not end there.
“After marriage, we dated, we became close to each other and since I found him to be a very gentle, thoughtful, loving and considerate man, I agreed to live with him. That was how he became my husband. Now we have one daughter who is studying at the university,” she says.
After marriage, Nene set about with industry, determined to make her marriage work by balancing career and family obligations.
“Though I was working then in a travel agency at daytime and teaching English at night, I managed to take care of the house, our clothing, food everyday and of course the family. I was very busy but that was all right with me. I only had to learn how to arrange and budget my time so as I could fulfill all my responsibilities to my family. After all I realize that the husband’s treatment of the wife depends on how the wife is doing,” she says.
Collective voice
Armed with her own positive experience, Nene decided to set up the FMTA to give Filipinas a collective voice and for the spouses to interact with and support each other in their new lives in a foreign land.
“I was one of the founders and became president for over five years,” she says. “The FMTA is also well recognized by the Taiwan Government and has always been invited whenever they have some activities that are meant for foreign workers, foreign spouses and their children. We have had some forums on foreign spouses and invited resource speakers to give us insights on different problems we all face. We have suggested different approaches the Taiwan government could take for our sector. We have conducted English classes for the children of our members, and have motivated our members and their children into joining regular activities like in the church.”
Hotline for abused spouses
Because many Taiwanese men have had to look to foreign brides for their spouses, the Taiwanese government has put up measures to prevent abusive marriages.
Nene knows these by heart.
“The government provides a hotline (113) that is open 24 hours (in 5 languages—English, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Cambodian, Thai) to answer calls for help.
They also have a toll-free line (0800-088-885) for Foreign Spouses Protection Counseling, also for 24 hours. They are always ready to help the callers and to collect evidence to help them with their cases. They also have counseling hotlines in five languages.
Lawyers in every district around the country are available to help victims of domestic violence, to pay the medical check-up and help provide temporary shelter. If the victim is to live alone, she will be educated on how to live a new life and to find a new job for herself.”
English barrier
“The foreign wives who became victims of maltreatment are authorized to apply with the court for a restraining order. This will restrain the actions of the violent husbands and guarantee the safety of the victims. They can also apply for the custody of the children and require the husbands to return their personal documents. If there is any court case, the victims are allowed to extend their stay until the case is finished.”
The government has also published some books, magazines, and pamphlets for the foreign wives so that they would know what to do in case any sort of problem occurs. “In fact, the ministry had contacted us to publish some rules on sexual abuse and domestic violence in our newspaper. They are all in Chinese and we had to translate everything in Tagalog and English,” she says.
Services for OFWs
The language barrier is one of the most difficult hurdles for Filipinas to overcome, according to Nene, as is the need for them to be gainfully employed if their families cannot live on just one income. But by and large, she says, the FMTA members have had successful marriages because Filipinas are traditionally very caring and family-oriented, traits that Taiwanese men appreciate.
To date, with Nene as mother-hen, welfare cases involving Filipinas married to Taiwanese are at a zero-level rate, based on the assistance-to-nationals report of the Commission on Overseas Filipinos.
But marriage to foreign nationals and living abroad is not a bed of roses, Nene is quick to assert.
“That is why the FMTA is there as a support group for all of us who have made a new life in Taiwan,” she says.
Nene is also quite active in ensuring the welfare of OFWs in Taiwan to the extent that sometimes her own home is used as a half-way shelter for distressed Filipinos. She is also quite used to calls during ungodly hours from her compatriots who seek her advice and help in dealing with employers and personal problems, or to give job referrals.
She publishes and edits her monthly newspaper distributed free to Filipinos, financed by advertisements from Philippine and Taiwan firms that service the OFWs’ needs.
The Migrant provides OFWS with news from the Philippines and information on new developments and government policies that affect them. It also features advice columns and self-help articles, and snippets and photos of the goings-on in the Filipino community in Taiwan, aside from the ubiquitous Filipino showbiz chismis.
Relevant publication
“This venture is now my full-time career, and it is really no joke to have a monthly publication that is relevant and meaningful to your readers. Aside from contributions, we also do our own staff research on the Internet to get articles that would be of interest to readers. So far, circulation is growing and so is the number of our advertisers that help defray the cost of publication and printing,” she says.
