Escudero urges Noy to prioritize labor export policy

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday expressed alarm over the impact on the country of Saudi Arabia’s labor policy prioritizing its nationals over foreigners in job opportunities.

Escudero said this should serve as a wake up call to Malacanang, on its lack of any so-called labor export policy, as it could become a “trend” in other land-based deployments.

“In the absence of a labor export policy, which I really think the government should seriously consider, we must brace ourselves in the event that this move by Saudi Arabia becomes a trend in other land-based deployments.

“It is high time that our labor department invests in research to forecast employment trends so that we can better plan and model employment opportunities for our expatriate labor force,” he said.

Records from the POEA show that 44 percent of overseas Filipino workers deployed to the Middle East are bound for Saudi Arabia, making this country the fourth top destination of all deployed domestic workers, and the 3rd largest source of OFW remittances.

“It is high time that the government officially recognize we have a labor export so that policies for better working conditions and status for our overseas Filipino workers can be crafted and negotiated under a government-to-government agreement,” Escudero added.

The senator said the Executive should actively push for free trade in services following the decision of the Ministry of Labor of Saudi Arabia to cease issuing new work permits to domestic helpers from the Philippines due to disagreements over wage conditions.

The new policy, which also includes househelps from Indonesia, will not only affect the employment of new hires but could also potentially displace domestic workers already deployed in Saudi Arabia.

“The government, together with other similarly situated countries, should push free trade in services and not only goods as part of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS),” Escudero said.

The GATS was crafted by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) envisioned to liberalize services in the public domain for mutual gains in goods and services. Trade in services thus should include the ability to supply, or at least be the preferred source of human capital given a country’s advantage and competitiveness in certain skills.

The senator said that the move by Saudi Arabia is a form of “nationalization” or better known in this oil-rich kingdom in the Middle East as “Saudization,” which aim is to develop and utilize its own workforce.

Escudero, who has been pushing the creation of a comprehensive labor export policy, put to task the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to immediately pursue trade and job matching opportunities for overseas workers. –Angie M. Rosales, Daily Tribune