Nov 29, 2010: DUBAI // After 20 years on the drawing board, plans to build a Filipino social club to serve Dubai and the Northern Emirates are gathering steam as a representative of the consulate prepares to meet authorities to secure a plot of land from the Government.
Analiza Magno Concepcion, the chairman of an organising committee that governs 90 Filipino groups in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, said creating such a hub was the "ultimate goal" of her one-year term.
The Philippine consul-general, Benito Valeriano, is to meet Dubai authorities this week to discuss the issue.
"It's easy for us to build it, once we secure a plot from the authorities," said Ms Concepcion, who will also attend the meeting. "If 400,000 Filipinos here donate Dh5 each, it would definitely be a good start."
In November last year, Grace Princesa, the Philippine ambassador to the UAE, said that establishing community centres in the different emirates, where her compatriots could meet, was a top priority.
"We should all work together in achieving this goal," Ms Princesa said this week. "If allowed by the local authorities, these centres would be a good way to showcase our world-class products, conduct financial literacy courses and other reintegration programmes."
Jun Tupas, 56, a regional quality manager in Dubai who has lived in the UAE for the past 26 years, said the project was great news for the Filipino community.
"We've been dreaming about a Filipino social club for the past 20 years," he said.
"It will be an ideal place for the heads of the community organisations to meet in and conduct training programmes, and for our compatriots to engage in social, cultural and sport activities."
To kickstart the financial drive, the community is preparing for the Bayanihan 2010 celebration, to be held on December 10 at The Philippine School in Rashidiya district. The day will serve as an important fundraiser for the social club, Ms Princesa said.
Nicasio Atienza, 43, a maintenance engineer in Dubai, runs the Dubai chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity and said its members would support the campaign to raise funds for the proposed club.
"It was a dream of those who lived and worked here for many years," he said. "The former leaders of the community had earlier attempted to work on this project, but it didn't materialise."
Grayson Servinas, 29, a warehouse manager in Dubai and a co-founder of the Confederation of Ilocano Associations in Dubai, said his organisation would pitch in with fundraising. "It would be great to have our own place for conferences and other social gatherings," he said.
Most of the 600,000 Filipinos who live and work in the Emirates are located in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, according to a 2008 stock estimate by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas in Manila. About 120,000 are in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. - Ramona Ruiz (rruiz@thenational.ae), http://www.thenational.ae
Showing posts with label UAE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UAE. Show all posts
Monday, November 29, 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
Friday, August 6, 2010
60 groups join RP program for OFWs in UAE
Over 60 groups have joined the Philippine support program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Members of Filipino groups in Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain in UAE signed up for the OFW program initiated by Philippine Ambassador Grace Princesa.
The program aims to unite all Filipino groups under "Team Bayanihan" that will set up a support system for OFWs and their families in the Philippines.
“I hope to federate this and re-establish the United Filipino Associations of the Emirates (UFAE), or something similar to that," Princesa said in an article on UAE-based news site Khaleej Times.
Princesa has partnered with government and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide training on financial literacy to 30 select migrant leaders.
In turn, the migrant leaders will train their group members about the culture of saving and making good investments.
A plan is also underway to collect data to determine the extent of debt Filipinos get into in the UAE. The OFWs and their families will be educated on the negative effects of dependency and consumerism.
“Hopefully, this will reduce the number of those being jailed due to credit card and bank loans," said Princesa.
She said the Philippines is the among the top five labor origin countries, "so we have to look into the rights and privileges of our workers."
At present, she said she is studying the issues faced by undocumented workers, like those who abscond.
The Khaleej Times report said 60 percent of Filipino workers in the UAE are professionals. “Of the unskilled workers, around five percent are domestic helpers and 90 percent of our problems are associated with them. This is what we’re looking into," Princesa said.
Another cause of concern is illegal recruitment. Princesa plans to document the origins of the victims and carry out a massive information drive against illegal recruitment.
Princesa will also focus on the migration of women, as 50 to 60 percent of the OFWs in the Middle East are women.
She said she is documenting their educational streams to reconnect them to their professions once they’re back home.
She also plans to promote the "Buy or Wear Pinoy, Help a Pinay" program, encouraging the use of abaca, of which the Philippines is the world's top producer, and the banana or pineapple fiber textile.
“Once we stimulate development, women back home can start their micro-enterprise and they won’t have to come here for a paltry $200 (Dh750)," she said. –VVP, GMANews.TV, Article posted August 05, 2010 - 09:42 AM
Members of Filipino groups in Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain in UAE signed up for the OFW program initiated by Philippine Ambassador Grace Princesa.
The program aims to unite all Filipino groups under "Team Bayanihan" that will set up a support system for OFWs and their families in the Philippines.
“I hope to federate this and re-establish the United Filipino Associations of the Emirates (UFAE), or something similar to that," Princesa said in an article on UAE-based news site Khaleej Times.
Princesa has partnered with government and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide training on financial literacy to 30 select migrant leaders.
In turn, the migrant leaders will train their group members about the culture of saving and making good investments.
A plan is also underway to collect data to determine the extent of debt Filipinos get into in the UAE. The OFWs and their families will be educated on the negative effects of dependency and consumerism.
“Hopefully, this will reduce the number of those being jailed due to credit card and bank loans," said Princesa.
She said the Philippines is the among the top five labor origin countries, "so we have to look into the rights and privileges of our workers."
At present, she said she is studying the issues faced by undocumented workers, like those who abscond.
The Khaleej Times report said 60 percent of Filipino workers in the UAE are professionals. “Of the unskilled workers, around five percent are domestic helpers and 90 percent of our problems are associated with them. This is what we’re looking into," Princesa said.
Another cause of concern is illegal recruitment. Princesa plans to document the origins of the victims and carry out a massive information drive against illegal recruitment.
Princesa will also focus on the migration of women, as 50 to 60 percent of the OFWs in the Middle East are women.
She said she is documenting their educational streams to reconnect them to their professions once they’re back home.
She also plans to promote the "Buy or Wear Pinoy, Help a Pinay" program, encouraging the use of abaca, of which the Philippines is the world's top producer, and the banana or pineapple fiber textile.
“Once we stimulate development, women back home can start their micro-enterprise and they won’t have to come here for a paltry $200 (Dh750)," she said. –VVP, GMANews.TV, Article posted August 05, 2010 - 09:42 AM
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Filipinos fuel oil-rich Emirates’ progress, dreams
ABU DHABI—When you arrive at this oil-rich nation’s swanky airports, look up at the massive glass skyscrapers and walk into luxury hotels, you won’t be mistaken if you think Filipino hands helped make all this progress possible.
At Abu Dhabi’s iconic landmark, the majestic $3-billion Emirates Palace Hotel, one is greeted by the friendly smiles and familiar greetings of its Filipino staff.
Even in the royal household of Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Filipinos were visible when the Sheikh hosted a banquet for 91 journalists from all over the world.
The journalists were invited to be part of the UAE’s 38th national day celebration on Dec. 2, a week before the $60-billion Dubai debt crisis erupted.
Top officials of the UAE paid tribute to foreign workers, not least of them Filipinos, as an important pillar of the economic progress that has made it the second biggest Arab economy next to Saudi Arabia.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told the visiting journalists that talks were ongoing to improve the wages and conditions of workers from the Philippines and other countries.
“The issue of labor will be a continuous issue for us for many years,” Dr. Anwar said at a briefing.
Work in progress
With no more than 20 percent of its five million population being locals (or emiratis), the UAE is highly dependent on foreign labor to build its ever-expanding oil-based economy.
The UAE is the eighth top oil producer in the world, with a daily capacity of nearly three million barrels. It is also ranked as the world’s third biggest oil exporter.
“We have a lot of labor from the Philippines and Indonesia, and we are talking to these countries about conditions of labor, how we can improve them. It is a work in progress,” Dr. Anwar said.
Some 529,000 Filipinos live and work in the UAE, according to 2007 data from the Philippines’ Commission on Overseas Filipinos. Most of them are in Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates.
“We’re doing a lot, and I think in many countries, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, there’s more appreciation of what we are doing ... because [the workers] are basically living the experience with us,” he said.
‘Nothing will change’
The assurance was made a week before the Dubai debt crisis sent markets tumbling worldwide.
Dubai World, the UAE’s investment arm, sought a 6-month delay in the payment of its $60-billion debt, triggering fears of a debt default across the globe.
But in Manila, UAE Ambassador Mohammed Ebrahim Aljowaid downplayed the debt crisis’ implications on the UAE economy and the fate of Filipino and other foreign workers.
He said his government would honor its commitment to provide better employment terms.
“Nothing will change,” Aljowaid said in an interview during the Manila reception for the 38th national day on Dec. 2.
He denied that Filipinos were being retrenched or were losing jobs as a result of the debt crisis.
“Nothing. Up to now I have not seen anything like that. Don’t worry, everything will be OK,” he said.
Aljowaid said there had even been an increase in the deployment of Filipino workers for the UAE—from 150 a day to 250 in the past weeks.
Most preferred workers
Filipinos are outnumbered by other Asian workers here but they are said to be the most preferred.
“Kasi may utak daw tayo at No. 1 sa English (It’s because we are intelligent and are No. 1 in English),” said Raque Mah, a limousine driver at the Hilton Hotel.
According to Mah, Filipinos are also paid higher than their Indonesian or Pakistani counterparts because of their skills. The minimum wage is 1,500 dirhams (P18,840).
The UAE is a good place to work in, said Mah, who has worked in other countries. She said those employed by private companies, like herself, were enjoying free housing, and those employed by the government, free food provisions.
About the only problem they encounter here is homesickness, Mah said.
She said there was talk about moves to grant foreign workers “equal pay” of about 2,500 to 3,000 dirhams (P31,450 to P37,680).
Not a bubble
Will the UAE remain a desert oasis for Filipino workers despite the crisis?
No less than Sheikh Mohammad assured the visiting journalists that his nation’s economy was sufficiently strong to withstand the global economic recession.
He invited the journalists to tour Abu Dhabi and Dubai to see the furious construction of towering office buildings, luxury hotels, transport systems and entire islands for new residential, commercial and tourism hubs.
He dismissed criticism that everything was a bubble.
“With challenges come opportunities, so you’ll have to take those opportunities now,” he said.
The visionary Dubai ruler recalled how his program to position the UAE as a regional hub for finance, investment and tourism had been met with doubt.
“They said, ‘You, Sheikh Mohammad, have big dreams.’ And now we tell them that we managed to turn our dreams into reality,” he told the journalists.
Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi, UAE Central Bank governor, allayed fears that the massive real estate projects would crash, saying the UAE economy was “dynamic.”
