Jobs of many Pinoys in Macau under threat
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/20/2009 7:54 PM
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MACAU– The Blas F. Ople Policy Center has noted an increasing trend towards localization of workers here as Asia's gaming capital starts to feel the pinch due to the global financial crisis and other factors.
The trend will mean loss of jobs to overseas Filipino workers based in Macau.
"The Macau administration is looking at a possible 50 percent reduction in foreign workers in private security and cleaning agencies for 2009. There is also some pressure for it to preserve high-paying jobs such as that of pit managers in casinos for jobless residents. But so far, the Macau government has been adopting a wait-and-see attitude because they also need skilled foreign workers to remain competitive," Susan Ople, president of the BFO Policy Center, said.
Ople met separately with Labor Attache Leopoldo de Jesus and Consul-General Jet Ledda to discuss the crisis. According to the labor attaché, the tightening of Macau's economy was also due to China's policy limiting the visits to Macau of its citizens to once every three months.
The Philippine Consulate is closely monitoring the situation while expressing optimism that majority of Filipino workers remains secure with their current employers. "There is no doubt that our workers are highly valued in Macau. However, no one really can say for sure what the economy will be like a few months from now."
Around 13,000 Filipinos live and work in Macau compared to an estimated 120,000 workers in Hong Kong. Macau's economy is heavily dependent on tourism revenues principally from its gaming casinos and hotel industry.
She said that some Filipino workers have already been sent home from Macau after big-ticket construction projects were temporarily shelved. Despite this reality, Ople noted that illegal recruiters continue to deploy workers to Macau despite the absence of job openings.
For an in-depth discussion of the crisis, the Blas F. Ople Center and LBS e-Recruitment Solutions Corporation will hold a labor forum on Friday, January 23 at the AIM Conference Center in Makati entitled, "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on RP's Workforce."
