OFWs-Deployment

THE deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq and Afghanistan will stay but will exclude those employed in the US military bases in those countries, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said Sunday.

MANILA, Philippines – After a visit to aircraft carrier USS John Stennis, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa said yesterday Filipinos working in US facilities in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan may stay and continue their work there until the year ends.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said on Monday the deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya remains despite the possible end of hostilities there.

HONG KONG – Migrant workers here urged President Aquino to rethink his labor export program to protect Filipinos against “rising xenophobia and social exclusion” in this territory as well as in other migrant-destination countries.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos seeking jobs overseas are losing work opportunities because the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is taking too long to issue the clearance certificates required to work abroad, a group of recruitment firms said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is not inclined, for now, to lift the deployment ban to Libya and Afghanistan, which are still experiencing civil unrest.

The Department of Labor and Employment is now monitoring the possible impact on overseas Filipino workers of last weekend’s credit rating downgrade on the United States.

Punish abusive foreign employers but don’t ban the deployment of Filipino workers to their countries. An association of recruiters has called on the government not to unduly antagonize countries hosting overseas Filipino workers by classifying them as unfit destinations for OFWs.

Government travel ban to Iraq will stay even as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has removed a stamp in Philippine passports, which says that it can not be used for travel to the conflict-stricken state.

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has junked its contract with the Korean Hanjin ship building firm in Subic that bars former shipyard workers from seeking jobs abroad.

The United Kingdom is encouraging exceptionally talented nationals, including Filipinos, who excel in the fields of science, humanities, engineering and the arts to come and live in Britain.

MANILA, Philippines – Saudi Arabia has virtually extended the stay of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) facing displacement because of the implementation of its new hiring policy, local recruiters said yesterday.

The Philippine government’s ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Afghanistan is “ineffective” as the number of OFWs going there continues to swell, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said.

MANILA, Philippines – An estimated 5,000 Filipino workers in Afghanistan are set to send their third letter to President Aquino this week reiterating their request that the Dec. 31 deadline for them to finish their contracts be lifted so they would be allowed to extend their stay in the war-torn country.

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has offered help to Filipinos who were terminated by their employers in Saudi Arabia as the Middle East state implements its Saudization labor policy. Filipino workers who received termination notices from their employers or who have been terminated without valid cause are advised to get in touch with the embassy…

OVERSEAS Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia who are being terminated because of the Nitaqat system under the new Saudization policy can refute the grounds of their termination, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday. An advisory from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh clarified that Filipino workers in the oil-rich kingdom who were…

Around 1 Mln Expat Transactions Processed: Al-Afasi KUWAIT CITY, July 18: The GCC countries have started coordinating their efforts to impose stricter rules on the recruitment of domestic workers, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting a reliable source. The source said the GCC nations are on the verge of approving a proposal to specify the countries from…

Filipino migrant workers in Saudi Arabia who get terminated from their jobs without a valid cause should get in touch with the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

An OFW Journalism Consortium news flash exclusive MANILA—THE Philippine embassy in Baghdad said Filipino workers are not affected by the plan of the Iraqi government to deport illegal foreign workers. This is even if 2009 stock estimates on overseas Filipinos by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas show that there an estimated 2,800 irregular Filipino workers…

SURIGAO CITY, Philippines – Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz assured the public that not all of the 1.5 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia will lose their jobs due to the Saudization policy because most of them are highly skilled.

Philippine job losses from unrest in the Arab world and the Japan quake have had little overall impact on the amount of money the huge Filipino overseas workforce sends home, the Central Bank said yesterday. Cash transfers rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier to $7.9 billion in the five months to May, slightly down…

As ambassador not only to Greece but also Cyprus, I was bothered by reports that Filipinas were being unwittingly lured into prostitution to Cyprus’ then-booming nightlife districts. Reports were that they were exiting the country without the papers required by government, and they were able to do so as they were being escorted through the…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine embassy in Riyadh said yesterday there is no ban on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who wish to return to their jobs in Saudi Arabia.

A Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) official on Wednesday said the “Saudization” policy has no impact yet on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh said there is no truth to allegations that returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are being barred from entering the Middle East country.

In truth we have had more than 30 years to “prepare” for the avalanche of bad news emanating from the Middle East (specifically Saudi Arabia) and Northern Africa (specifically Libya). The bad news trickled first from Libya, where escalating conflict between local rebels and Nato forces and Libyan forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi have put…

Saudi Arabia is only the fourth major destination country for new-hire domestic workers in 2010, according to data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Even before the Saudi government implemented its ban to hire Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers last July 2, Hong Kong, China, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates outpaced Saudi Arabia…

Philippine labor officials will set up a registry to determine the number of Filipino workers who will be affected by Saudi Arabia’s new “Saudization” labor policy.

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh on Monday reiterated that the recent ban on the issuance of work visas for domestic workers from the Philippines applies only to new work visas. In a press release, the embassy said the ban announced by Saudi Ministry of Labor spokesperson Mr. Hattab al –Hanzi and became effective on July…

More than a fifth of overseas Filipino workers are working in Saudi Arabia, according to the National Statistics Office. Data from NSO showed that 22.2 percent of the two million OFWs during the period April to September 2010 worked in Saudi Arabia.