“When they build, they don’t know the future, and when you’re half-way you can’t stop [the projects]. We ended up with excess units but this will be resolved in time,” Nasser told the journalists.
Building boom
Among the developments here is the $40-billion Yas Island built to host the inaugural Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last month. - Juliet Labog-Javellana, Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 13, 2009
At Abu Dhabi’s iconic landmark, the majestic $3-billion Emirates Palace Hotel, one is greeted by the friendly smiles and familiar greetings of its Filipino staff.
Even in the royal household of Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Filipinos were visible when the Sheikh hosted a banquet for 91 journalists from all over the world.
The journalists were invited to be part of the UAE’s 38th national day celebration on Dec. 2, a week before the $60-billion Dubai debt crisis erupted.
Top officials of the UAE paid tribute to foreign workers, not least of them Filipinos, as an important pillar of the economic progress that has made it the second biggest Arab economy next to Saudi Arabia.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told the visiting journalists that talks were ongoing to improve the wages and conditions of workers from the Philippines and other countries.
“The issue of labor will be a continuous issue for us for many years,” Dr. Anwar said at a briefing.
Work in progress
With no more than 20 percent of its five million population being locals (or emiratis), the UAE is highly dependent on foreign labor to build its ever-expanding oil-based economy.
The UAE is the eighth top oil producer in the world, with a daily capacity of nearly three million barrels. It is also ranked as the world’s third biggest oil exporter.
“We have a lot of labor from the Philippines and Indonesia, and we are talking to these countries about conditions of labor, how we can improve them. It is a work in progress,” Dr. Anwar said.
Some 529,000 Filipinos live and work in the UAE, according to 2007 data from the Philippines’ Commission on Overseas Filipinos. Most of them are in Dubai, one of the UAE’s seven emirates.
“We’re doing a lot, and I think in many countries, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, there’s more appreciation of what we are doing ... because [the workers] are basically living the experience with us,” he said.
‘Nothing will change’
The assurance was made a week before the Dubai debt crisis sent markets tumbling worldwide.
Dubai World, the UAE’s investment arm, sought a 6-month delay in the payment of its $60-billion debt, triggering fears of a debt default across the globe.
But in Manila, UAE Ambassador Mohammed Ebrahim Aljowaid downplayed the debt crisis’ implications on the UAE economy and the fate of Filipino and other foreign workers.
He said his government would honor its commitment to provide better employment terms.
“Nothing will change,” Aljowaid said in an interview during the Manila reception for the 38th national day on Dec. 2.
He denied that Filipinos were being retrenched or were losing jobs as a result of the debt crisis.
“Nothing. Up to now I have not seen anything like that. Don’t worry, everything will be OK,” he said.
Aljowaid said there had even been an increase in the deployment of Filipino workers for the UAE—from 150 a day to 250 in the past weeks.
Most preferred workers
Filipinos are outnumbered by other Asian workers here but they are said to be the most preferred.
“Kasi may utak daw tayo at No. 1 sa English (It’s because we are intelligent and are No. 1 in English),” said Raque Mah, a limousine driver at the Hilton Hotel.
According to Mah, Filipinos are also paid higher than their Indonesian or Pakistani counterparts because of their skills. The minimum wage is 1,500 dirhams (P18,840).
The UAE is a good place to work in, said Mah, who has worked in other countries. She said those employed by private companies, like herself, were enjoying free housing, and those employed by the government, free food provisions.
About the only problem they encounter here is homesickness, Mah said.
She said there was talk about moves to grant foreign workers “equal pay” of about 2,500 to 3,000 dirhams (P31,450 to P37,680).
Not a bubble
Will the UAE remain a desert oasis for Filipino workers despite the crisis?
No less than Sheikh Mohammad assured the visiting journalists that his nation’s economy was sufficiently strong to withstand the global economic recession.
He invited the journalists to tour Abu Dhabi and Dubai to see the furious construction of towering office buildings, luxury hotels, transport systems and entire islands for new residential, commercial and tourism hubs.
He dismissed criticism that everything was a bubble.
“With challenges come opportunities, so you’ll have to take those opportunities now,” he said.
The visionary Dubai ruler recalled how his program to position the UAE as a regional hub for finance, investment and tourism had been met with doubt.
“They said, ‘You, Sheikh Mohammad, have big dreams.’ And now we tell them that we managed to turn our dreams into reality,” he told the journalists.
Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi, UAE Central Bank governor, allayed fears that the massive real estate projects would crash, saying the UAE economy was “dynamic.”
“When they build, they don’t know the future, and when you’re half-way you can’t stop [the projects]. We ended up with excess units but this will be resolved in time,” Nasser told the journalists.
Building boom
Among the developments here is the $40-billion Yas Island built to host the inaugural Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last month. - Juliet Labog-Javellana, Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 13, 2009
Dubai OFWs in face of emirate’s credit crisis
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—With the repercussions of Dubai’s worst financial crisis still hanging thick in the air like lost secrets, life for most Filipinos working in this Middle Eastern cosmopolitan enclave goes on, their resilience hanging tough against yet another litmus test.
Christopher Benecio, a 30-year-old civil engineer from Roxas City, Panay came to Dubai November last year along with four other Filipino engineers. At the time, Dubai was already beginning to feel the effect of the global recession as companies started downsizing and retrenching in bulk.
By March the following year, all three of Benecio’s batch mates had already been terminated, with the first to lose his job in January.
Benecio has gone back to the Philippines, having left Dubai on December 5 this year on a paid vacation. But, he said, given the situation of his employer (Arif & Bintoak Consulting Architects and Engineers), he said he might opt to work for his previous employer, Megawide Construction in Makati, Metro Manila.
“We were getting fewer and fewer projects,” Benecio said, adding that Arif & Bintoak has resorted to implementing a one-month forced unpaid leave to cut cost. “If there was still no project after that period, it’s another forced leave or you can choose to be terminated,” he added. This, however, could not immediately be confirmed from company officials.
Prior to implementing a forced leave, the company cut down salaries of its employees by 10 percent and took away benefits, according to Benecio.
Moreover, he said, the situation at Arif & Bintoak is uncertain. “You don’t know when you’d finally get your notice of termination. It’s very difficult to work under that situation,” he said. “So why go back?”
Benecio did not divulge how much he was getting; he said he was able to save just enough to keep him and his family—a housewife and two children aged six and four—going during the transition to his old job when he returns home.
Benecio said he has submitted his resume to several companies in other countries and was awaiting reply.
Dubai’s construction sector was hardest hit by the global recession as the emirate’s real estate bubble burst. This being a result of what financial gurus said was the reckless and unsustainable lending practices arising from the deregulation and securitization of real estate mortgages in the United States. These mortgage-backed securities reinforced risky lending practices and, in the process, fed a global speculative real estate bubble.
Arif & Bintoak Consulting Architects and Engineers, which was established in 1975, has a portfolio that includes large-scale urban developments and had reported an annual project value of approximately $490 million.
Unlike Benecio, however, 58-year-old Alfredo Ranin, a former seaman who is now quality control officer at Wartsila Middle East and due to retire in 2011, said he’ll finish his remaining two years with the company and go home where, he said, work is also waiting for him. Home is Orion, Bataan, where his housewife, five children, and five grandchildren are.
Ranin, who has been in Dubai since 1992, said Wartsila UAE is “still busy” providing services to various ship owners, including commercial ones needing dry docking.
He said several fellow OFWs have left Wartsila UAE, apparently to dodge the effects of the ongoing crisis. “They have sought better employment opportunities at another Wartsila operation elsewhere or at a different company.”
“I’m staying. I’ll finish the two years then head home,” Ranin said.
Established in 1834 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Wartsila manufactures large diesel and gas engines for ships and power generation companies. In 2008 its total workforce was 18,810 spread in several countries across the globe.
Twenty-four-year-old Katrina “Kate” Oquialda, for her part, first arrived in Dubai on March 29, 2008 on a visit visa. She found a job in June of that year as a sales merchandiser. She quit in December 2008. Failing to find a new job, she went home in March this year, and came back in August, again on a visit visa.
All in a month’s time upon her arrival, she found a job as a hotel receptionist, but resigned because she found a better-paying one as waitress at a beach bar, and then resigned again because the third one—cashier at a high-end candy and chocolate shop Candylicious—is “much, much better,” she said.
Candylicious is located in what has been hyped as the biggest mall in the world—Dubai Mall, a $20-billion project that has a wall-sized aquarium and about 1,200 shops. It opened in November last year.
Oquialda, whose family lives in Pasay, said it was tougher looking for a job in Dubai earlier this year when the effects of the global recession was at its height than it is in the past few months. “There were more job opportunities. In fact, I was able to find three in only a month’s time,” she said.
Upon her return to Dubai, Oquialda, obviously a risk-taker, had about $1,000, that, she said, her mother gave her, and which she used for the rent, utilities, and food during the time she was job-hunting. With the high cost of living in Dubai, $1,000 (or about 3,672) could only last for barely two months.
Oquialda said she’ll continue taking her chances in Dubai. “It’s a lot more difficult to find a job in the Philippines than it is here,” she said.
Arnel Sanchez, who holds a degree in accountancy with earned units in MBA and MPA arrived in Dubai on January1, 2009 to try his luck. He came on a spouse visa arranged by his wife, Mary Grace, an architect by profession working currently as senior designer at Josef Gartner GmbH-Dubai.
Sanchez was able to secure employment as purchase officer at a steel company in the Dubai Investment Park, a free trade zone, around August. He, however, quit after a month when a friend convinced him to transfer to another company which has a better offer; nothing came of it.
“I thought I would be able to move in to the new company, but nay. Now, I’m back looking for another job. That episode taught me a lesson—be contented with what you have,” he said, noting that in these trying Dubai times, the best way to go is stay where you are and weather it.
Sanchez said it’s difficult to look for a job that fits his mold. “They (prospective employers) ask for a driver’s license and ‘UAE experience,’” he explained.
Being a purchase officer, Sanchez needs mobility and, therefore, a driver’s license. It takes months in classroom lecture, driving lessons, and actual driving tests; and, at times, up to 10,000 dirhams (P130,000) to obtain a driver’s license in Dubai because of strict government measures.
Seldom does one pass an actual test on first try; it usually takes four to five attempts. A student who has failed is required to undergo lecture again before going through another actual test. The repeated lecture and actual test require another round of payments, which explains the prohibitive total cost.
Jobless as he is, Sanchez’s chances of getting a driver’s license is nil—he doesn’t have the money. Despite this, his hopes remain high. “Despite the challenges of the current economy here in Dubai and all over the world, I still don’t think it’s a bad time to be looking for a job. Demand is still high and good offers can be found at plenty of places,” he said, adding that he will also opt to apply for other jobs.
