PH eyes ‘friendly countries’ as alternate job markets for displaced Pinoy workers
The government is eyeing Japan, Canada, China, Russia, Germany and other “friendly” countries as alternate job markets for Filipino workers who will be displaced by the conflict in the Middle East.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government has reached out to these friendly nations to consider accommodating Filipino workers, particularly those affected by the
Middle East tension.
A mandatory evacuation of Filipinos from Iraq has earlier been ordered to ensure their safety in the wake of the tension between the United States and Iraq. Alternative overseas and local employment has been readied for the affected workers.
A large cruise ship may be chartered by the government to ferry more Filipinos out of Iraq, an option that has been discussed by President Duterte and the Cabinet during a recent meeting at the Palace, according to Nograles. A cruise ship, he added, could accommodate more Filipinos since it is bigger compared to an airplane.
“Part of the discussions is number one, if we have government assets we will use them,” Nograles said in an interview with reporters at the Palace.
“Second is to charter a cruise ship because a cruise has bigger accommodation compared
to an airplane. If we use an airplane, how many chartered flights will there be? Of course, you must consider the cost and safety,” Nograles added.
The government will continue to evacuate Filipinos out of Iraq and move them to a safe haven such as Qatar before repatriating them to the Philippines.
“The order is still mandatory repatriation of our OFWs from Iraq. The alert level however has been downgraded in Lebanon and Iran,” he said.
“The primary objective right now is to take them out of Iraq, bring them to safe haven. Once there, obviously we want to bring them back to the Philippines,” he said.
“Once they arrive in the Philippines, we will offer livelihood packages, TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) training. We will also offer redeployment if they want to work again overseas but no longer in the Middle East,” Nograles said.
“That’s why we have opened our communications with Japan, Canada, Germany, China, and Russia to hopefully accommodate our OFWs. The priority will be those repatriated from the Middle East, from Iraq,” he added.
Apart from possible deployment abroad, Nograles said the government will help repatriated Filipinos find local employment, including possibly starting their own business or working in big-ticket infrastructure projects.
He said they would need skilled workers for the various “Build, Build, Build” projects in the country.
“With the signing of the new national budget, the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program will be sustained. We will need skilled workers, those knowledgeable in the construction industry. It will be an advantage for OFWs from Iraq to work in ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure projects in the country,” he said.
Nograles admitted that compensation in such local employment may be lower compared to the jobs abroad. “The compensation package abroad is different. They have different labor laws. The minimum wage is also different,” he said.
The Department of Labor and
Employment has reportedly put aside an initial 1600 million for the immediate repatriation and assistance to Filipinos who will be brought home from the crisis-stricken Middle East. A deployment ban to Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon has been enforced due to the US-Iran tension.
No change in plans
Meanwhile, Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, “Despite the lifting of the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos in Iran and Lebanon, the plan of the Philippine government to deploy assets and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the Middle East is still in place.”
According to Lorenzana, the mandatory repatriation of OFWs in Iraq remains in effect so they will not abandon their plan to rescue those who are affected by the tension between Iran and United States.
“Filipinos in Iran, Libya and Lebanon who wish to come home because of the recent tensions will be assisted by the government. Personnel to be deployed in the conflict areas will exclusively assist in the repatriation and humanitarian operations,” Lorenzana said. (With reports from Martin A. Sadongdong and Ariel Fernandez)