Gulf’s OFWs need to take stock

Recent reports about the troubles some Filipino workers encountered in Kuwait have reset the spotlight on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the Gulf. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte felt the need to make public statements about suicides among OFWs in Kuwait.

The threat of freezing the sending of Filipino workers to Kuwait is a serious matter for all stakeholders. By one account, Kuwait plays host to 250,000 Filipino workers, or the third largest concentration of OFWs within the GCC after Saudi Arabia and the UAE. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Kuwait accounts for 6.4 per cent of Filipinos working abroad, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE control 24 per cent and 16 per cent. Qatar accounts for a 6.2 per cent share.

There are Filipino workers, though not in significant numbers, in Oman and Bahrain. Collectively, GCC countries attract about half of the OFWs anywhere, a quite extraordinary set of circumstances. This underscores the openness of Gulf’s economies to immigrant workers, something not necessarily matched everywhere.

The current Philippines President visited three GCC states in April last to show his appreciation for OFWs giving him the majority of votes in the presidential election in 2016. The GCC remains popular with OFWs, notwithstanding the challenges associated with the economies and public finances. The economies are going through a transformation entailing an imposition of value added and excise taxes as well as higher fees for government services.

A World Bank report shows that the Philippines is ranked third in the world for remittances after India and China. The total is estimated at about $30 billion a year.

Another vital source of revenue for the Philippines from overseas is through business process outsourcing, notably by playing host to call centres. An Asean report suggests that the BPO industry employs about 1 million in the country and is projected to rise considerably thanks to a young population base, customer service skills, being proficient in English and a willingness to work in diverse service industries.

The same skills make Filipinos popular in the GCC. There is a clear presence of Filipino females in the hospitality sector as well as in the medical industry. Women make up 54 per cent of OFWs.

Nevertheless, Filipinos in the Gulf are increasingly facing competition from other countries such as Kenya and other Asian countries. Kenyan nationals share some of the qualities popular with Filipinos, including a fluency in English and being consumer-friendly, but with a key distinction.

The cost of employing OFWs is a burden for some businesses and households. Understandably, labour authorities in the Philippines look after the interests of their nationals, including on such matters as salaries, benefits and rights. Clearly, in the age of globalisation, employers can have their choice of workers from anywhere. OFWs can maintain their advantages if they can address the cost factor.