Josef Gartner GmbH—Dubai is part of the Gartner Group, which is headquartered in Germany and is engaged in steel and glass architectural structures with offices in 11 countries.
Sanchez and his wife have a five-year-old daughter staying with Sanchez’s parents in Davao.
According to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dubai has the most number of OFWs from among the country’s seven emirates.
The UAE, as of 2008 has 299,241 OFWs, of which 167,264 were in Dubai; 85,999 in Abu Dhabi; 28,856 in Sharjah; 9,824 in Raz al Khaima; 4,914 in Aj Man; 1,829 in Um al Qain, and 555 in Fujairah, according to MFA.
There were no immediately available official figures on the number of OFWs that have gone home due to the recession and Dubai’s debt woes.
On November 25, 2009, Dubai requested a freeze on debt repayments by its largest and most indebted group, Dubai World, liable for $59 billion. This sent shock waves in stock markets around the world as equities dropped and fears of a looming collapse of the emirate’s economy sprang forth.
This reporter had since repeatedly tried to reach Philippine Ambassador to UAE Grace Princesa, and Consul General Noel Servigon for their comments—but received no reply.- Jojo Dass, INQUIRER.net, December 13, 2009
Christopher Benecio, a 30-year-old civil engineer from Roxas City, Panay came to Dubai November last year along with four other Filipino engineers. At the time, Dubai was already beginning to feel the effect of the global recession as companies started downsizing and retrenching in bulk.
By March the following year, all three of Benecio’s batch mates had already been terminated, with the first to lose his job in January.
Benecio has gone back to the Philippines, having left Dubai on December 5 this year on a paid vacation. But, he said, given the situation of his employer (Arif & Bintoak Consulting Architects and Engineers), he said he might opt to work for his previous employer, Megawide Construction in Makati, Metro Manila.
“We were getting fewer and fewer projects,” Benecio said, adding that Arif & Bintoak has resorted to implementing a one-month forced unpaid leave to cut cost. “If there was still no project after that period, it’s another forced leave or you can choose to be terminated,” he added. This, however, could not immediately be confirmed from company officials.
Prior to implementing a forced leave, the company cut down salaries of its employees by 10 percent and took away benefits, according to Benecio.
Moreover, he said, the situation at Arif & Bintoak is uncertain. “You don’t know when you’d finally get your notice of termination. It’s very difficult to work under that situation,” he said. “So why go back?”
Benecio did not divulge how much he was getting; he said he was able to save just enough to keep him and his family—a housewife and two children aged six and four—going during the transition to his old job when he returns home.
Benecio said he has submitted his resume to several companies in other countries and was awaiting reply.
Dubai’s construction sector was hardest hit by the global recession as the emirate’s real estate bubble burst. This being a result of what financial gurus said was the reckless and unsustainable lending practices arising from the deregulation and securitization of real estate mortgages in the United States. These mortgage-backed securities reinforced risky lending practices and, in the process, fed a global speculative real estate bubble.
Arif & Bintoak Consulting Architects and Engineers, which was established in 1975, has a portfolio that includes large-scale urban developments and had reported an annual project value of approximately $490 million.
Unlike Benecio, however, 58-year-old Alfredo Ranin, a former seaman who is now quality control officer at Wartsila Middle East and due to retire in 2011, said he’ll finish his remaining two years with the company and go home where, he said, work is also waiting for him. Home is Orion, Bataan, where his housewife, five children, and five grandchildren are.
Ranin, who has been in Dubai since 1992, said Wartsila UAE is “still busy” providing services to various ship owners, including commercial ones needing dry docking.
He said several fellow OFWs have left Wartsila UAE, apparently to dodge the effects of the ongoing crisis. “They have sought better employment opportunities at another Wartsila operation elsewhere or at a different company.”
“I’m staying. I’ll finish the two years then head home,” Ranin said.
Established in 1834 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Wartsila manufactures large diesel and gas engines for ships and power generation companies. In 2008 its total workforce was 18,810 spread in several countries across the globe.
Twenty-four-year-old Katrina “Kate” Oquialda, for her part, first arrived in Dubai on March 29, 2008 on a visit visa. She found a job in June of that year as a sales merchandiser. She quit in December 2008. Failing to find a new job, she went home in March this year, and came back in August, again on a visit visa.
All in a month’s time upon her arrival, she found a job as a hotel receptionist, but resigned because she found a better-paying one as waitress at a beach bar, and then resigned again because the third one—cashier at a high-end candy and chocolate shop Candylicious—is “much, much better,” she said.
Candylicious is located in what has been hyped as the biggest mall in the world—Dubai Mall, a $20-billion project that has a wall-sized aquarium and about 1,200 shops. It opened in November last year.
Oquialda, whose family lives in Pasay, said it was tougher looking for a job in Dubai earlier this year when the effects of the global recession was at its height than it is in the past few months. “There were more job opportunities. In fact, I was able to find three in only a month’s time,” she said.
Upon her return to Dubai, Oquialda, obviously a risk-taker, had about $1,000, that, she said, her mother gave her, and which she used for the rent, utilities, and food during the time she was job-hunting. With the high cost of living in Dubai, $1,000 (or about 3,672) could only last for barely two months.
Oquialda said she’ll continue taking her chances in Dubai. “It’s a lot more difficult to find a job in the Philippines than it is here,” she said.
Arnel Sanchez, who holds a degree in accountancy with earned units in MBA and MPA arrived in Dubai on January1, 2009 to try his luck. He came on a spouse visa arranged by his wife, Mary Grace, an architect by profession working currently as senior designer at Josef Gartner GmbH-Dubai.
Sanchez was able to secure employment as purchase officer at a steel company in the Dubai Investment Park, a free trade zone, around August. He, however, quit after a month when a friend convinced him to transfer to another company which has a better offer; nothing came of it.
“I thought I would be able to move in to the new company, but nay. Now, I’m back looking for another job. That episode taught me a lesson—be contented with what you have,” he said, noting that in these trying Dubai times, the best way to go is stay where you are and weather it.
Sanchez said it’s difficult to look for a job that fits his mold. “They (prospective employers) ask for a driver’s license and ‘UAE experience,’” he explained.
Being a purchase officer, Sanchez needs mobility and, therefore, a driver’s license. It takes months in classroom lecture, driving lessons, and actual driving tests; and, at times, up to 10,000 dirhams (P130,000) to obtain a driver’s license in Dubai because of strict government measures.
Seldom does one pass an actual test on first try; it usually takes four to five attempts. A student who has failed is required to undergo lecture again before going through another actual test. The repeated lecture and actual test require another round of payments, which explains the prohibitive total cost.
Jobless as he is, Sanchez’s chances of getting a driver’s license is nil—he doesn’t have the money. Despite this, his hopes remain high. “Despite the challenges of the current economy here in Dubai and all over the world, I still don’t think it’s a bad time to be looking for a job. Demand is still high and good offers can be found at plenty of places,” he said, adding that he will also opt to apply for other jobs.
Josef Gartner GmbH—Dubai is part of the Gartner Group, which is headquartered in Germany and is engaged in steel and glass architectural structures with offices in 11 countries.
Sanchez and his wife have a five-year-old daughter staying with Sanchez’s parents in Davao.
According to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dubai has the most number of OFWs from among the country’s seven emirates.
The UAE, as of 2008 has 299,241 OFWs, of which 167,264 were in Dubai; 85,999 in Abu Dhabi; 28,856 in Sharjah; 9,824 in Raz al Khaima; 4,914 in Aj Man; 1,829 in Um al Qain, and 555 in Fujairah, according to MFA.
There were no immediately available official figures on the number of OFWs that have gone home due to the recession and Dubai’s debt woes.
On November 25, 2009, Dubai requested a freeze on debt repayments by its largest and most indebted group, Dubai World, liable for $59 billion. This sent shock waves in stock markets around the world as equities dropped and fears of a looming collapse of the emirate’s economy sprang forth.
This reporter had since repeatedly tried to reach Philippine Ambassador to UAE Grace Princesa, and Consul General Noel Servigon for their comments—but received no reply.- Jojo Dass, INQUIRER.net, December 13, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
License of Dubai drivers’ recruiter revoked
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has cancelled the licenses of seven recruitment agencies and suspended the licenses of five others for duping 137 Filipino bus drivers into non-existent jobs in Dubai, it was learned Sunday.
In a 71-page order, POEA acting administrator Hans Cacdac revoked the licenses of CYM International Services and Placement Agency, SGA-Sahara International Manpower Services, Across Universe International Manpower Agency, Jenvic International Manpower Services, BML Worldwide Manpower Services Inc., Richfield Overseas Employment Co., and Al Anwar International Manpower.
Suspended and fined were Vigor International Manpower Services (6 months, P60,000), Bridgewood Human Resources Co. (8 months, P80,000), Expert Placement Agency (13 months, P130,000), Dreams Manpower and Recruitment Agency (18 months, P180,000), and Hana Star Corp. (26 months, P260,000).
Cleared of charges of recruitment violations was Goldmine International Recruitment Agency.
Cacdac said the variation in the penalties depended on the number of would-be overseas Filipino workers the recruiters processed after CYM farmed out the supposed 4,000 job openings for bus drivers at Dubai’s Road Transport Authority.
“Except for those who signed affidavits of desistance, the drivers will get refunds for whatever they have paid or given the recruiter or RJ Lacaba lending agency. The refunds will be charged against the escrow deposits of each agency,” he said.
The bus drivers, mostly from Central Luzon, received flyers distributed in various transport terminals. They were promised hefty salaries in exchange for a placement fee of P150,000. The drivers and their families borrowed money from the lending agency referred to them by the recruiter.
In order to survive in Dubai, some as early as January, the drivers were forced to resort to scavenging in dumpsites for recyclable items they can sell. When fellow Filipinos in Dubai learned of their situation, they donated food, water, and other items to them. Many of them have since returned home.- Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, November 08, 2009
In a 71-page order, POEA acting administrator Hans Cacdac revoked the licenses of CYM International Services and Placement Agency, SGA-Sahara International Manpower Services, Across Universe International Manpower Agency, Jenvic International Manpower Services, BML Worldwide Manpower Services Inc., Richfield Overseas Employment Co., and Al Anwar International Manpower.
Suspended and fined were Vigor International Manpower Services (6 months, P60,000), Bridgewood Human Resources Co. (8 months, P80,000), Expert Placement Agency (13 months, P130,000), Dreams Manpower and Recruitment Agency (18 months, P180,000), and Hana Star Corp. (26 months, P260,000).
