DOLE: 15 OFWs rescued in Japan rehired after opting to stay

At least 15 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were rescued from a tsunami-stricken shipbuilding facility in northeast Japan have been re-employed after opting to stay there, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the 15 were among 16 Filipino welders rescued from Ishinomaki in Northeast Japan.

“The 16 OFWs had been working for Yamanishi Corporation, a shipbuilding company, through the JITCO training program, and (were) sent to Japan through a sending organization accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority,” the Labor Department said in a news release on its website.

Citing a report from Labor Attache to Tokyo Clifford Paragua, Baldoz said only one of the 16, Melvin Nengasca, opted to return to the Philippines.

The 15 re-hired workers are:

1. Julieto Canoy;
2. Raffy Ibabo;
3. Malvin Brutas;
4. Manuel Gonzaga Jr.;
5. Carlo Quiñones;
6. Joser Pasinag;
7. Manuel Hugo Jr.;
8. Michael Brutas;
9. John Mark de Guia;
10. Jacob Jaucian;
11. Lito Bela Jr.;
12. Rodney Famorcan;
13. Genner Gonzaga;
14. Christian Javier; and
15. Romnick Benalla.

Of the 15 OFWs, eight have already been rehired by Tokai House Co. Ltd. in Kanagawa Prefecture through Setochuo Tech Cooperative, an accepting organization.

DOLE said the accepting organization, which facilitated the employment of the 15 in Japan, expressed readiness to deploy the welders to other companies, since Yamanishi Corporation was totally destroyed by the tsunami.

Baldoz said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) is now waiting for the submission by the accepting organization of the technical intern contracts to be validated, to ensure these meet the minimum standards for technical interns in Japan.

“The POLO through Welfare Officer (Luz) Talento is also negotiating with the accepting organization to defray the cost of the eight workers’ membership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, while Labor Attache Paragua is also negotiating for the hiring and re-employment of the remaining seven workers,” Baldoz said.

Quick response teams deployed

Meanwhile, Baldoz ordered the DOLE’s regional and field offices to deploy quick response teams (QRTs) to help Filipino workers affected by the Japan crisis.

“There is a need to anticipate the effects of the crisis in Japan, and one of the ways is to be ready to activate and deploy DOLE’s QRTs to Philippines-based Japanese companies in distress, including establishments that export to Japan,” she said in a separate release.

She said that while the DOLE has not yet received any notice of closure, temporary shutdown or worker layoffs from any company, DOLE regional offices should be ready just in case.

“I have asked our regional directors to identify these companies and to coordinate with their human resource units to find out the extent of the effects of the crisis if any, and what contingency plans they have so we can tailor-fit our assistance,” she said.

The QRT is a DOLE strategy to monitor company closures and retrenchments due to the adverse effects of a crisis.

It serves as DOLE’s frontline assistance delivery mechanism for workers of affected companies.

For a QRT to be activated and deployed, Baldoz said it must receive such signals as the following:

* a 30-day termination report;
* report of employers or unions, including Tripartite Industrial Peace Councils, as committed in social agreements;
* DOLE inspection report;
* request by workers and employers;
* workers’ complaints such as non-payment by companies of mandatory remittances; and
* calamities and disasters.

—With Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMA News