TUCP on Guam jobs: Give priority to 7,000 who worked in Iraq

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) Labor officials must prioritize at least 6,000 Filipino workers forced out of Iraq in a program to hire 10,000 workers in Guam for the expansion there of US military facilities.

Ernesto Herrera, secretary general of the moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), said Filipinos who had been employed by Americans for jobs in military facilities in Iraq possess qualifications that are needed in Guam.

At least 7,000 to 10,000 initial job openings were available in Guam, a US territory, Herrera said.

He said by giving priority to Filipinos who would lose their jobs in Iraq, the hiring program could help reduce the negative economic impact of the job losses.

In July, the US military ordered its private contractors in Iraq to send home all their Filipino workers, according to Herrera.

“The job openings in Guam are mostly construction-related activities and services anyway. And many of our workers out of Iraq were engaged to perform similar tasks,” Herrera said in a prepared statement.

“In terms of experience, many of our laborers out of Iraq, having been employed by American contractors for work in military installations there, could readily qualify for the Guam vacancies,” he continued.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment, some 7,000 to 10,000 Filipino workers were immediately needed in Guam to build a new $700-million US naval hospital there.

In a related development, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration warned anew Philippine recruitment agencies from charging placement fees from applicants bound for the US, including Guam for jobs falling under the H-2B visa category or non-agricultural temporary worker.

The policy, contained in POEA Memorandum Circular 10 Series of 2009 issued in September last year is in line with US government regulations which forbids the charging of recruitment or placement fees from a worker as a condition for employment under an H-2B visa.

In a news release, POEA said it has adopted a policy that prohibits charging of placement fees from workers applying for jobs in countries that do not allow charging of such fees since 2001. The US, including Guam, is now one such country that forbids the charging of placement fees from workers. Other countries that prohibit the collection of placement fees from workers are United Kingdom, Ireland, Israel, some parts of Canada like Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Seskatchewan, and The Netherlands.

POEA Administrator Jennifer Jardin-Manalili said administrative charges carrying a penalty of cancellation of license shall immediately be filed against recruitment agencies found violating the no-placement fee policy in these countries.

Manalili also urged jobseekers to visit the POEA website or call hotlines 722-1144/7221155 or text 2917 for any developments on the Guam labor market. –Jocelyn Uy, Philippine Daily Inquirer