Migrant Workers

A party-list lawmaker yesterday called on the Aquino government to take a closer look at the plight of Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia many of whom are suffering from unhealthy working conditions.

RIYADH: After a five-day visit, the Philippine House of Representatives’ Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (COWA) fact-finding mission brought home a clear picture of the hardships that Filipino migrant workers faced in Saudi Arabia.

THE HOUSE committee on overseas worker affairs (OWA) will recommend the ban of deployment of women domestic helpers in the Middle East nation due to reported abuses of Filipina migrant workers, Akbayan Rep. Walden F. Bello, chairman of the committee, said.

A day after 59 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) returned from Lebanon, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Thursday ordered the strict implementation of the OFW deployment ban on Lebanon and four other “high-risk” countries.

Concerned about reports of increasing number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) being used as drug couriers, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz yesterday issued an urgent warning to prospective OFWs and those already deployed abroad to be wary of glib-tongued individuals luring OFWs in the drug trade.

More than 200 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been repatriated en masse from Kuwait since July 2010, according to Vice President and Presidential Adviser on OFWs’ Concerns Jejomar Binay.

FILIPINO workers stand to lose some 6,000 to 7,000 potential “good-paying jobs” in Afghanistan as a memorandum from the United States Military Command directed US contractors there to stop the hiring of third-country nationals whose domestic laws have deployment bans to the war-torn country. Filipino recruitment consultant and migration expert Emmanuel Geslani said that the…

RIYADH: A delegation from the Philippine Congress met with the Filipino community on Sunday night and, although they did not promise anything, listened and took note of grievances relayed to them.

Welfare of Filipinos abroad a priority, says official Manila: Protection and welfare of Filipino guest workers abroad will remain one of the cornerstones of the Philippine’s foreign policy in 2011, Secretary Alberto Romulo said.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz yesterday announced that the Philippines ’ Filipino Worker Resource Centers (FWRCs) in 19 posts across the world had cared for a monthly average of 1,200 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who ran to the FWRCs for refuge in 2010.

Some 13,000 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in various countries were provided legal assistance and refuge by the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) last year, government records show.

The Philippines yesterday reiterated that the government-enforced ban in Lebanon will not be lifted until the working conditions for Filipinos in the Middle East state is improved.

January 7, 2011 press release prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Gilberto G.B. Asuque met ranking officials of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) to discuss the protective measures for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) under Republic Act (RA) 10022, otherwise known as the Amendatory Law on the Magna Carta for Migrant…

Overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) organizations in the Middle East are launching on Friday an online signature campaign to call on the Aquino administration to step up efforts in seeking justice for Filipino victims of rape and murder in the region.

Overseas Filipino workers currently in Manila have renewed their call to lift the five-year deployment ban in Afghanistan, citing the “safe and secure conditions” in United States military bases where OFWs are employed.

MANILA, Philippines—It’s not just about airplane etiquette anymore. The government should conduct country-specific pre-departure orientation seminars (PDOS) for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to avoid “embarrassing incidents” like the one where an OFW was caught with 150 pounds of copper in his luggage while leaving Saudi Arabia, a recruitment industry leader said.

MANILA, Philippines—They keep the economy afloat and so deserve a medical facility of their own.

MANILA, Philippines—Employers in Malta , a small country in the Mediterranean , have expressed desire to hire Filipino caregivers, seafarers, and service industry workers, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a news release.

QUEZON CITY — It was originally a gabfest, but three delegates from the Philippines may have had enough of the talks and are itching for something more solid action from government delegates in the annual Global Forum for Migration and Development.

MANILA — A ladybug walking on a green leaf may excite advocates more than the mere mention of migration in government’s new six-year growth plan.

MANILA, Philippines—The number of undocumented and runaway Filipino workers in the Middle East has reached nearly 10,000, according to Migrante-Middle East (M-ME), a Riyadh-based alliance of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Four overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Madagascar arrived home on Sunday, and hundreds more are expected to return, following weeks of strikes against their employer, which they accused of labor malpractices.

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay is determined not to be just a spare tire of the President.

There is much optimism about how the vast sums they send home could help finance development but weak international protection leaves migrant workers at risk of abuse.

MANILA, Philippines—Some 6,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Afghanistan will lose their jobs by the end of the year if the government fails to lift the ban on deployment of Filipino workers to the war-torn country.

A Philippine-Swiss joint working group (JWG) has been formed to promote job opportunities in Switzerland for prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

SAN FRANCISCO, California, United States—Two Filipino homecare workers reached a settlement over unpaid wages with which they will be paid over $70,000 in unpaid wages and penalties by their employer.

Kuwait has bared plans to increase the insurance benefit package for Filipino domestic helpers in the Middle East state, a Philippine Embassy report said yesterday.

THE latest data on overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances should dispel concern over a possible economic slowdown in the fourth quarter of this year.

At least 160 Filipinas and one Indonesian were arrested for allegedly working illegally at an elite wedding reception at the World Trade Center in the United Arab Emirates.