Nene is preparing for the possibility of her eventual retirement with her husband to a home in Cavite. - Reuben Lim, Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 24, 2009
What’s more, Eleanor “Nene” B. Ho has made it her life’s work to help her compatriots through an organization she founded some 10 years ago, the Filipinos Married to Taiwanese Association (FMTA). She is also the publisher of The Migrants, a monthly newspaper for Filipinos in Taiwan. Among others, these have earned her recognition last year as one of the Philippines’ Banaag awardees for significant contributions to overseas Filipino communities.
While she has been an activist for the rights of overseas Filipino workers and Filipina spouses of Taiwanese, Nene has maintained a harmonious relationship with the Taiwanese in general, and most especially with her loving Taiwanese husband with whom she has a daughter.
She is a mainstay in Filipino affairs in Taiwan and is one of the most active partners of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in taking care of expat Filipinos.
All about respect
“It is all about respect,” says this former English teacher born in Cavite City in 1944. “Filipinos have to respect themselves and show that they are worthy of respect, no matter where they are.”
Nene knows this firsthand because she herself was among the first Filipinos to work in Taiwan, host to almost 90,000 Filipinos working as factory workers, domestics, construction workers and fishermen, and professionals. Many Taiwanese men have also chosen Filipinas as brides through arranged marriages. An estimated 7,000 Filipinas now live there with their Taiwanese husbands.
Nene’s own marriage to a Taiwanese 20 years her senior developed along similar lines. A Business Administration degree holder from the Philippine Women’s University, she decided to try her luck in Taiwan after working in Manila companies. Arriving on a tourist visa, Nene wangled a job at the front desk of Taipei’s then-leading hotel, the Lai Lai Sheraton.
But though she did well enough for the hotel to request her extended stay, the Sheraton already had five other foreign workers so Nene transferred to a travel agency where she wrote promotional material.
Loving a Taiwanese
“My boss found me very useful for his business, so he really tried all means to get me to stay in Taiwan. The only means he found was for me to get married to a Taiwanese, so he introduced me to his friend and we got married for that purpose— to get a better visa for me to stay in Taiwan,” she says.
But Nene’s story does not end there.
“After marriage, we dated, we became close to each other and since I found him to be a very gentle, thoughtful, loving and considerate man, I agreed to live with him. That was how he became my husband. Now we have one daughter who is studying at the university,” she says.
After marriage, Nene set about with industry, determined to make her marriage work by balancing career and family obligations.
“Though I was working then in a travel agency at daytime and teaching English at night, I managed to take care of the house, our clothing, food everyday and of course the family. I was very busy but that was all right with me. I only had to learn how to arrange and budget my time so as I could fulfill all my responsibilities to my family. After all I realize that the husband’s treatment of the wife depends on how the wife is doing,” she says.
Collective voice
Armed with her own positive experience, Nene decided to set up the FMTA to give Filipinas a collective voice and for the spouses to interact with and support each other in their new lives in a foreign land.
“I was one of the founders and became president for over five years,” she says. “The FMTA is also well recognized by the Taiwan Government and has always been invited whenever they have some activities that are meant for foreign workers, foreign spouses and their children. We have had some forums on foreign spouses and invited resource speakers to give us insights on different problems we all face. We have suggested different approaches the Taiwan government could take for our sector. We have conducted English classes for the children of our members, and have motivated our members and their children into joining regular activities like in the church.”
Hotline for abused spouses
Because many Taiwanese men have had to look to foreign brides for their spouses, the Taiwanese government has put up measures to prevent abusive marriages.
Nene knows these by heart.
“The government provides a hotline (113) that is open 24 hours (in 5 languages—English, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Cambodian, Thai) to answer calls for help.
They also have a toll-free line (0800-088-885) for Foreign Spouses Protection Counseling, also for 24 hours. They are always ready to help the callers and to collect evidence to help them with their cases. They also have counseling hotlines in five languages.
Lawyers in every district around the country are available to help victims of domestic violence, to pay the medical check-up and help provide temporary shelter. If the victim is to live alone, she will be educated on how to live a new life and to find a new job for herself.”