Cleared of charges of recruitment violations was Goldmine International Recruitment Agency.
Cacdac said the variation in the penalties depended on the number of would-be overseas Filipino workers the recruiters processed after CYM farmed out the supposed 4,000 job openings for bus drivers at Dubai’s Road Transport Authority.
“Except for those who signed affidavits of desistance, the drivers will get refunds for whatever they have paid or given the recruiter or RJ Lacaba lending agency. The refunds will be charged against the escrow deposits of each agency,” he said.
The bus drivers, mostly from Central Luzon, received flyers distributed in various transport terminals. They were promised hefty salaries in exchange for a placement fee of P150,000. The drivers and their families borrowed money from the lending agency referred to them by the recruiter.
In order to survive in Dubai, some as early as January, the drivers were forced to resort to scavenging in dumpsites for recyclable items they can sell. When fellow Filipinos in Dubai learned of their situation, they donated food, water, and other items to them. Many of them have since returned home.- Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, November 08, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Remittances from UAE Filipino Workers to Fall by 6pc in 2009
Khaleej Times
20 July 2009
ABU DHABI - Remittances sent by Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFWs) in the UAE will dip by 6.67 percent this year, according to a Philippine bank official.
"There will be a slight decrease in the remittances sent by OFWs because of the global crisis," said Manny I. Inserto, assistant vice-president and regional head of remittances for Middle East and Africa, Global Banking Department of LandBank. LandBank is wholly-owned by the Philippine government.
He forecast that this year, UAE's remittances to the Philippines will drop moderately to $1.4 billion from an estimated $1.5 billion in 2008.
"This is a conservative estimate and is based on the number of banks (operating) in the UAE, OFW population and the volume of remittances," Inserto said. "On average, each Filipino sends between $400-$500 per month," he added. There are around 400,000 Filipinos residing and working in the UAE. The UAE ranks as the second largest remitter from the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia which has a Filipino population of 1.5 million. According to the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) there are around 1,357 OFWs in the UAE who lost their jobs and have returned to the Philippines in March. There are 6,406 displaced OFWs from around the world. Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine central bank said on Wednesday 150709 that remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through banks grew year-on-year by 3.7 percent in May 2009 to reach a record high of $1.48 billion.
Cumulative remittances for the first five months of the year totalled $6.98 billion, representing a 2.8 percent increment compared to the same period last year.
"The stream of remittances from overseas Filipinos continued to show signs of strength despite lingering global economic fragilities, providing some basis for cautious optimism regarding steady remittance levels for 2009," BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. said. He added that remittance flows continued to be underpinned by the steady demand for Filipino workers abroad, specifically professional and skilled workers. ----Last year, remittance flows to the Philippines reached $16.4 billion, roughly equivalent to a tenth of gross domestic product. In 2007, total remittances were $14.5 billion.
This year, BSP expects the remittances to stay flat. "Remittances for the full year 2009 are expected to exhibit a flat growth even with the mounting concerns about the effects of the recessionary conditions in the global economy," the central bank said in a press statement early this month. For the period January-May 2009, the major sources of remittances were the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, UK, Japan, Singapore, UAE, Italy and Germany. According to World Bank statistics, Philippines is the fourth largest remittance recipient in the world, next to India, China and Mexico.
20 July 2009
ABU DHABI - Remittances sent by Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFWs) in the UAE will dip by 6.67 percent this year, according to a Philippine bank official.
"There will be a slight decrease in the remittances sent by OFWs because of the global crisis," said Manny I. Inserto, assistant vice-president and regional head of remittances for Middle East and Africa, Global Banking Department of LandBank. LandBank is wholly-owned by the Philippine government.
He forecast that this year, UAE's remittances to the Philippines will drop moderately to $1.4 billion from an estimated $1.5 billion in 2008.
"This is a conservative estimate and is based on the number of banks (operating) in the UAE, OFW population and the volume of remittances," Inserto said. "On average, each Filipino sends between $400-$500 per month," he added. There are around 400,000 Filipinos residing and working in the UAE. The UAE ranks as the second largest remitter from the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia which has a Filipino population of 1.5 million. According to the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) there are around 1,357 OFWs in the UAE who lost their jobs and have returned to the Philippines in March. There are 6,406 displaced OFWs from around the world. Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine central bank said on Wednesday 150709 that remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through banks grew year-on-year by 3.7 percent in May 2009 to reach a record high of $1.48 billion.
Cumulative remittances for the first five months of the year totalled $6.98 billion, representing a 2.8 percent increment compared to the same period last year.
"The stream of remittances from overseas Filipinos continued to show signs of strength despite lingering global economic fragilities, providing some basis for cautious optimism regarding steady remittance levels for 2009," BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. said. He added that remittance flows continued to be underpinned by the steady demand for Filipino workers abroad, specifically professional and skilled workers. ----Last year, remittance flows to the Philippines reached $16.4 billion, roughly equivalent to a tenth of gross domestic product. In 2007, total remittances were $14.5 billion.
This year, BSP expects the remittances to stay flat. "Remittances for the full year 2009 are expected to exhibit a flat growth even with the mounting concerns about the effects of the recessionary conditions in the global economy," the central bank said in a press statement early this month. For the period January-May 2009, the major sources of remittances were the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, UK, Japan, Singapore, UAE, Italy and Germany. According to World Bank statistics, Philippines is the fourth largest remittance recipient in the world, next to India, China and Mexico.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Register to vote in 2010 polls, Pinoys in UAE told
GMANews.TV
Article posted April 20, 2009 - 01:53 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reiterated their appeal to Filipinos living there to register now so they can vote in the 2010 elections.
Online news site Khaleej Times reported that the registration for Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) for the May 10, 2010 polls started last Feb. 1 will end on Aug 31.
“We urge the Filipinos who haven’t registered yet to do so, particularly newcomers to the UAE. Those who previously registered but failed to vote in the 2004 and 2007 elections have to re-register," said Noel Servigon, Minister and Consul General of the Philippine Embassy.
He said ongoing registration in Abu Dhabi is from Sunday to Thursday, between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Special registration sessions during the weekend are also being held for the Filipino workers who cannot do so during the working days.
But as of April 15, only 392 Filipinos in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain have registered so far.
There are more than 300,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) in the UAE in 2008 and around 90,000 are residing in Abu Dhabi.
The embassy has also conducted a registration outreach in Al Ain early this month where 71 have registered.
“We encourage Filipinos residing outside Abu Dhabi city to submit a written request to the embassy and we will come to them if they can’t come to us," Servigon said.
To register, Filipinos must present any of the following — the latest Philippine passport, UAE labor card, Seaman’s Book or any proof of Philippine citizenship.
Registered voters are required to bring their voter’s identification issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the day of the election.
Article posted April 20, 2009 - 01:53 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reiterated their appeal to Filipinos living there to register now so they can vote in the 2010 elections.
Online news site Khaleej Times reported that the registration for Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) for the May 10, 2010 polls started last Feb. 1 will end on Aug 31.
“We urge the Filipinos who haven’t registered yet to do so, particularly newcomers to the UAE. Those who previously registered but failed to vote in the 2004 and 2007 elections have to re-register," said Noel Servigon, Minister and Consul General of the Philippine Embassy.
He said ongoing registration in Abu Dhabi is from Sunday to Thursday, between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Special registration sessions during the weekend are also being held for the Filipino workers who cannot do so during the working days.
But as of April 15, only 392 Filipinos in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain have registered so far.
There are more than 300,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) in the UAE in 2008 and around 90,000 are residing in Abu Dhabi.
The embassy has also conducted a registration outreach in Al Ain early this month where 71 have registered.
“We encourage Filipinos residing outside Abu Dhabi city to submit a written request to the embassy and we will come to them if they can’t come to us," Servigon said.
To register, Filipinos must present any of the following — the latest Philippine passport, UAE labor card, Seaman’s Book or any proof of Philippine citizenship.
Registered voters are required to bring their voter’s identification issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during the day of the election.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
No rape of OFW in Dubai, says UAE authorities
INQUIRER.net
Posted date: June 03, 2009
MANILA, Philippines—The Filipina overseas worker in Dubai who alleged that she was raped by an intruder in her employer’s residence last month was not raped, according to police authorities in United Arab Emirates.
The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai said findings by UAE police investigators showed that the Filipina’s alleged intruder, an Indian national, was actually her boyfriend.
In a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs, UAE authorities were quoted as saying that a thorough investigation of the incident and its circumstances indicates that the relationship between the unnamed intruder and the Filipina was intimate and the alleged incident consensual.
Both were jailed for one month in Dubai on charges of immorality and will be sent back to their respective countries.
The consulate said it will continue representations with UAE authorities for the release and repatriation of the Filipina within the month.
Posted date: June 03, 2009
MANILA, Philippines—The Filipina overseas worker in Dubai who alleged that she was raped by an intruder in her employer’s residence last month was not raped, according to police authorities in United Arab Emirates.
The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai said findings by UAE police investigators showed that the Filipina’s alleged intruder, an Indian national, was actually her boyfriend.
In a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs, UAE authorities were quoted as saying that a thorough investigation of the incident and its circumstances indicates that the relationship between the unnamed intruder and the Filipina was intimate and the alleged incident consensual.
Both were jailed for one month in Dubai on charges of immorality and will be sent back to their respective countries.
The consulate said it will continue representations with UAE authorities for the release and repatriation of the Filipina within the month.
Monday, June 1, 2009
What happened to Filipino drivers in Dubai?
INQUIRER.net
Posted date: June 01, 2009
MANILA, Philippines—It’s been almost two months since the story of Filipino drivers stranded in Dubai attracted the attention of government and non-government organizations. But what has happened to them?
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, citing a report by the consulate general in Dubai, most of the remaining Filipino drivers in Ajman, United Arab Emirates who were duped by CYM International Services for non-existent jobs have been offered employment by Emirates Flight Catering and Dubai’s Road and Transportation Agency.
In his report to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Philippine Consul General in Dubai Benito Valeriano said 62 others are still in Dubai waiting for the processing of their employment papers and the payment of their overstaying penalties.
The Philippine government has pressed on Al Toomoh Technical Services, the counterpart of CYM International Services in Dubai, to shoulder the payment of these penalties.
“Their employment papers could not be processed because the penalties for overstaying need to be paid. They came in various dates from January until March using visit visas, the validity of which have already expired. Al Toomoh Agency management has stated that it would pay for these penalties,” Valeriano said.
The consulate general said Vice Consul Edwin Gil Mendoza and welfare officer Elmer Joven recently visited the Filipino workers to check on their condition and employment status.
He said another eight have started working for Quality Mix, and another eight were offered work by the same company.
