MANILA, Philippines – Filipino workers continue to sneak into Lebanon even as negotiations for the lifting of the deployment ban there remained uncertain.
Lebanese businessman Abdul Kader Al Jadid yesterday reported that an average of 60 Filipino domestic helpers arrive daily in Lebanon using Dubai and Bangkok as entry points.
“More Filipino maids arrive through Bangkok and Dubai everyday brought in by illegal recruiters using spurious travel documents,” Al Jadid disclosed.
Filipino workers in Lebanon have now reached 46,000 since the Philippine government imposed a deployment ban three years ago, he said.
Until this time, negotiations between the Philippines and Lebanon for the lifting of the ban have been stalled.
Lebanese Honorary Consul to the Philippines, Consul-General Joseph Assad said there has been no development on the planned lifting of the ban since representatives of both governments met in July.
He said Prime Minister Saad Hariri is unable to form a new cabinet since the peaceful June 7 elections.
According to Assad, until a new labor minister is appointed the Lebanon-Philippines talks will be put in the backburner as other priorities on the labor front will have to be tackled by the new government.
It is unfortunate because thousands of skilled positions for construction, tourism, service and hospitality categories are still waiting in Lebanon for qualified OFWs, he added.
The Lebanese rejected the Philippines’ position requiring a $400 minimum salary for Filipino household workers.
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque previously reported that the deployment ban will stay until the Lebanese government could ensure the welfare of Filipino workers who will be employed there.
But Assad said the Philippine position is unacceptable to the Ministry of Immigration of Lebanon, which is in charge of migrant workers.
However, Al Jadid said the Philippine government should consider the skilled Filipino workers who are missing employment opportunities because of the ban.
He said thousands of workers are needed by construction companies, hotels, restaurants, and offices to fill up the urgent demand in time for the tourist season and expansion plans for hotels and tourist attractions. –Mayen Jaymalin (philstar.com)
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