English barrier
“The foreign wives who became victims of maltreatment are authorized to apply with the court for a restraining order. This will restrain the actions of the violent husbands and guarantee the safety of the victims. They can also apply for the custody of the children and require the husbands to return their personal documents. If there is any court case, the victims are allowed to extend their stay until the case is finished.”
The government has also published some books, magazines, and pamphlets for the foreign wives so that they would know what to do in case any sort of problem occurs. “In fact, the ministry had contacted us to publish some rules on sexual abuse and domestic violence in our newspaper. They are all in Chinese and we had to translate everything in Tagalog and English,” she says.
Services for OFWs
The language barrier is one of the most difficult hurdles for Filipinas to overcome, according to Nene, as is the need for them to be gainfully employed if their families cannot live on just one income. But by and large, she says, the FMTA members have had successful marriages because Filipinas are traditionally very caring and family-oriented, traits that Taiwanese men appreciate.
To date, with Nene as mother-hen, welfare cases involving Filipinas married to Taiwanese are at a zero-level rate, based on the assistance-to-nationals report of the Commission on Overseas Filipinos.
But marriage to foreign nationals and living abroad is not a bed of roses, Nene is quick to assert.
“That is why the FMTA is there as a support group for all of us who have made a new life in Taiwan,” she says.
Nene is also quite active in ensuring the welfare of OFWs in Taiwan to the extent that sometimes her own home is used as a half-way shelter for distressed Filipinos. She is also quite used to calls during ungodly hours from her compatriots who seek her advice and help in dealing with employers and personal problems, or to give job referrals.
She publishes and edits her monthly newspaper distributed free to Filipinos, financed by advertisements from Philippine and Taiwan firms that service the OFWs’ needs.
The Migrant provides OFWS with news from the Philippines and information on new developments and government policies that affect them. It also features advice columns and self-help articles, and snippets and photos of the goings-on in the Filipino community in Taiwan, aside from the ubiquitous Filipino showbiz chismis.
Relevant publication
“This venture is now my full-time career, and it is really no joke to have a monthly publication that is relevant and meaningful to your readers. Aside from contributions, we also do our own staff research on the Internet to get articles that would be of interest to readers. So far, circulation is growing and so is the number of our advertisers that help defray the cost of publication and printing,” she says.
Nene is preparing for the possibility of her eventual retirement with her husband to a home in Cavite. - Reuben Lim, Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 24, 2009
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 25, 2010
RP agencies scored for ‘illegal’ rider in Taiwan OFWs’ contract
Migrants’ rights groups have slammed two agencies of the Philippine government for allowing an “illegal" provision to be added to the employment contract of the 13 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Taiwan who have raised it as one of their labor issues.
The Asian Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) scored the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan (MECO) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for letting the 13 OFWs sign an addendum in their contract, which they said was declared illegal under Taiwanese law since 1999.
According to a CBCP News article, the APMM said the addendum required OFWs to pay 2,500 New Taiwan Dollars (about P3,400) for their food, accommodation and airfare to and from Taiwan.
APMM director Ramon Bultron said that by allowing the addendum to be part of the workers’ contract, both the MECO, the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan, and the POEA are party to the crime of human trafficking.
The addendum, the article added, was signed by the workers’ company, AV Tech Corporation; two brokerage firms from Manila and from Taiwan; and the OFWs.
Through negotiations facilitated by the Taiwanese Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA), the 13 OFWs were able to pressure their employer to give in to 10 of their 12 demands, including returning the employees’ passports and updating their pay slips, which were delayed by two to three months, according to Migrante-Taiwan which assisted the workers.
Addendum was “valid"
While the OFWs have asserted that the addendum is contradictory to labor standards and prejudicial to the interests of the migrant workers, the BLA, which currently hears the OFWs’ complaints, has said the addendum was legal.
In a separate interview, MECO Labor Affairs director Reydeluz Conferido also said the addendum was “valid".
“Contracts can be amended to improve their provisions and to make them suited to existing conditions," Conferido said.
He explained that both Philippine and Taiwanese labor laws provide that contracts may be amended, provided it is allowed by pertinent government agencies and that all signatories agree to the amendments.
Taiwanese labor laws, he noted, likewise allows renegotiation of contracts, including provisions on wages, especially if it is proven that the company was affected by an economic recession.
