Migrant Workers

MANILA — The Philippines’ famous diaspora of overseas workers is fuelling a boom in the real estate market back home as they snap up houses and apartments to safeguard their futures.

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has so far certified less than half of more than 180 countries around the world as nations where overseas Filipino workers can be “deployed,” the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief said Tuesday.

Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) vacationing in the country may now process their travel documents in at least two major malls in Metro Manila, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Noting that a growing number of Filipinos in China face illegal recruitment, and are often charged with overstaying and drug trafficking, Vice President Jejomar Binay on Sunday urged Filipinos there to follow the laws of their host country as well.

SAN FRANCISCO – On International Human Rights Day, Filipino caregivers and their advocates held a press conference at the Filipino Community Center (FCC) to announce a major victory.

In a bid to address India’s worsening unemployment problem, the Indian government has ruled that it will issue employment visas only to migrant workers hired for highly skilled jobs that earn an annual salary of over US$25,000.

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino migrant rights group on Wednesday called on the Philippine government to deploy more welfare officers who could efficiently attend on various cases of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), particularly in Saudi Arabia and in other mideast countries where cases reported daily averaged from seven to 10 cases.

LOS ANGELES – Dozens of Filipino hospital workers in California sued their employer Tuesday alleging they were the sole ethnic group targeted by a rule requiring them to speak only English.

MANILA, Philippines—Some 2,300 overseas Filipino workers on Monday urged the Supreme Court to act on their appeal in connection with the 27-year-old case they filed against a Texas-based giant company worth some $609-million in claims plus interest.

At least 14 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were repatriated from Malaysia last December 2, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President and presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) Jejomar Binay directed yesterday the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to discuss with the Insurance Commission and other concerned agencies the possibility of allowing Hong Kong- based insurance companies to provide coverage for Filipino workers.

The United Kingdom has imposed limits on the number of non-European foreign workers, including Filipinos, who can enter its borders for employment starting April 2011, the British Embassy in Manila said Friday.

The number of international migrants could soar by 68 percent to 405 million in 2050, the International Organization (IOM) said on Monday, noting that emerging economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America are becoming important destinations.

Vice President Jejomar Binay has suspended for 60 days the implementation of the required certification of host countries for the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

MANILA, Philippines –  President Aquino has suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to South Korea while the government assesses the situation in the Korean Peninsula.

At least 33 undocumented Filipino workers were apprehended in a series of intensified crackdown by Saudi authorities on illegal migrants in the Middle East state despite the issuance of amnesty for overstaying aliens.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Wednesday that many of the deported overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon have experienced maltreatment from abusive employers and illegal recruiters.

Migrante-Middle East said the Philippine Labor Overseas Office in Al-Khobar has confirmed that the 32, including 26 women, were apprehended by the Saudi police in a continuing government crackdown on over-staying expatriates.

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) czar Jejomar Binay proposed the establishment of OFW lounges in airports.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board rejected a proposal of the recruitment agencies to defer the implementation of the mandatory insurance cover, it was learned Sunday.

MANILA, Philippines –  Only a fourth of the countries employing Filipino workers have been certified fit to hire by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as mandated by the amended Migrant Workers Act.   

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has rejected a proposal by recruitment agencies to suspend the implementation of the law providing insurance coverage for overseas Filipino workers, which since its implementation this month has resulted in a 52 percent drop in deployments abroad, POEA Administrator Jennifer Manalili said Friday.

MANILA, Philippines – Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan are seeking for an exemption from the mandatory insurance coverage imposed by the Philippine government, saying that it would lead to non-hiring of OFWs in Taiwan.

MANILA, Philippines – A migrant workers’ group in Taiwan has scored the Philippine government for passing a law that requires insurance coverage for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

A Filipina housemaid and her Bangladeshi boyfriend were sentenced to 100 lashes each after a United Arab Emirates court found them guilty of having an illicit affair.

Fifty more repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have arrived from Lebanon on Tuesday at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

LOS ANGELES: Filipino community leaders described as “too little, too late” an offer of assistance being extended by the Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to 11 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded here.

A total of 112 repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and two children arrived from Lebanon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Monday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is set to look into the complaints of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as well as foreign employers over the mandatory insurance scheme.

Writing about overseas Filipino workers is very personal to me. I have been a migrant myself—twice in fact, first as a caregiver and printing press worker in Udine, Italy in the early 1980s, and later, from 1998-2006, when I worked in Washington DC as a senior manager and policy expert in an environmental think tank.…