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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 »

DFA senior official arrives in Kuwait for talks

Maxxy Santiago, ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Mar 30 01:19 AM

Sarah Lou Arriola’s visit is part of efforts by the Philippines and Kuwait to discuss OFW concerns amid a deployment ban on newly hired Filipino workers bound for Kuwait. Read more »

CHR to put up OFW rights observatory

Arianne Merez, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Mar 24 04:13 PM

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said Saturday it plans to put up a migrant workers’ rights observatory for the collection of data on the plight of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).   Read more »

Philippines revisits OFW policies to end 'kafala' system

Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Dec 12 09:04 PM

The Philippines has launched a review of all bilateral agreements in a bid to end the "kafala" system, a sponsorship practice blamed for the exploitation of overseas Filipino workers, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Thursday.  Read more »

Kuwait 'informally' OKs demands for Filipino workers' protection: Labor chief

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Mar 07 08:42 PM

Kuwait has informally agreed to Manila's demands for the protection of over 250,000 Filipinos in the Middle East state, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday.  Read more »

18,000 jobs in Villar firm await displaced OFWs from Saudi, Qatar

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Mar 05 11:43 AM

Some 18,000 posts in the construction firm of former senator Manny Villar are available to displaced workers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar who want to go home, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Monday. Read more »