Group demands removal of MECO worker
As this developed, Migrante-Taiwan chairperson David Chang accused an employee of MECO of working against the interests of the workers and demanded that she be removed from her post.
In a separate statement, Chang said Gina Lin, a translator for the MECO’s labor office, insisted that she be one of the negotiators in the conciliation, and asked that Chang and another Migrante official to present their alien residence certificate (ARC) to the BLA for proper identification.
Chang said they refused Lin’s request, which they described as “irresponsible", as showing their ARC will expose their address to both the company and the brokerage agency and make them vulnerable to retaliation.
“As the negotiations pushed through, we found out that Lin was a former employee of the brokerage agency being accused of labor malpractice. It was she who earlier told the complainants that the MECO cannot help them on their case and that it takes two weeks for the National Immigration Agency to provide them shelter," Chang said in the statement.
The BLA later sided with Migrante and the workers, and barred Lin from participating in the negotiations.
According to Conferido, he sent Lin to be MECO’s official representative in the conciliatory talks.
Lin’s request, Conferido said, was valid as they had to determine Migrante’s authority to represent the workers and participate in the negotiations.
Conferido added they have yet to verify the reported decision of the BLA in favor of the workers.
GMANews.TV tried to contact POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili but her phone was unattended.
Meanwhile, the APMM asked the Philippine government to disallow the signing of an addendum to employment contracts, and to immediately investigate the incident and prosecute officials who allowed illegal amendments to contracts.
“It is bad enough that the Aquino administration has slashed the legal assistance budget for OFWs by half. Allowing labor exploitation to be put into paper is another," Bultron said. — JERRIE M. ABELLA, GMANews.TV, September 22, 2010
The Asian Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) scored the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan (MECO) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for letting the 13 OFWs sign an addendum in their contract, which they said was declared illegal under Taiwanese law since 1999.
According to a CBCP News article, the APMM said the addendum required OFWs to pay 2,500 New Taiwan Dollars (about P3,400) for their food, accommodation and airfare to and from Taiwan.
APMM director Ramon Bultron said that by allowing the addendum to be part of the workers’ contract, both the MECO, the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan, and the POEA are party to the crime of human trafficking.
The addendum, the article added, was signed by the workers’ company, AV Tech Corporation; two brokerage firms from Manila and from Taiwan; and the OFWs.
Through negotiations facilitated by the Taiwanese Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA), the 13 OFWs were able to pressure their employer to give in to 10 of their 12 demands, including returning the employees’ passports and updating their pay slips, which were delayed by two to three months, according to Migrante-Taiwan which assisted the workers.
Addendum was “valid"
While the OFWs have asserted that the addendum is contradictory to labor standards and prejudicial to the interests of the migrant workers, the BLA, which currently hears the OFWs’ complaints, has said the addendum was legal.
In a separate interview, MECO Labor Affairs director Reydeluz Conferido also said the addendum was “valid".
“Contracts can be amended to improve their provisions and to make them suited to existing conditions," Conferido said.
He explained that both Philippine and Taiwanese labor laws provide that contracts may be amended, provided it is allowed by pertinent government agencies and that all signatories agree to the amendments.
Taiwanese labor laws, he noted, likewise allows renegotiation of contracts, including provisions on wages, especially if it is proven that the company was affected by an economic recession.
Group demands removal of MECO worker
As this developed, Migrante-Taiwan chairperson David Chang accused an employee of MECO of working against the interests of the workers and demanded that she be removed from her post.
In a separate statement, Chang said Gina Lin, a translator for the MECO’s labor office, insisted that she be one of the negotiators in the conciliation, and asked that Chang and another Migrante official to present their alien residence certificate (ARC) to the BLA for proper identification.
Chang said they refused Lin’s request, which they described as “irresponsible", as showing their ARC will expose their address to both the company and the brokerage agency and make them vulnerable to retaliation.
“As the negotiations pushed through, we found out that Lin was a former employee of the brokerage agency being accused of labor malpractice. It was she who earlier told the complainants that the MECO cannot help them on their case and that it takes two weeks for the National Immigration Agency to provide them shelter," Chang said in the statement.
The BLA later sided with Migrante and the workers, and barred Lin from participating in the negotiations.