Valeriano said 14 Filipino drivers have opted to return to Manila.
Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the DFA to look for alterative jobs for the stranded drivers as a humanitarian gesture.
At the same time, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency has already filed charges against CYM International Services for violating labor deployment laws and regulations.
Posted date: June 01, 2009
MANILA, Philippines—It’s been almost two months since the story of Filipino drivers stranded in Dubai attracted the attention of government and non-government organizations. But what has happened to them?
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, citing a report by the consulate general in Dubai, most of the remaining Filipino drivers in Ajman, United Arab Emirates who were duped by CYM International Services for non-existent jobs have been offered employment by Emirates Flight Catering and Dubai’s Road and Transportation Agency.
In his report to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Philippine Consul General in Dubai Benito Valeriano said 62 others are still in Dubai waiting for the processing of their employment papers and the payment of their overstaying penalties.
The Philippine government has pressed on Al Toomoh Technical Services, the counterpart of CYM International Services in Dubai, to shoulder the payment of these penalties.
“Their employment papers could not be processed because the penalties for overstaying need to be paid. They came in various dates from January until March using visit visas, the validity of which have already expired. Al Toomoh Agency management has stated that it would pay for these penalties,” Valeriano said.
The consulate general said Vice Consul Edwin Gil Mendoza and welfare officer Elmer Joven recently visited the Filipino workers to check on their condition and employment status.
He said another eight have started working for Quality Mix, and another eight were offered work by the same company.
Valeriano said 14 Filipino drivers have opted to return to Manila.
Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the DFA to look for alterative jobs for the stranded drivers as a humanitarian gesture.
At the same time, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency has already filed charges against CYM International Services for violating labor deployment laws and regulations.
76 Pinoy bus drivers still stranded in UAE
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Created 05/29/2009 - 19:16
Seventy-six of the 137 Filipino bus drivers who were victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking are still stranded in Ajman Province, United Arab Emirates, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center reported.
Susan Ople, president of the Ople Center called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to come up with a contingency plan to assist the drivers who have been stranded there since January 2009.
The DFA was also urged to cancel the passport of recruiter Connie Paloma, manager of CYM International Services and Placement Agency, on the basis of the subpoena issued by the Senate to be followed by a warrant of arrest for her failure to attend the Senate labor committee hearings.
Paloma was seen in Dubai “where she reportedly went to convince some of the bus drivers to withdraw from the multiple cases filed against her.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment learned of the plight of the remaining bus drivers in the UAE through the Ople Center and from the wife of one of the bus drivers.
Mrs. Irenea Maniego said the drivers continue to languish at Ajman Camp while waiting for the issue of overstaying fines be resolved.
“According to Mrs. Maniego, her husband has accumulated the equivalent of P40,000 in fines due to expired visas. The non-payment of fines of the remaining drivers stands in the way of their eventual repatriation or in the case of 15 drivers, their absorption into the workforce of Emirates Catering, a Dubai-based company,” the Ople Center said in a press statement.
Carmelita Dimzon, administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) told the Senate committee that the Philippine Overseas Labor Officer (POLO) is still in negotiations with Al Toomoh Technical Services to pay for the penalties for over-staying so the drivers can be eventually repatriated.
Al Toomoh is the UAE-based partner of CYM International Services and Placement Agency which recruited the bus drivers.
The bus drivers lived in what their legal council, Atty. Reynaldo Robles, described as a “deplorable condition”. They were housed at cramped quarters near a garbage dumpsite with no electricity and running water. The food donation from concerned members of the Filipino community in Dubai is almost dwindling.
Robles urged the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to resolve the administrative complaint filed by the drivers against 12 conspiring agencies. When this is resolve, the escrow deposits of the agencies can be used to settle the immigration penalties of all remaining drivers.
Estrada’s committee is set to tackle the third hearing of the plight of the Filipino bus drivers in the UAE on June 3.
as of 06/01/2009 3:44 PM
Created 05/29/2009 - 19:16
Seventy-six of the 137 Filipino bus drivers who were victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking are still stranded in Ajman Province, United Arab Emirates, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center reported.
Susan Ople, president of the Ople Center called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to come up with a contingency plan to assist the drivers who have been stranded there since January 2009.
The DFA was also urged to cancel the passport of recruiter Connie Paloma, manager of CYM International Services and Placement Agency, on the basis of the subpoena issued by the Senate to be followed by a warrant of arrest for her failure to attend the Senate labor committee hearings.
Paloma was seen in Dubai “where she reportedly went to convince some of the bus drivers to withdraw from the multiple cases filed against her.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment learned of the plight of the remaining bus drivers in the UAE through the Ople Center and from the wife of one of the bus drivers.
Mrs. Irenea Maniego said the drivers continue to languish at Ajman Camp while waiting for the issue of overstaying fines be resolved.
“According to Mrs. Maniego, her husband has accumulated the equivalent of P40,000 in fines due to expired visas. The non-payment of fines of the remaining drivers stands in the way of their eventual repatriation or in the case of 15 drivers, their absorption into the workforce of Emirates Catering, a Dubai-based company,” the Ople Center said in a press statement.
Carmelita Dimzon, administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) told the Senate committee that the Philippine Overseas Labor Officer (POLO) is still in negotiations with Al Toomoh Technical Services to pay for the penalties for over-staying so the drivers can be eventually repatriated.
Al Toomoh is the UAE-based partner of CYM International Services and Placement Agency which recruited the bus drivers.
The bus drivers lived in what their legal council, Atty. Reynaldo Robles, described as a “deplorable condition”. They were housed at cramped quarters near a garbage dumpsite with no electricity and running water. The food donation from concerned members of the Filipino community in Dubai is almost dwindling.
Robles urged the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to resolve the administrative complaint filed by the drivers against 12 conspiring agencies. When this is resolve, the escrow deposits of the agencies can be used to settle the immigration penalties of all remaining drivers.
Estrada’s committee is set to tackle the third hearing of the plight of the Filipino bus drivers in the UAE on June 3.
as of 06/01/2009 3:44 PM
The UAE 76
The Manila Times
Friday, May 29, 2009
EDITORIAL
Seventy-six Filipino workers remain stranded in Ajman Province, the United Arab Emirates, where they were promised work but abandoned by their recruiter since January.
The 76 Filipinos are part of an original group of 137 workers hired as bus drivers by a Philippine-based recruitment firm. Not one has worked since arrival in the UAE but 61 have returned to Manila to recount their experience and to seek compensation.
Their plight dramatizes the continuing power of illegal recruitment and loopholes in the law that encourage spurious hiring and that allow the exploiters of hope to ply their trade with impunity.
The Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a think tank on overseas employment and human trafficking, has taken the cudgels for the drivers and, on its representation, prompted the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment, chaired by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, to look into the problem.
During the hearing on Monday, former Labor Undersecretary Susan B. Ople, president of the center, described before the Estrada panel the circumstances surrounding the recruitment of the bus drivers and their daily plight since their arrival in the UAE.
The senators learned that the workers were hired by CYM International Services and Placement Agency at prohibitive placement fees. The workers’ financial woes were compounded by their inability to pay the “overstaying fines” for expired visas. Failure to settle the fines, which amount to thousands of pesos, have prevented the drivers from returning to Manila or from seeking other work in the province.
The head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) told the panel that work on the payment of the fines was in progress. This wasn’t enough for Senator Estrada who ordered OWWA, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Foreign Affairs to develop and implement a contingency plan to get the 76 workers out of the province and out of their misery.
The drivers are living in cramped quarters close to a dumpsite, the workers’ legal counsel informed the committee. No power and running water are available in the shanties, while food is supplied principally by Filipino community leaders. A leading TV network recently filmed and showed the workers’ plight on one of its channels. Pleas from the workers to return to Manila arrive daily, the legal counsel said.
The owner of the recruitment firm has not attended a single hearing, prompting Estrada to issue a subpoena and to recommend cancellation of her passport. The public has not heard her side, but how long should she be given presumption of innocence?
Each day spent in despair by the Dubai 76 is a black mark on the record of the government offices responsible for regulating overseas employment, policing the recruitment business and protecting victims of illegal hiring. We should hope that the Ople Policy Center will continue to nag the authorities and that the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment would shepherd the hearing to a just conclusion and to propose legislation that would increase safeguards for worksite toilers and jobseekers and sanctions for undisciplined recruiters.
Friday, May 29, 2009
EDITORIAL
Seventy-six Filipino workers remain stranded in Ajman Province, the United Arab Emirates, where they were promised work but abandoned by their recruiter since January.
The 76 Filipinos are part of an original group of 137 workers hired as bus drivers by a Philippine-based recruitment firm. Not one has worked since arrival in the UAE but 61 have returned to Manila to recount their experience and to seek compensation.
Their plight dramatizes the continuing power of illegal recruitment and loopholes in the law that encourage spurious hiring and that allow the exploiters of hope to ply their trade with impunity.
The Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a think tank on overseas employment and human trafficking, has taken the cudgels for the drivers and, on its representation, prompted the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment, chaired by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, to look into the problem.
During the hearing on Monday, former Labor Undersecretary Susan B. Ople, president of the center, described before the Estrada panel the circumstances surrounding the recruitment of the bus drivers and their daily plight since their arrival in the UAE.
The senators learned that the workers were hired by CYM International Services and Placement Agency at prohibitive placement fees. The workers’ financial woes were compounded by their inability to pay the “overstaying fines” for expired visas. Failure to settle the fines, which amount to thousands of pesos, have prevented the drivers from returning to Manila or from seeking other work in the province.
The head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) told the panel that work on the payment of the fines was in progress. This wasn’t enough for Senator Estrada who ordered OWWA, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Foreign Affairs to develop and implement a contingency plan to get the 76 workers out of the province and out of their misery.
The drivers are living in cramped quarters close to a dumpsite, the workers’ legal counsel informed the committee. No power and running water are available in the shanties, while food is supplied principally by Filipino community leaders. A leading TV network recently filmed and showed the workers’ plight on one of its channels. Pleas from the workers to return to Manila arrive daily, the legal counsel said.
The owner of the recruitment firm has not attended a single hearing, prompting Estrada to issue a subpoena and to recommend cancellation of her passport. The public has not heard her side, but how long should she be given presumption of innocence?
Each day spent in despair by the Dubai 76 is a black mark on the record of the government offices responsible for regulating overseas employment, policing the recruitment business and protecting victims of illegal hiring. We should hope that the Ople Policy Center will continue to nag the authorities and that the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment would shepherd the hearing to a just conclusion and to propose legislation that would increase safeguards for worksite toilers and jobseekers and sanctions for undisciplined recruiters.
