More than the remittances they are sending home, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are helping boost the country’s economy with their lavish spending.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said yesterday Filipino workers can cash in on the lower labor cost in the country and encourage more American firms to transfer operations here.

This story was contributed by Carla Kim of Manila Water Co, Inc. The views expressed in this article are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy…

E-mail your call center experiences (good and not-so-good) to secrtucp@ntucphl.org. We will post them here.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) slammed the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) for imposing a $3.50 or P175 “security surcharge” on departing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

xThere is a tremendous demand for well-trained Filipino front-liners in the tourism industry abroad. This is the positive trend noted by the Hospitality Staff Philippines Inc. (HSPI), a well-respected and reputable employment agency that specializes in this endeavor.

The Quezon City government will soon be taking over the responsibility of managing the $4.3-million Korea-Philippines Information Technology Training Center (KPITTC) located at the compound of the QC Polytechnic University in Barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches.

At least 70 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are now out of the war zone in Beirut, Lebanon and safely in Cyprus, but consular officials in Cyprus are hard- pressed to help them for lack of funds.

The Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces have found an ally in a former communist rebel, who is now a pro-democracy advocate.

Unless economic reforms in the 1987 Constitution are carried out, problems confronting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world will continue to recur, a top business leader said over the weekend.

American and other foreign investors are bothered by reports of widespread labor standard violations in the Philippines and may pull out their capital from the country, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) warned yesterday.

The country’s largest labor union protested yesterday a new government policy in Singapore depriving more than 82,000 foreign maids, among them Filipinas, of a weekly day off.

AS THE call center industry in the Philippines continues on its blinding progress, it still has to contend with the issue of labor shortage. Unfortunately, the industry fears that labor shortage might get worse in the coming years.

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AS expected, labor organizations nationwide—especially those associated with the left shade of the political spectrum—came out in droves for the Labor Day march, shouting the usual demands, issuing the same statements and waving the same old yellow-red banners. And predictably, the President of the country went out on TV proclaiming the usual platitudes about workers…

A provincial board member would like to see leaders of towns and cities assist residents find work by putting up Public Employment and Service Offices in their respective areas.

Share prices rose for a third day, lifting the index to its highest close in almost seven years after the government said its deficit in the first quarter was probably lower than earlier forecast.

Last week, an article at the New York Times reports efforts of Harvard to attract more low- and middle-income students by extending breaks for low-income parents. Harvard isn’t alone in trying to improve the social demographics of its student body. There are similar programs in Princeton, MIT, Stanford and Yale, among other Ivy League schools.…

Filipinos worried about a looming crisis in public health care may find some comfort in the fact that the problem is global. The World Health Organization is dedicating the 56th World Health Day today to what it describes as “a growing health workforce crisis” in many parts of the world.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned yesterday that there was virtually no chance for the Philippines to achieve dramatically higher economic growth in the short-term.

One in four college students is likely to end up jobless after graduation, despite government assurances that lots of jobs exist, an independent research group reported yesterday.

Fearing a drastic reduction of their already meager income, organized labor yesterday rejected plans of adopting the four-day workweek for the private sector.

To spur economic growth and generate employment in the countryside, the country’s largest labor group pushed yesterday for greater empowerment of local government units (LGUs) under the new Constitution.

The country’s largest labor group urged the Senate yesterday to adopt its own version of tax reform measures to ensure the granting of additional relief for workers nationwide.

To create more employment for Filipinos, the country’s largest labor group yesterday urged the government to implement reforms that could encourage local businessmen to invest here.

The country’s largest labor union called on Congress yesterday to grant additional tax exemptions to workers of private companies nationwide.

The country’s largest labor organization expressed strong objections yesterday to the call of Catholic bishops to repeal the Mining Act of 1995, saying it would result in a massive loss of jobs.

Even workers weighed in on the need to improve English proficiency as the moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) yesterday gave full support to ongoing efforts to reinstate English as the medium of instruction in all school levels.

The country’s largest labor group urged the government yesterday to improve safety measures for tens of thousands of mining industry workers after the sector was opened up to foreign investors.

Davao City (12 November) — About 60,000 workers in informal employment will get improved health and welfare especially on reproductive health services by the end of 2009.