According to Conferido, he sent Lin to be MECO’s official representative in the conciliatory talks.
Lin’s request, Conferido said, was valid as they had to determine Migrante’s authority to represent the workers and participate in the negotiations.
Conferido added they have yet to verify the reported decision of the BLA in favor of the workers.
GMANews.TV tried to contact POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili but her phone was unattended.
Meanwhile, the APMM asked the Philippine government to disallow the signing of an addendum to employment contracts, and to immediately investigate the incident and prosecute officials who allowed illegal amendments to contracts.
“It is bad enough that the Aquino administration has slashed the legal assistance budget for OFWs by half. Allowing labor exploitation to be put into paper is another," Bultron said. — JERRIE M. ABELLA, GMANews.TV, September 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
China-Taiwan pact bad news for OFWs
MANILA, Philippines—Overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan could lose their jobs and Taiwanese tourists could skip the Philippines in the event Taiwan and China push ahead with signing an economic pact in June.
This was among the adverse impact of the possible firming up of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (Ecfa) between China and Taiwan, according to National Economic Development Authority (Neda) director Dennis Arroyo, who said they raised this concern to President Macapagal-Arroyo at Tuesday’s Neda meeting.
Speaking to reporters, Arroyo said her administration considered the Ecfa a “threat” because this would attract Taiwanese investments and tourists away from the Philippines and into China.
The most “immediate” impact should the pact be signed as scheduled in June was this would cause a slump in tourist arrivals here from Taiwan, he said. - Philippine Daily Inquirer, Posted date: April 21, 2010
This was among the adverse impact of the possible firming up of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (Ecfa) between China and Taiwan, according to National Economic Development Authority (Neda) director Dennis Arroyo, who said they raised this concern to President Macapagal-Arroyo at Tuesday’s Neda meeting.
Speaking to reporters, Arroyo said her administration considered the Ecfa a “threat” because this would attract Taiwanese investments and tourists away from the Philippines and into China.
The most “immediate” impact should the pact be signed as scheduled in June was this would cause a slump in tourist arrivals here from Taiwan, he said. - Philippine Daily Inquirer, Posted date: April 21, 2010
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Better jobs for Filipinos in Taiwan seen
WITH TOURISM BOOM
By Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: September 06, 2009
TAIPEI—With the thawing of once icy relations between China and Taiwan, new opportunities might just open up for Filipinos who want to work overseas but are not happy with just scrubbing floors and toiling in sweatshops.
For over a year now, this island-nation of 23 million has drawn countless visitors from mainland China through direct tourist flights, blurring hostile lines that once divided the two.
Taiwan has started building new hotels and improving other lodgings as the number of regular flights from the mainland reached an average of 20 per week, said Antonio Basilio, managing director and resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) here.
“This means a lot of opportunities for Filipino workers,” Basilio told reporters during a visit to his office on Tuesday.
Of the roughly 80,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, about 53,000 or 67 percent have landed jobs in electronic or manufacturing factories, he said. The rest work either as domestic help or caregivers.
Taiwan’s Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) pegged the number of overseas Filipino workers here at 68,000, with 21,000 employed as caregivers and 47,000 in factories.
Early last year, Taiwan took a bold step towards warmer relations with China, which regards the island as part of its territory, by opening air traffic to the mainland. Travel routes between the two countries had been halted after the outbreak of a civil war in 1949.
English required
With Taiwan opening its doors to its big next-door neighbor, Basilio said Taiwan would have to be more “international” in its outlook, hence, “English is a number one requirement.”
He said Filipino workers would find it easy to land jobs in the flourishing tourism industry here because they speak English better than their Asian counterparts. “Besides, the Philippines is very near Taiwan,” Basilio added.
Taiwan officials said there was a need for the country to push for more development projects to accommodate the surging number of visitors now pegged at about three million yearly.
Infrastructure important
“Infrastructure is very important, and this includes the transportation system, hotels and resorts, for which we will spend a lot of effort,” said Chung-Hwa Tuo, commissioner of the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism, in an interview.
Dr. Pan Shih-Wei, CLA political deputy minister, predicted that roughly 200,000 jobs can be created in Taiwan if trade agreements the country was trying to seal with China would push through.