Franchisee sees more expansion
The Visayan Daily Star
May 28, 2009
A franchisee of popular fast food chain Chowking, Ahmed Lafir said he is planning to expand his business at the United Arab Emirates following the success of his initial investment on the venture, a press release from the company said.
By yearend, Lafir, managing director of the Dubai-based Tradeline L.L.C., will have a network of 14 Chowking stores in the UAE alone, including those in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Lafir said he is also in talks with Jollibee Food Corp., Chowking’s parent company, to open stores in the UAE.
While Tradeline is a leading conglomerate specializing in fertilizers, petrochemicals, agro commodities, as well as steel and aluminum products, it has been expanding his Chowking franchise in the UAE at the rate of three stores a year with an average sales growth of over 90 percent in the past three years.
Lafir also unveiled plans to open more stores in the UAE and in other Gulf Cooperation Council member-countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar in the future, at the a recent Chowking franchise convention in Baguio City, the press release said.
Aside from the typical Chowking fare – noodles, dimsum and chicken – Chowking UAE also serves up other Filipino home-style dishes such as bulalo (beef and bone marrow soup) and kare-kare (oxtail or tripe stew).
The UAE stores are also more spacious and can seat up to 200 people for parties.
To keep up with demand, Tradeline has also set up its own commissary that can cater to up to 50 stores and its own research and development team.
Its Chowking business now provides jobs to 400 people of various nationalities.
While Chowking in the UAE will continue to target the Filipino market, he said, “We will also improve our menu to attract others” such as the large population of Indians and Africans. “Still, Filipinos will be our core market as they’re the captive market for the brand and we don’t want to take on risks,” Lafir said in the press release.*
May 28, 2009
A franchisee of popular fast food chain Chowking, Ahmed Lafir said he is planning to expand his business at the United Arab Emirates following the success of his initial investment on the venture, a press release from the company said.
By yearend, Lafir, managing director of the Dubai-based Tradeline L.L.C., will have a network of 14 Chowking stores in the UAE alone, including those in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Lafir said he is also in talks with Jollibee Food Corp., Chowking’s parent company, to open stores in the UAE.
While Tradeline is a leading conglomerate specializing in fertilizers, petrochemicals, agro commodities, as well as steel and aluminum products, it has been expanding his Chowking franchise in the UAE at the rate of three stores a year with an average sales growth of over 90 percent in the past three years.
Lafir also unveiled plans to open more stores in the UAE and in other Gulf Cooperation Council member-countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar in the future, at the a recent Chowking franchise convention in Baguio City, the press release said.
Aside from the typical Chowking fare – noodles, dimsum and chicken – Chowking UAE also serves up other Filipino home-style dishes such as bulalo (beef and bone marrow soup) and kare-kare (oxtail or tripe stew).
The UAE stores are also more spacious and can seat up to 200 people for parties.
To keep up with demand, Tradeline has also set up its own commissary that can cater to up to 50 stores and its own research and development team.
Its Chowking business now provides jobs to 400 people of various nationalities.
While Chowking in the UAE will continue to target the Filipino market, he said, “We will also improve our menu to attract others” such as the large population of Indians and Africans. “Still, Filipinos will be our core market as they’re the captive market for the brand and we don’t want to take on risks,” Lafir said in the press release.*
Famous Filipino eatery opens in UAE
Published: June 1, 2009
XPRESS
http://www.xpress4me.com/life/foodie/restaurants/20013492.html
Dubai : ETA Star Retail and the Ongpauco family, owners of the original Barrio Fiesta chain of Restaurants in the Philippines, signed an agreement to open its first restaurant in the UAE.
Present at the signing was Ishwar Chugani, Executive Director, ETA-Star Retail Group, and Happy Ongpauco, Director and Vice President for Operations, Barrio Fiesta Group of Restaurants.
Commenting on the new venture, Ishwar Chugani said, “We are confident that bringing Barrio Fiesta to the UAE will be a success and will tap into a niche market that is currently unmet. Barrio Fiesta has a legacy that has excited the palettes of millions of people and now we have the opportunity to introduce it to the food lovers in the UAE.”
Established in 1952, Barrio Fiesta has over the years grown to become the leading traditional family restaurant in the Philippines and currently has 50 restaurants in the Philippines and the U.S.A.
“This is another milestone in the history of Barrio Fiesta as we cross borders into the Middle East with our first store in Dubai as it is our mission to share the culinary delight of Filipino food with the rest of the world. Since its inception our family has worked hard to grow the restaurant into the institution it has now become and we look forward to working with ETA-Star Retail to grow the brand in the UAE,” said Happy Ongpauco.
The first restaurant is scheduled of open at Bur Juman Centre later this year.
XPRESS
http://www.xpress4me.com/life/foodie/restaurants/20013492.html
Dubai : ETA Star Retail and the Ongpauco family, owners of the original Barrio Fiesta chain of Restaurants in the Philippines, signed an agreement to open its first restaurant in the UAE.
Present at the signing was Ishwar Chugani, Executive Director, ETA-Star Retail Group, and Happy Ongpauco, Director and Vice President for Operations, Barrio Fiesta Group of Restaurants.
Commenting on the new venture, Ishwar Chugani said, “We are confident that bringing Barrio Fiesta to the UAE will be a success and will tap into a niche market that is currently unmet. Barrio Fiesta has a legacy that has excited the palettes of millions of people and now we have the opportunity to introduce it to the food lovers in the UAE.”
Established in 1952, Barrio Fiesta has over the years grown to become the leading traditional family restaurant in the Philippines and currently has 50 restaurants in the Philippines and the U.S.A.
“This is another milestone in the history of Barrio Fiesta as we cross borders into the Middle East with our first store in Dubai as it is our mission to share the culinary delight of Filipino food with the rest of the world. Since its inception our family has worked hard to grow the restaurant into the institution it has now become and we look forward to working with ETA-Star Retail to grow the brand in the UAE,” said Happy Ongpauco.
The first restaurant is scheduled of open at Bur Juman Centre later this year.
Groups facing revoked permit
Business World Online
June 1, 2009
TWELVE RECRUITMENT agencies are facing cancellation of license for reprocessing job orders of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
In a statement at the weekend, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said hearings are ongoing on the cases of recruitment agencies which were involved in the reprocessing of job orders of 137 Filipino drivers to Dubai that resulted in some stranded OFWs.
Reprocessing job orders, or using different orders to attract applicants to a work different from what they originally applied for , is against POEA rules.
The recruiters are:
CYM International Services and Placement Agency;
Across Universe Manpower Agency;
Al Anwar International Manpower Services;
BML Worldwide Manpower Agency;
Hana Star Corp.;
Jenvic International Manpower Services;
Richfield Overseas Employment Agency;
SGA-Shahara International Manpower Services;
Vigor International Manpower Services;
Dreams Manpower and Recruitment Agency;
Experts Placement Agency; and
Bridgewood Human Resources.
The recruiters were also charged with falsification of public documents, contract substitution and illegal exaction.
Recruitment consultant Emmanuel S. Geslani said in a separate statement that the government is negotiating with partners of the agencies in Dubai to pay the penalties incurred by the recent case of Filipino drivers who were victims of job reprocessing.
--------------------
Story Location: http://www.bworldonline.com/BW060109/content.php?id=079
June 1, 2009
TWELVE RECRUITMENT agencies are facing cancellation of license for reprocessing job orders of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
In a statement at the weekend, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said hearings are ongoing on the cases of recruitment agencies which were involved in the reprocessing of job orders of 137 Filipino drivers to Dubai that resulted in some stranded OFWs.
Reprocessing job orders, or using different orders to attract applicants to a work different from what they originally applied for , is against POEA rules.
The recruiters are:
CYM International Services and Placement Agency;
Across Universe Manpower Agency;
Al Anwar International Manpower Services;
BML Worldwide Manpower Agency;
Hana Star Corp.;
Jenvic International Manpower Services;
Richfield Overseas Employment Agency;
SGA-Shahara International Manpower Services;
Vigor International Manpower Services;
Dreams Manpower and Recruitment Agency;
Experts Placement Agency; and
Bridgewood Human Resources.
The recruiters were also charged with falsification of public documents, contract substitution and illegal exaction.
Recruitment consultant Emmanuel S. Geslani said in a separate statement that the government is negotiating with partners of the agencies in Dubai to pay the penalties incurred by the recent case of Filipino drivers who were victims of job reprocessing.
--------------------
Story Location: http://www.bworldonline.com/BW060109/content.php?id=079
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Unwanted bus drivers still stranded in UAE after one month
Author: BI-ME staff
Source: BI-ME
Published: Wed May 27, 2009 9:52 am
UAE. About a month since the issue of the stranded Filipino bus drivers came out, 76 of the original 137 trafficked Filipino bus drivers are still stranded in Ajman.
Susan Ople, President of the Blas F Ople Policy Center in the Philppines, has asked that the passport of their recruiter, Connie Paloma, be cancelled after the Senate issued a subpoena for her repeated failure to attend Senate hearings on the case.
Press reports from the Philippines said that the recruitment agent Paloma was spotted in Dubai, where she reportedly went to convince some of the bus drivers to withdraw the multiple cases they filed against her.
Irenea Maniego, wife of one of the bus drivers, was reported as saying that her husband continues to languish at an Ajman labour camp as he awaits the resolution of the issue of fines he’s supposed to pay for overstaying. The drivers had arrived on visit visas in the hope of taking up jobs in Dubai that never materialised.
She said finalisation of the police case is needed so that he could either come home or seek employment in other Dubai-based companies.
Maniego said her husband has accumulated the equivalent of US$1,000 in fines due to expired visas.
The unsettled issue of fines is understood to be what stands in the way of the 76 drivers’ eventual repatriation, or in the case of 15 drivers among them, their absorption into the workforce of the Dubai-based Emirates Catering.
At the hearing, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Carmelita Dimzon explained that the Philippine Overseas Labor Officer (POLO) is still negotiating with Al Toomoh Technical Services, the UAE-based partner of CYM International Services and Placement Agency which recruited the bus drivers, to pay for the penalties the drivers incurred for overstaying.
Lawyer Reynaldo Robles, who is representing the bus drivers, said his office and the Ople Policy Center have been receiving calls and texts messages from the drivers still stranded in the UAE almost daily pleading that they be brought home.
Robles described the drivers’ condition as deplorable because they stay in cramped quarters adjacent to a garbage dumpsite with no power and no running water amidst dwindling food supply, most of which was earlier donated by Filipinos in Dubai.
