Migrant Workers

A six month ban ‘is not’ something that ILO promotes, because migrant workers may be exposed to certain unfair conditions, Tim De Meyer said. A senior specialist for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said that the six month ban established by Macau’s new imported labour law could be “a case of discrimination” for migrant…

MANILA, Philippines – The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) yesterday denied reports that four Filipino nurses were gang-raped in Saudi Arabia.

MANILA, Philippines – Migrante International called yesterday on Congress to immediately investigate the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Jordan despite the deployment ban, saying it is “state-sponsored human trafficking.”

MANILA, Philippines — Middle East countries Kuwait and Syria are not safe destinations for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), particularly domestic helpers, a migrant workers group based in the region said.

President Benigno Aquino III said the administration may seek a supplemental budget from Congress for legal assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFW), which has been reduced to just P27 million for next years instead of P100 million as required by law.

KUWAIT CITY—Abuse of domestic workers in Kuwait is rising, and maids in the Gulf emirate face prosecution when they try to escape, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

The six-month amnesty offered by Saudi Arabia for overstaying foreign nationals is limited to three categories and may not apply to all Filipinos now staying there, according to a news report. Saudi-based news site Arab News reported Thursday this clarification issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry following several queries on the matter.

DFA ANSWERS THE QUESTION BRUSSELS, Belgium—For now, they are the 10 countries of Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Kuwait, Laos, Myanmar, Ireland, Saipan, Norway, Syria, and Vietnam.

MANILA, Philippines – United States authorities have lifted the licensure examination ban on Filipino physical therapy (PT) graduates being recruited to practice in the US.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 3: Advocacy groups that have reported on violations of domestic workers’ rights in Kuwait today began an intensive advertising and outreach campaign to promote respect for the rights of these workers.

TAIPEI—Taiwan will attempt to track down migrants working illegally on the island after six foreigners were killed in a construction accident, a report said Saturday.

MANILA, Philippines—The Kuwaiti government’s plan to scrap the “kafeel” or sponsorship system of hiring foreign laborers will mean that Filipinos and other foreigners working in the emirate will no longer be treated as indentured servants, according to the Migrante-Middle East.

LETTERS FROM THE OUTLANDS Nowadays when “Filipina” is mentioned in the Danish news, it is often in connection with “au pair.” The newspaper Politiken noted last week that 2773 persons received permission to work as au pairs in Denmark in 2009. Of this number, 78 percent came from the Philippines. You see her more and…

KUWAIT: Scrapping the ‘kafeel system’ (sponsorship system) is a welcome move, but addressing the concerns and issues of domestic helpers can go a long way, the Ambassador of the Philippines to Kuwait said. In a cordial meeting held with Abd Al-Rahman Alyan, Kuwait Times Editor-in-Chief, the Philippine Ambassador Shulan Primavera welcomed the news on the…

SEN. Franklin Drilon asked the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Tuesday to look into the “exploitative” practices of some countries in the Southeast Asia concerning on-the-job trainings (OJTs). “We have discovered that in the hotel industry abroad, particularly in Southeast Asia, there are a number of OJTs getting paid half of the normal salary,”…

ABU DHABI // Immigration authorities plan to look into the issue of troubled domestic workers from the Philippines in an attempt to plug loopholes in a recruitment system that allows them to be exploited, the Philippine ambassador to the UAE said yesterday.

CANADA – Filipino caregivers were recently enlightened with rich discussions on the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP), followed by a closed door roundtable consultation on the plight of refugees in Canada.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) yesterday said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would grant a six-month amnesty to the thousands of illegal foreigners overstaying their visas, including hundreds of overseas Filipino workers, and that they would be allowed to leave the Kingdom without punishment.

Hundreds of departing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) complained of forced deduction from Pag-Ibig fund despite an order by Vice President and housing czar Jejomar Binay suspending the six-month advance contribution of OFWs to the housing fund.

KUWAIT: A group of some 20 Filipino employees working with a private company in Kuwait lodged a complaint with the office of Philippine labor attach�, accusing their employer of non-payment of salaries, breach of contract and lying about legal residency in Kuwait. In a recent interview with the Kuwait Times, workers claimed that they were…

MANILA, Philippines – The Immigration minister of Canada yesterday said the Philippines remains an important source of immigrant workers to the country, which is experiencing a low birth rate and an ageing work force.  In a speech before the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney…

The Canadian government will implement early next year new laws on hiring temporary foreign workers in a bid to enhance the protection accorded to foreign workers in Canada. Jason Kenney, Canada’s minister for citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, explained over the weekend that the new laws, which aim to complement and reinforce Canada’s policies, would benefit…

MANILA, Philippines — The 13 overseas Filipino workers who have filed a case of human trafficking against the Taiwanese company AV Tech and its broker won ten out of 12 demands, according to a migrant workers’ rights group said.

BEIRUT, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Lebanese courts are failing to hold employers accountable for abusing migrant domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday in Beirut, where many maids face severe mistreatment and some are driven to suicide.

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipina household service worker (HSW) in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia who was found in her employer’s kitchen was rushed to a hospital but died due to acid burns and stab wounds, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has cut by nearly half the legal assistance fund for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the proposed P1.645-trillion national budget for next year.

MANILA, Philippines—Malacanang has cut by almost half the legal assistance fund for overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) in the proposed 2011 national budget from P50 million this year to P27 million next year, it was disclosed Wednesday at the budget hearing in Congress.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has settled a labor dispute involving 39 Filipino workers in Tripoli, Libya, who have complained of delayed salaries, unsuitable accommodations, inadequate food and water, and lack of medical benefits.

THE Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Wed-nesday clarified that they had no control on deportation centers run by the host country. The clarification was made by OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon after her office is being blamed for the lost of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have decided to leave the center. The OFWs…

A migrants’ rights group is urging the government to set up a shelter for male overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in distress in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), saying their number has increased in the past years.