Most of these jobs would come from the manufacturing and tourism industries, he added. Whether this would immediately benefit Filipino workers would have to depend on labor policies between the Philippines and Taiwan, he said.
“When the Taiwanese economy grows, we will benefit because we supply the workers and some electronic goods also,” Basilio pointed out. Meco, he said, was also looking for jobs for Filipino engineers, scientists and teachers.
The Philippines continues to be Taiwan’s top source of electronic workers, despite the recent global financial crunch that forced major companies to lay off at least 5,000 Filipino workers from August 2009 up to March this year.
Taiwan, however, has started receiving additional electronic product demands from the mainland with improved relations between the two, said Meco Labor Affairs Director Rodolfo Sabulao. “And the companies have started requesting more Filipino workers from us,” he added.
Priority rehiring
Sabulao said Meco was also making arrangements with these companies to make sure that recently repatriated Filipino employees were on the priority list for rehiring.
He said that Meco and the CLA were also working together to implement a direct-hiring policy among employers in the country so OFWs would not have to pay exorbitant placement fees to domestic and foreign brokers.
This year, the CLA expanded the program to cover all kinds of workers and new hires.
By Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: September 06, 2009
TAIPEI—With the thawing of once icy relations between China and Taiwan, new opportunities might just open up for Filipinos who want to work overseas but are not happy with just scrubbing floors and toiling in sweatshops.
For over a year now, this island-nation of 23 million has drawn countless visitors from mainland China through direct tourist flights, blurring hostile lines that once divided the two.
Taiwan has started building new hotels and improving other lodgings as the number of regular flights from the mainland reached an average of 20 per week, said Antonio Basilio, managing director and resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) here.
“This means a lot of opportunities for Filipino workers,” Basilio told reporters during a visit to his office on Tuesday.
Of the roughly 80,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, about 53,000 or 67 percent have landed jobs in electronic or manufacturing factories, he said. The rest work either as domestic help or caregivers.
Taiwan’s Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) pegged the number of overseas Filipino workers here at 68,000, with 21,000 employed as caregivers and 47,000 in factories.
Early last year, Taiwan took a bold step towards warmer relations with China, which regards the island as part of its territory, by opening air traffic to the mainland. Travel routes between the two countries had been halted after the outbreak of a civil war in 1949.
English required
With Taiwan opening its doors to its big next-door neighbor, Basilio said Taiwan would have to be more “international” in its outlook, hence, “English is a number one requirement.”
He said Filipino workers would find it easy to land jobs in the flourishing tourism industry here because they speak English better than their Asian counterparts. “Besides, the Philippines is very near Taiwan,” Basilio added.
Taiwan officials said there was a need for the country to push for more development projects to accommodate the surging number of visitors now pegged at about three million yearly.
Infrastructure important
“Infrastructure is very important, and this includes the transportation system, hotels and resorts, for which we will spend a lot of effort,” said Chung-Hwa Tuo, commissioner of the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism, in an interview.
Dr. Pan Shih-Wei, CLA political deputy minister, predicted that roughly 200,000 jobs can be created in Taiwan if trade agreements the country was trying to seal with China would push through.
Most of these jobs would come from the manufacturing and tourism industries, he added. Whether this would immediately benefit Filipino workers would have to depend on labor policies between the Philippines and Taiwan, he said.
“When the Taiwanese economy grows, we will benefit because we supply the workers and some electronic goods also,” Basilio pointed out. Meco, he said, was also looking for jobs for Filipino engineers, scientists and teachers.
The Philippines continues to be Taiwan’s top source of electronic workers, despite the recent global financial crunch that forced major companies to lay off at least 5,000 Filipino workers from August 2009 up to March this year.
Taiwan, however, has started receiving additional electronic product demands from the mainland with improved relations between the two, said Meco Labor Affairs Director Rodolfo Sabulao. “And the companies have started requesting more Filipino workers from us,” he added.
Priority rehiring
Sabulao said Meco was also making arrangements with these companies to make sure that recently repatriated Filipino employees were on the priority list for rehiring.
He said that Meco and the CLA were also working together to implement a direct-hiring policy among employers in the country so OFWs would not have to pay exorbitant placement fees to domestic and foreign brokers.
This year, the CLA expanded the program to cover all kinds of workers and new hires.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
