Labor – ellen tordesillas

Layoffs of OFWs in Saudi not due to oil price slump: labor attaches

Published by Ellen on February 15, 2016

Filipinos in Saudi renew their passports. Philippine Embassy in Riyadh.

Despite decline in global oil prices, the Saudi labor market remains stable for Filipino workers. The reported retrenchments are not due to the oil price slump in recent months, according to assessment of Saudi-based labor attaches and diplomats of the situation in the Middle East kingdom that hosts some 800,000 OFWS.

The positive assessment should calm the fears of massive retrenchment in Saudi due to the plunge of oil prices. In fact, last week Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz expressed concerns of a possible displacement some 1.5 million Filipinos classified as temporary workers in the Middle East as the global oil glut is expected to continue in the coming months with the recent lifting of the sanctions on oil-producer Iran.

A report on the OFW situation in Saudi said, the retrenchments, particularly to the employees of the Middle East construction giant Saudi Binladen Group (SBG), “are hardly traceable to declining oil prices.”

Lessons from Taiwan incident: minimize inflammatory remarks

Published by Ellen on August 8, 2013

Update:
Taiwanese Foreign Minister David Lin just announced the lifting of the ban on hiring of Filipino workers for Taiwan, MECO Representative Antonio Basilio said.

One lesson from the unfortunate May 9 incident in Balintang Channel that led to a strain in the otherwise robust relations with Taiwan is for government spokespersons to be careful with their statements.

They should learn to moderate their arrogance and avoid words that inflame the public. There’s no room for uncalled- for side remarks in a tense situation with another country. This is particularly true with Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

Tripleng dagok sa mga kawawang OFW ang Sex for Flight

Published by Ellen on June 23, 2013

Dapat itapon sa impyerno, sa lumiliyab na apoy, ang mga kawani ng pamahalaan na sangkot sa racket na sex for flight sa Kuwait, Jordan at sa iba pang bansa sa Middle East kung saan maraming mga babaeng OFW ay nag-iistambay sa iba’t ibang dahilan.

Ibinulgar ni Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello noong Martes na sa halip na tulungan ng mga mga opisyal ng Department of Labor at ng Philippine Embassy ang mga OFW na na-stranded, ay ibinubugaw pa sa mga Arabo at ang iba, sila na mismo ang nag-momolestiya.
Pinangalanan ni Bello si Mario Antonio, labor attaché sa Jordan. Itinanggi ni Antonio ang paratang sa isang press conference dito sa Manila.

Pinapa-imbestigahan daw ng Overseas Worker Welfare Administration (OWWA) at ng Department of Foreign Affairs ang paratang ni Bello, chairman ng House Committee on Overseas Workers.

Doble o tripling trahedya itong “Sex for Flight” dahil ang mga biktima ay ang mga kababaihan na nabiktima na ng mga ilegal na recruiter o mga salbahe na amo.

Hindi yata tama gawing legal ang pagpuputa

Published by Ellen on October 21, 2012

From dipity.com. Scene from the red light district of Amsterdam

Inirekomenda ng United Nations Development Program (UNDP) na gawing legal ang prostitution o pagpu-puta para daw maproteksyunan ang mga kawawang puta.

Hindi yata tama.

Naawa ako sa mga puta dahil hindi talaga kanais-nais na trabaho ang kanilang ginagawa at marami sa kanila ay napipilitan lang para mabuhay ngunit mali yata ang solusyun na paggawa nito na legal. Para naman kinukunsinti ang ganung gawain.

Sinabi sa report na huwag daw gawing krimen ang pagpuputa para kapag legal ang kanilang trabaho, makakuha sila ng benepisyo katulad ng pagpapaeksamin sa doktor, insurance at pension.

P100 million to combat human trafficking

Published by Ellen on July 1, 2012

DCIM100HPDVC — De Lima with Human trafficking victim

Amidst stories of Filipinos being lured by syndicates to a life of misery and degradation, here’s a silver lining:

Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad has granted the request of the Department of Justice for P100 million for the 2013 operations of the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking.

There were fears earlier that the DBM would only give IACAT P40 million which is even P10 million less.

Justice Undersecretary Jovy Salazar, who is in-charge of IACAT, said “The IACAT 2013 budget approval is a recognition and acknowledgment of the importance of what we do for the most vulnerable members of our society. We are truly grateful and up to the challenge.”

More funds needed in fight vs human traffickers

Published by Ellen on June 29, 2012

Relatives of victims of human trafficking from MigranteB — Relatives of victims of human trafficking. Thanks to Migrante for photo.

Okay, the Philippines has evaded going back on the Watch List of the United States Department of State’s monitoring of Trafficking of Persons.

Considering that the government has intensified export of Filipino workers overseas because it cannot provide jobs for them, continuing to avoid going back in the Watch List is a consolation, however small because the ideal situation is that there should be jobs available for Filipinos in the country so that the father or mother, son or daughter does not need to be far away from his or her family in a strange environment just to earn a living.

The Filipino worker today

Published by Ellen on May 6, 2012

VERA Files took snap shots of the state of the country’s greatest resource,Filipino manpower, on Labor Day:

JENNY Tanael, 47, is a wife of a minimum wage earner and mother of a contractual worker.

Her eldest son Juan Paolo keeps on hunting for a job each time his five-month contract in a fast food chain expires. Sometimes it takes him six months to find work at another branch of said restaurant. In between jobs, he relies for support on his father who earns less than P 400 per day as a security guard.

Her son has been unemployed for two months now. Since Juan Paolo is turning 24 he will have to look for another company since his former employer only accepts workers 23 years and below.

http://verafiles.org/job-contractualization-the-next-big-issue-after-wage-hike/

Binawi ang ban ng OFW sa 41 na bansa

Published by Ellen on November 5, 2011

Heto na naman. Pumalpak si Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz sa pag-anunsyo na may ban sa pagpadala ng manggagawang Pilipino sa 41 na bansang hindi pumirma sa kasunduan sa Pilipinas para protektahan ang mga Pilipino na nagtatrabaho doon.

Ngayon, hindi niya alam kung paano babawiin dahil sa masamang reaksyun ng mga bansang apektado. Sabi niya pansamantala daw ang ban hanggang makapag-comply ang ibang bansa. Nahihibang ba siya> Magku-comply ang Saudi Arabia, Korea at iba pang bansa sa kagustuhan ng Pilipinas?

Sabi naman ng ibang opisyal, wala naman talagang ban.

Noong Biernes, sabi na ni Baldoz, ipagpaliban daw ang ban.

Tigilan na ang pagpadala ng domestic helpers sa Middle East

Published by Ellen on July 3, 2011

Dapat tingnan ng pamahalaan ang problema ngayon ng ating domestic helpers sa Saudi Arabia na oportunidad para ibahin, o kaya tigilan na ang pagpadala ng domestic helpers sa Middle East.

Marami ngayon sa ating mga mahirap na kababayan na may mga kamag-anak na domestic helper sa Saudi Arabia ang nangangamba na mawalan na hanapbuhay dahil sa hindi pagkasundo ng Saudi at ng Pilipinas sa pasweldo ng katulong.

Maybagong patakaran na kasi ang Philippine Oversean Employment Administration na ang mga sweldo ng mga OFW na mamasukan bilang domestic helper sa labas sa Saudi ay hindi dapat bababa sa $400. Mga P17,000 yan sa peso.

Category: Labor