News

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
Posted at Mar 22 08:21 AM

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 »

Gov't vows continued aid for Demafelis kin

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Mar 04 02:24 PM

The government on Sunday promised continued aid for the family domestic worker Joanna Demafelis, whose death prompted the government to ban the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait.  Read more »

PNP gets lead on location of Demafelis' recruiter

Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Feb 26 12:50 PM

The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group already has leads as to the location of the recruiter of Joanna Demafelis. Read more »

Main suspect in OFW Demafelis' slay now in Lebanese custody, says DFA

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Feb 23 08:56 PM

MANILA - The principal suspect in the killing of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Joanna Demafelis in Kuwait last year is now in the custody of authorities in Lebanon, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Friday.    Read more »

Kuwait urged to agree with PH on safeguards for migrant workers

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Feb 22 11:27 PM

Human Rights Watch called on Kuwait to agree to greater protection for migrant workers as a Philippine delegation was due in the emirate Thursday to discuss an outcry over alleged abuses of Filipinos.   Read more »

Philippine officials to visit Kuwait amid worker row

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Feb 22 09:14 AM

Philippine officials are headed to Kuwait on Thursday to seek greater protection for migrant workers after a diplomatic row over the alleged mistreatment of Filipinos in the Gulf state.    Read more »

Demafelis kin want Joanna's cellphone, other things returned

Joyce Ann Clavecillas, ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Sep 28 12:30 PM

"Parang humihingi siya sa amin ng tulong, kailangan niya ng hustisya."  Read more »