Team going to Afghanistan to review OFW deployment ban

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government is finally sending a fact-finding team to Afghanistan to determine whether or not it will lift the existing ban on the deployment of Filipino workers there.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that a three-man team headed by Ambassador Roy Cimatu will fly to Afghanistan tomorrow to assess the working conditions there.

Sources from the DOLE said that upon the request of Filipino workers in Afghanistan, the Cimatu team is undertaking an eight-day assessment mission and will make the necessary recommendation to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Labor officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that the government is also undertaking an assessment in compliance with the new law requiring all countries employing Filipinos to be certified as a “safe destination.”

Earlier, a group of Filipino workers employed in Afghanistan asked the government to send a special team to review the existing ban on the deployment of Filipino workers there.

The government banned the deployment of workers to Afghanistan due to prevailing hostilities in the country. Filipino workers, however, continued to sneak into Afghanistan despite the ban.

President Aquino has reportedly created a task force to review the deployment ban.

A team from the DFA was supposed to fly to Afghanistan late last year to conduct a review, but it cancelled the plan and instead deployed a team to South Korea where there was growing tension at that time.

Filipino workers claim that about 6,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) face displacement if the government fails to lift the deployment ban to Afghanistan.

They noted that the US Central Command has ordered all American contractors in Afghanistan not to renew the contracts of and repatriate all workers from countries with existing deployment ban.

Processing suspended

As this developed, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) temporarily suspended yesterday the processing of overseas employment contracts of thousands of Filipinos seeking to work abroad.

Local recruiters said the temporary suspension could result in the delay in deployment of thousands of Filipino workers who are already set to leave the country for employment overseas.

But POEA deputy administrator Noriel Devaneda said the agency had to temporarily stop the processing because of the deadline for the mandatory certification of countries employing Filipinos.

The deadline for the certification for countries where there are Philippine embassies lapsed yesterday. Of the 67 countries with embassies, three have no certification yet which means they can no longer employ OFWs.

POEA chief Carlos Cao also reported that of the 131 foreign countries without embassies, only 22 have been issued the mandated certification from the DFA.

He, however, expressed confidence that more countries would be able to comply with the Philippine government’s requirement since the DFA can still issue certification to countries without Philippine consulates until Feb. 24.

Employment outlook uncertain

Meantime, the International Labor Organization (ILO) warned yesterday that employment opportunities appeared bleak for jobseekers in the Philippines and other countries in the Asia Pacific.

In a report titled “Global Employment Trends 2011:The Challenge of a Job Recovery,” the ILO said the employment outlook in Asia and the Pacific, including the Philippines, remains uncertain this year.

“While rapid economic growth has resumed in many economies, regional unemployment in Asia and the Pacific is expected to see little change in 2011 and overall, the employment outlook is uncertain, with youth unemployment, vulnerable employment, working poverty and a lack of social protection among concerns facing policy-makers,” the ILO noted.

With the record high unemployment rate for the past three years since the start of the economic crisis, ILO said recovery in jobs is seen to be weak and high unemployment is likely to continue in 2011.

Based on the annual survey they conducted, ILO said delayed labor market recovery is indicated not only in the lag between output growth and employment growth, but also by the way productivity gains are poorly reflected in real wage growth in many countries.

“This can threaten future recovery prospects, as there are strong linkages between growth in real wages, consumption and future investments,” the ILO said.

ILO added that increasing food prices around the world also represent a growing threat. For non-agricultural sectors, ILO said continued sharp increases in food prices could lead to employment losses.

According to the ILO, global unemployed in 2010 stood at 205 million despite a sharp rebound in economic growth in many countries. In 2011, the ILO projects a global unemployment rate of 6.1 percent or a total of 203.3 million unemployed.

In Southeast Asia and the Pacific, ILO said the crisis affected the quality of employment more than the quantity in some economies.

“Although unemployment is now below or at pre-crisis levels in some countries, regional unemployment has only edged down slightly, from 5.2 percent in 2009 to 5.1 percent in 2010, and is expected to show little change in 2011,” ILO said.

ILO said vulnerable employment has also increased and youth unemployment remained an issue. This is reportedly because employment growth has not matched economic growth.

ILO also stressed the need to focus on quality employment, particularly creating a stronger link between productivity growth and wage growth.

Juan Somavia, ILO director-general, said there is a need to rethink the standard macroeconomic policy mixes and make quality job creation and decent work a central target of macroeconomic policies, alongside high growth, low inflation and balanced public budgets.

He also urged policy makers to remember that the future competitiveness and sustainable development of their societies depend on creating opportunities for young people. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)