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Hong Kong's domestic workers dodge tear gas and clashes

Yan Zhao, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Oct 18 12:13 PM

Indonesian migrant worker Jochel usually spends her sole day off in Hong Kong's parks, chatting with friends and video-calling loved ones back home. But this summer, her downtime keeps getting disrupted -- by protests and tear gas. Read more »

Qatar to end controversial migrant worker restrictions

Gregory Walton, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Oct 17 09:09 AM

DOHA - Qatar announced plans Wednesday to scrap key aspects of its controversial "kafala" labor rules, including the requirement for some workers to obtain employers' permission to change jobs and exit permits to leave the country. Read more »

THE DAY IN PHOTOS: August 7, 2019

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Aug 07 11:50 PM

Here are the big stories today in photos Read more »

Risk of deportation

Gil Cohen-Magen, AFP
Updated as of Aug 07 03:28 PM

Filipino children carry a banner which reads in Hebrew "We don't have another country" during a protest against deportation in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Read more »

Cayetano, Duterte son co-author bill creating OFW department

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jul 24 12:43 PM

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte have co-authored and filed a bill seeking to create a separate executive department that would focus on the concerns of migrant workers. Read more »

Duterte says to form department for OFWs by December

Arianne Merez, ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Jul 12 08:24 PM

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte promised Friday to establish a separate executive department to handle matters concerning Filipino migrant workers by December this year.   Read more »

Japan opens door wider to foreign workers under new visa system

Kyodo News
Posted at Apr 01 09:50 PM

Japan launched on Monday a new visa system to bring in more foreign workers to the country struggling with an acute labor shortage, marking a major policy shift from its traditionally strict immigration rules. Read more »

Singapore's 'freegans' find treasure in trash

Natashia Lee, Reuters
Posted at Dec 24 06:39 AM

A new movement in Singapore that seeks to reduce the amount of consumer waste in the affluent city-state is scavenging for unwanted goods, some in near-mint condition, that migrant workers can send home for the holidays.  Read more »

Four years to go but little World Cup joy for Qatar workers

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Nov 22 04:50 AM

Stonemasons Ojor and Raju take their lunch break sitting on a pavement near the smart central Doha complex they have helped build as Qatar prepares to host the 2022 World Cup in exactly four years' time. Read more »

Up to 340,000 foreign workers may flow into Japan under new visa system

Kyodo News
Posted at Nov 13 09:18 PM

Between 260,000 and 340,000 foreign workers are estimated to flow into Japan in the five years from next April through an envisioned immigration control law revision aimed at dealing with the country's serious labor crunch, government sources said Tuesday. Read more »

Qatar sets up support fund for migrant workers

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Nov 01 04:38 AM

Doha state media said the fund would "support and care for workers, secure their rights and provide a healthy and safe work environment for them". Read more »

Japan eyes allowing skilled blue-collar workers to stay permanently

Kyodo News
Posted at Oct 11 03:41 PM

TOKYO - Japan is considering allowing skilled blue-collar foreign workers to stay in the country permanently with their families, as it struggles with a serious labor shortage amid a population decline, sources close to the matter said Thursday. Read more »

Qatar exit visa reform to be enforced 'by end of month'

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Oct 09 12:09 AM

Critics have long argued for abolition of the exit visa -- a lynchpin of the country's "kafala", or sponsorship, system which many liken to modern-day slavery. Read more »

Despite reforms, Qatar's migrant workers still fear exploitation

Heba Kanso, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Posted at Sep 12 03:10 PM

As a migrant worker from Bangladesh, Sharif should be happy about Qatar's labor reforms, put in place to protect people like him. Instead, he feels the system still allows his employer to get round rules designed to stop them exploiting him. Read more »

UAE offers 'visa amnesty' for migrant workers

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Aug 02 12:55 AM

The United Arab Emirates, a major hub for migrant laborers, on Wednesday began an amnesty for workers who entered the country without a visa or overstayed their work permit.   Read more »

Kuwait vows to look into 'kafala' system - envoy

ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 23 03:44 PM

Kuwait has promised to look into the "kafala" system, a sponsorship scheme often blamed for the exploitation of overseas Filipino workers, Manila's special envoy to the Gulf state, Abdullah Mama-o, said Wednesday.    Read more »

Mga kumuha ng Pinoy mushroom pickers sa Canada, kinasuhan

ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 18 10:01 PM

Isang taong inimbestigahan ang mga kinasuhan dahil sa umano'y "exploitation" ng mga dayuhang manggagawa. Read more »

Kuwait seeks to calm crisis over Filipino workers

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Apr 30 09:58 PM

A senior Kuwaiti official on Monday sought to calm a crisis with the Philippines over the treatment of domestic workers in the oil-rich Gulf state.  Read more »

3 Pinay na kinasuhan sa Malta, nagpapasaklolo sa pamahalaan

Rose Eclarinal, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Updated as of Apr 30 06:07 PM

Mapait ang sinapit ng tatlong Pinoy sa mala-paraisong bansa ng Malta matapos silang kasuhan ng human trafficking doon.   Read more »

DFA: PH still in talks with Kuwait, move to rescue OFWs in distress 'rightful'

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Apr 28 04:05 PM

The Philippines remains in talks with Kuwait amid a diplomatic squabble following the rescue of Filipino workers in distress in the Gulf State, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Saturday.  Read more »