Source: BI-ME
Published: Wed May 27, 2009 9:52 am
UAE. About a month since the issue of the stranded Filipino bus drivers came out, 76 of the original 137 trafficked Filipino bus drivers are still stranded in Ajman.
Susan Ople, President of the Blas F Ople Policy Center in the Philppines, has asked that the passport of their recruiter, Connie Paloma, be cancelled after the Senate issued a subpoena for her repeated failure to attend Senate hearings on the case.
Press reports from the Philippines said that the recruitment agent Paloma was spotted in Dubai, where she reportedly went to convince some of the bus drivers to withdraw the multiple cases they filed against her.
Irenea Maniego, wife of one of the bus drivers, was reported as saying that her husband continues to languish at an Ajman labour camp as he awaits the resolution of the issue of fines he’s supposed to pay for overstaying. The drivers had arrived on visit visas in the hope of taking up jobs in Dubai that never materialised.
She said finalisation of the police case is needed so that he could either come home or seek employment in other Dubai-based companies.
Maniego said her husband has accumulated the equivalent of US$1,000 in fines due to expired visas.
The unsettled issue of fines is understood to be what stands in the way of the 76 drivers’ eventual repatriation, or in the case of 15 drivers among them, their absorption into the workforce of the Dubai-based Emirates Catering.
At the hearing, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Carmelita Dimzon explained that the Philippine Overseas Labor Officer (POLO) is still negotiating with Al Toomoh Technical Services, the UAE-based partner of CYM International Services and Placement Agency which recruited the bus drivers, to pay for the penalties the drivers incurred for overstaying.
Lawyer Reynaldo Robles, who is representing the bus drivers, said his office and the Ople Policy Center have been receiving calls and texts messages from the drivers still stranded in the UAE almost daily pleading that they be brought home.
Robles described the drivers’ condition as deplorable because they stay in cramped quarters adjacent to a garbage dumpsite with no power and no running water amidst dwindling food supply, most of which was earlier donated by Filipinos in Dubai.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Woman in prison over rape claim
Ramona Ruiz
Last Updated: May 24. 2009 8:20PM UAE / May 24. 2009 4:20PM GMT
ABU DHABI // A migrant rights group has repeated its call to the Philippine government to send legal attachés to the Middle East after a Filipina who complained of rape ended up in an Ajman prison on adultery charges.
John Leonard Monterona, the Middle East co-ordinator for Migrante, a Filipino migrant rights group, said the woman, identified as WC, was due in court for a second hearing today, but that the Philippine consulate in Dubai had so far failed to provide a lawyer for her.
“The absence of a legal counsel during her trial may lead to a conviction or her prolonged imprisonment,” Mr Monterona said.
The case was brought to the attention of Migrante by WC’s husband, still in the Philippines, who wrote to the group this month, worried that he had not heard from his wife since April 7.
WC, who had arrived in Dubai on March 27 to take up a position as a hotel chambermaid, had wanted to return home when she was made to work as a housemaid instead.
The husband was told by the recruitment agency on April 27 that his wife had made the allegation of rape, but had been “jailed for lying” after a medical examination proved negative for the alleged assault.
On the same day, the husband received a phone call from his wife, who told him that she had been raped.
Mr Monterona, however, said Migrante had no information yet about the identity of the man involved or the date when the alleged attack took place.
Officials from Ajman police confirmed the case and said they had already referred WC to the public prosecutor.
She remains in police custody. The officials, however, declined to provide further details since the case was now being dealt with by the criminal courts.
Ahmed Bajunaid, the head of the assistance to nationals section at the consulate in Dubai, said initial reports showed that the Filipina had admitted to allowing an Indian man to enter her room. He said the man was now in jail on trespassing charges.
Between 200 and 300 Filipinos are behind bars in Dubai and the northern Emirates, according to Mr Bajunaid. They include people convicted of theft, as well as drugs and immigration offences. Others have been jailed for bad debts.
Last month Migrante and the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants in Hong Kong asked Manila to supply legal attachés in the Middle East to ensure that Filipinos appearing in court were represented.
Repeating the call, Mr Monterona said that while his organisation welcomed a decision to deploy social welfare attachés in the Middle East next month, Manila should consider sending legal attachés first. About 500 Filipinos were behind bars in the Middle East, with at least 16 on death row.
“It makes a difference being accompanied by someone with legal knowledge and expertise on Sharia,” he said.
Nasser Munder, the Philippine labour attaché in Abu Dhabi, said 136 Filipinas, mostly housemaids, were being counselled at the Abu Dhabi shelter run by Filipino labour and welfare officers. They had fled their employers after complaining of mistreatment, overwork and not being paid.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Manila will send the first batch of social welfare attachés to Saudi Arabia and Jordan in June. It is not known when they will be posted to the UAE.
rruiz@thenational.ae
With additional reporting by Yasin Kakande
Last Updated: May 24. 2009 8:20PM UAE / May 24. 2009 4:20PM GMT
ABU DHABI // A migrant rights group has repeated its call to the Philippine government to send legal attachés to the Middle East after a Filipina who complained of rape ended up in an Ajman prison on adultery charges.
John Leonard Monterona, the Middle East co-ordinator for Migrante, a Filipino migrant rights group, said the woman, identified as WC, was due in court for a second hearing today, but that the Philippine consulate in Dubai had so far failed to provide a lawyer for her.
“The absence of a legal counsel during her trial may lead to a conviction or her prolonged imprisonment,” Mr Monterona said.
The case was brought to the attention of Migrante by WC’s husband, still in the Philippines, who wrote to the group this month, worried that he had not heard from his wife since April 7.
WC, who had arrived in Dubai on March 27 to take up a position as a hotel chambermaid, had wanted to return home when she was made to work as a housemaid instead.
The husband was told by the recruitment agency on April 27 that his wife had made the allegation of rape, but had been “jailed for lying” after a medical examination proved negative for the alleged assault.
On the same day, the husband received a phone call from his wife, who told him that she had been raped.
Mr Monterona, however, said Migrante had no information yet about the identity of the man involved or the date when the alleged attack took place.
Officials from Ajman police confirmed the case and said they had already referred WC to the public prosecutor.
She remains in police custody. The officials, however, declined to provide further details since the case was now being dealt with by the criminal courts.
Ahmed Bajunaid, the head of the assistance to nationals section at the consulate in Dubai, said initial reports showed that the Filipina had admitted to allowing an Indian man to enter her room. He said the man was now in jail on trespassing charges.
Between 200 and 300 Filipinos are behind bars in Dubai and the northern Emirates, according to Mr Bajunaid. They include people convicted of theft, as well as drugs and immigration offences. Others have been jailed for bad debts.
Last month Migrante and the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants in Hong Kong asked Manila to supply legal attachés in the Middle East to ensure that Filipinos appearing in court were represented.
Repeating the call, Mr Monterona said that while his organisation welcomed a decision to deploy social welfare attachés in the Middle East next month, Manila should consider sending legal attachés first. About 500 Filipinos were behind bars in the Middle East, with at least 16 on death row.
“It makes a difference being accompanied by someone with legal knowledge and expertise on Sharia,” he said.
Nasser Munder, the Philippine labour attaché in Abu Dhabi, said 136 Filipinas, mostly housemaids, were being counselled at the Abu Dhabi shelter run by Filipino labour and welfare officers. They had fled their employers after complaining of mistreatment, overwork and not being paid.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Manila will send the first batch of social welfare attachés to Saudi Arabia and Jordan in June. It is not known when they will be posted to the UAE.
rruiz@thenational.ae
With additional reporting by Yasin Kakande
Sunday, May 24, 2009
UAE should be more than just a port of call
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/05/24/10316262.html
05/24/2009 12:13 AM | By Mishaal Al Gergawi, Special to Gulf News
Menudo is a Puerto Rican band that was founded in the late 1970s. The band came about after a producer enjoyed success with the management of a Spanish teen group called La Pandilla from 1973-1976. He returned to Puerto Rico with the intention of forming a new boy band in which the members would be replaced as they grew older. He resolved that the group's members would have to make way when they reached the age of 16, their voices changed, they grew facial hair, or grew too tall. In a sense, this is a brand rather than a band. Its product is flexible but its message remains the same; this is a marketer's dream.
So why am I talking about Menudo? Well, because the UAE's business model is very similar to that of the band. The UAE basically tells you that you are welcome to come here and give it your best shot, build yourself a life, get a good job, start a business, make Dh10 million, find a partner, buy a house and have children - but leave at 60.
This rule was drafted a long time ago. The times have changed and the UAE no longer aims to make money by simply re-exporting goods. We are now a self-proclaimed centre for a region that stretches to Central Asia and West Africa. We are undergoing a testing transformation from commercial centre to civil society and, most importantly, we aim to become a home as opposed to a transient state. We have great expectations indeed. But however great they may be, we must not shy away from them. We must not be hindered by archaic rules and regulations that were drafted for different times, different demographics and certainly different ambitions.
A friend of mine lost one of his newborn children when his wife went into premature labour. He buried his son in the UAE, but had to renew his annual visa three months later. He tells me this and I think to myself, we'll take their dead but not the living? This must be the result of a typo in the fine print, right? No, this is the status quo.
I am writing this article in sweat pants and a white T-shirt that bears the image of Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late ruler and founder of the UAE. The T-shirt was created by Munabu Ozawa, a 36-year-old Japanese graphic designer who has been living in Dubai for six years now. While he's a self-confessed admirer of the UAE and its culture, he is not specifically interested in becoming an Emirati; he is a Japanese man who has found a home - and like-minded people - in Dubai. Should Ozawa choose to stay in the country and retire here - provided he can prove he has the funds - then I believe he should be able to do so.
This is what makes the UAE beautiful, and just because we've had significant growth over the last 10 years does not mean that our doors should be closed at some point. This will only attract opportunists who do not have a vested interest in the country and its sustainable development.
My friend trusted our country with his son and I believe we should trust him a little more and allow him more security with respect to his retirement plans.
- Mishaal Al Gergawi is an Emirati commentator on socio-economic and cultural affairs in the UAE.
05/24/2009 12:13 AM | By Mishaal Al Gergawi, Special to Gulf News
Menudo is a Puerto Rican band that was founded in the late 1970s. The band came about after a producer enjoyed success with the management of a Spanish teen group called La Pandilla from 1973-1976. He returned to Puerto Rico with the intention of forming a new boy band in which the members would be replaced as they grew older. He resolved that the group's members would have to make way when they reached the age of 16, their voices changed, they grew facial hair, or grew too tall. In a sense, this is a brand rather than a band. Its product is flexible but its message remains the same; this is a marketer's dream.
