'Stricter migrant rules to affect undocumented OFWs'
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/24/2008 10:02 AM
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Undocumented overseas Filipino workers run the risk of losing their jobs as the global financial crisis forces various countries to impose stricter rules on migrant workers, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration on Monday.
POEA administrator Jennifer Jardin-Manalili said the stricter immigration and employment procedures are a natural consequence of increased unemployment in various countries. She added, however, that migrant workers who have gone through proper legal procedures will have no problems in their present workplaces.
"That's why we have been advising applicants going abroad to go through the legal process," she said.
The POEA administrator said the agency has yet to confirm reports that companies in Saudi Arabia are shortening labor contracts.
"The term of the contract is actually determined by the employer, so there may be different contracts for every worker. If it's a policy they want to adopt, we just have to comply with the terms mentioned in the contract. However, we haven't received a confirmation as to whether or not they have shortened the terms," she said.
Migrante International has earlier stated that Qatar has started to implement a "no work, no pay" policy for overseas workers while Japanese and Korean companies are deporting OFWs who have lost their jobs. The group said that Hong Kong will no longer be reviewing expired OFW contracts, putting migrant workers at greater risk of unemployment.
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman and chief executive order (CEO) of the Ayala Corporation, earlier told a global migration forum that the financial meltdown would increase nationalism among affected economies, which would in turn affect millions of migrant workers overseas.
“There is disturbing news of countries closing their doors to migrants in order to reduce domestic unemployment. This may lead to another era of protectionism and extreme nationalism which, in turn, may often degenerate into intolerance of differences in race, color, or religion. Any downturn in the important economies around the world will result in dislocations which will reverberate throughout the world and will impact the lives of migrants,” he told the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development.
According to Ayala, migration has made it possible for unemployment and underemployment rates in the country to stay at tolerable levels.
He deemed as a “real crisis” the issue of brain drain, one of the social costs of migration that needs to be addressed. He said those who leave the country for jobs abroad are of the most productive age group with training, experience and supervisory skills.