So why am I talking about Menudo? Well, because the UAE's business model is very similar to that of the band. The UAE basically tells you that you are welcome to come here and give it your best shot, build yourself a life, get a good job, start a business, make Dh10 million, find a partner, buy a house and have children - but leave at 60.
This rule was drafted a long time ago. The times have changed and the UAE no longer aims to make money by simply re-exporting goods. We are now a self-proclaimed centre for a region that stretches to Central Asia and West Africa. We are undergoing a testing transformation from commercial centre to civil society and, most importantly, we aim to become a home as opposed to a transient state. We have great expectations indeed. But however great they may be, we must not shy away from them. We must not be hindered by archaic rules and regulations that were drafted for different times, different demographics and certainly different ambitions.
A friend of mine lost one of his newborn children when his wife went into premature labour. He buried his son in the UAE, but had to renew his annual visa three months later. He tells me this and I think to myself, we'll take their dead but not the living? This must be the result of a typo in the fine print, right? No, this is the status quo.
I am writing this article in sweat pants and a white T-shirt that bears the image of Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late ruler and founder of the UAE. The T-shirt was created by Munabu Ozawa, a 36-year-old Japanese graphic designer who has been living in Dubai for six years now. While he's a self-confessed admirer of the UAE and its culture, he is not specifically interested in becoming an Emirati; he is a Japanese man who has found a home - and like-minded people - in Dubai. Should Ozawa choose to stay in the country and retire here - provided he can prove he has the funds - then I believe he should be able to do so.
This is what makes the UAE beautiful, and just because we've had significant growth over the last 10 years does not mean that our doors should be closed at some point. This will only attract opportunists who do not have a vested interest in the country and its sustainable development.
My friend trusted our country with his son and I believe we should trust him a little more and allow him more security with respect to his retirement plans.
- Mishaal Al Gergawi is an Emirati commentator on socio-economic and cultural affairs in the UAE.
UAE: Expatriates must register for ID card, official says
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/05/24/10316356.html
05/23/2009 | By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) has dismissed rumours that the new national identity card is no longer mandatory for expatriates.
"It is quite strange that people believe their next-door neighbours rather than the official information," said Thamer Rashid Al Qasimi, Planning Director and Project Management Director at Eida.
He made it clear that all expatriates have to complete the ID card registration process as per the schedule announced by Eida.
"The registration process for category 2 [students and administrative staff in the private sector, translators, secretaries, typists, storekeepers and receptionists] began on March 1 and will continue until June 18. Although the registration period for expatriate professionals ended on February 28, they can still register," he explained.
Eida does not have exact figures for the number of expatriates in each category, but there are estimated to be about 600,000 professionals.
About 3,000 people are registering each day and about 500,000 expatriates have completed the registration process so far, according to the official.
"This 3,000 is just 60 per cent of our capacity and we have attracted this many people a day only after an intensive awareness campaign carried out among private organisations. We approach private companies and prompt them to utilise the special appointments system, which was introduced in March 2009," Al Qasimi explained.
More than 120 companies - more than 40 per cent of which are based in Abu Dhabi - have utilised the system thus far, he said.
Companies can approach the manager of the Eida registration centre in their area to arrange for phased appointments subject to availability, Al Qasimi said.
"No extra fee is levied for this service."
Thus far: The Process
About 99 per cent of Emiratis have been registered although a few are still completing the process despite the fact that the deadline was March 31, Al Qasimi said. A few hundred people who still need to register will be compelled to do so as they will be denied several official transactions, he said.
About 70 government organisations have made it mandatory for Emiratis to present their ID cards in order to access their services. "These include Dubai courts, Dubai Military Hospital, and water and electricity bodies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai," he said.
No shows
About 25 per cent of people who have made an appointment do not show up, Al Qasimi said. "They are spoiling the chance of others and wasting Eida's time," he said.
"Eida does not plan to take any punitive measures such as barring or suspending their registration, but we request people to respect the commitment they have made [in making an appointment]," he said, while hinting that Eida may be compelled to take action if this trend continues.
Expat registration schedule
Category 2: From March 1 to June 18. Students and administrative staff in the private sector (translators, secretaries, typists, storekeepers and receptionists).
Category 3: From June 20 to September 30. Private and public transport drivers and unskilled or semi-skilled workers in the private sector, such as housemaids, cleaners, farmers, fishermen, security guards, watchmen and all other unannounced workers except those in Category 4.
Category 4: From October 1, 2009, to December 31, 2010 Construction workers in the private sector .
05/23/2009 | By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) has dismissed rumours that the new national identity card is no longer mandatory for expatriates.
"It is quite strange that people believe their next-door neighbours rather than the official information," said Thamer Rashid Al Qasimi, Planning Director and Project Management Director at Eida.
He made it clear that all expatriates have to complete the ID card registration process as per the schedule announced by Eida.
"The registration process for category 2 [students and administrative staff in the private sector, translators, secretaries, typists, storekeepers and receptionists] began on March 1 and will continue until June 18. Although the registration period for expatriate professionals ended on February 28, they can still register," he explained.
Eida does not have exact figures for the number of expatriates in each category, but there are estimated to be about 600,000 professionals.
About 3,000 people are registering each day and about 500,000 expatriates have completed the registration process so far, according to the official.
"This 3,000 is just 60 per cent of our capacity and we have attracted this many people a day only after an intensive awareness campaign carried out among private organisations. We approach private companies and prompt them to utilise the special appointments system, which was introduced in March 2009," Al Qasimi explained.
More than 120 companies - more than 40 per cent of which are based in Abu Dhabi - have utilised the system thus far, he said.
Companies can approach the manager of the Eida registration centre in their area to arrange for phased appointments subject to availability, Al Qasimi said.
"No extra fee is levied for this service."
Thus far: The Process
About 99 per cent of Emiratis have been registered although a few are still completing the process despite the fact that the deadline was March 31, Al Qasimi said. A few hundred people who still need to register will be compelled to do so as they will be denied several official transactions, he said.
About 70 government organisations have made it mandatory for Emiratis to present their ID cards in order to access their services. "These include Dubai courts, Dubai Military Hospital, and water and electricity bodies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai," he said.
No shows
About 25 per cent of people who have made an appointment do not show up, Al Qasimi said. "They are spoiling the chance of others and wasting Eida's time," he said.
"Eida does not plan to take any punitive measures such as barring or suspending their registration, but we request people to respect the commitment they have made [in making an appointment]," he said, while hinting that Eida may be compelled to take action if this trend continues.
Expat registration schedule
Category 2: From March 1 to June 18. Students and administrative staff in the private sector (translators, secretaries, typists, storekeepers and receptionists).
Category 3: From June 20 to September 30. Private and public transport drivers and unskilled or semi-skilled workers in the private sector, such as housemaids, cleaners, farmers, fishermen, security guards, watchmen and all other unannounced workers except those in Category 4.
Category 4: From October 1, 2009, to December 31, 2010 Construction workers in the private sector .
Gulf News readers in favour of saving schemes
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/05/23/10315961.html
05/22/2009 | By Rabab Khan, Community Journalist
Dubai: When the global financial crisis struck, the primary concern for most people was to keep their savings in a safe place.
Bonds and fixed deposits are just some of the ways to achieve this and Gulf News readers shared their experiences with saving schemes.
Lim Norma, a Filipino expatriate, said she is grateful for the saving schemes available in the country.
She said: "Recently, I invested in saving certificates and I think it is a good offer. We keep our money safe and at the end of the day have a chance to win a large sum of money. Additionally, it is not about winning, it is about psychological satisfaction."
Norma believes that companies should consider using the schemes at a corporate level.
She said: "In the Philippines, some companies encourage employees to invest in bonds, which are not necessarily related to the company. There is a minimum amount and the dividends differ based on your contribution. Also, employees can withdraw their invested amount at any point."
Tripti Pathak, an Indian expatriate, feels that her money is secure when using fixed deposits.
She said: "It is a great way to be certain that part of our income is safe and will amount to a certain profit during the year, in the form of interest."
Pathak urges companies to start utilising saving schemes for the benefit of their employees.
She said: "If companies used the schemes, it would give some sort of security to their employees and help safeguard their money for the uncertainties in life. Additionally, it would be a great form of motivation for them."
Looking at the flip side of the coin is Nirmal Devasurendra, a Sri Lankan expatriate, who is sceptical about saving schemes.
He said: "I personally think it is not a sound investment, especially considering the global financial crisis. I would not want to allocate all my funds in one place. However, I do know somebody who received prize money after investing in one of the saving schemes, recently. It is a one-time shot and could be a good opportunity for some."
Mona Syed-Mirza, a British expatriate, agrees.
She said: "Before investing in one of the options, we need to analyse our personal situation and make an informed decision. In a stable environment, a fixed deposit might be a good idea, as it is a good way to earn a little money through interest. But, if you are in a time of need you can get unnecessarily tied up."
05/22/2009 | By Rabab Khan, Community Journalist
Dubai: When the global financial crisis struck, the primary concern for most people was to keep their savings in a safe place.
Bonds and fixed deposits are just some of the ways to achieve this and Gulf News readers shared their experiences with saving schemes.
Lim Norma, a Filipino expatriate, said she is grateful for the saving schemes available in the country.
She said: "Recently, I invested in saving certificates and I think it is a good offer. We keep our money safe and at the end of the day have a chance to win a large sum of money. Additionally, it is not about winning, it is about psychological satisfaction."
Norma believes that companies should consider using the schemes at a corporate level.
She said: "In the Philippines, some companies encourage employees to invest in bonds, which are not necessarily related to the company. There is a minimum amount and the dividends differ based on your contribution. Also, employees can withdraw their invested amount at any point."
Tripti Pathak, an Indian expatriate, feels that her money is secure when using fixed deposits.
She said: "It is a great way to be certain that part of our income is safe and will amount to a certain profit during the year, in the form of interest."
Pathak urges companies to start utilising saving schemes for the benefit of their employees.
She said: "If companies used the schemes, it would give some sort of security to their employees and help safeguard their money for the uncertainties in life. Additionally, it would be a great form of motivation for them."
Looking at the flip side of the coin is Nirmal Devasurendra, a Sri Lankan expatriate, who is sceptical about saving schemes.
He said: "I personally think it is not a sound investment, especially considering the global financial crisis. I would not want to allocate all my funds in one place. However, I do know somebody who received prize money after investing in one of the saving schemes, recently. It is a one-time shot and could be a good opportunity for some."
Mona Syed-Mirza, a British expatriate, agrees.
She said: "Before investing in one of the options, we need to analyse our personal situation and make an informed decision. In a stable environment, a fixed deposit might be a good idea, as it is a good way to earn a little money through interest. But, if you are in a time of need you can get unnecessarily tied up."
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