ANAKPAWIS NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
NEWS RELEASE
Mar 15, 2009
Job Fairs are useless and only mislead hapless workers
Anakpawis members held a “Jobless Fair” this morning at the busy Commonwealth Avenue and Litex Road in Quezon City to slam what they call “useless and misleading” job fairs spearheaded by the Department of Labor and Employment and local government units to earn “pogi points” rather than resolving the issues of illegal retrenchments, contractualization and equitable job opportunities.
“DOLE should stop fooling thousands of already miserable job seekers from fresh graduates, retrenched workers and returning OFWs through its public relations gimmick called Job Fairs,” said Anakpawis Secretary-General Cherry Clemente.
“Results of these job fairs are dismal. Only an average of less than 200 jobs is filled up vis-a-vis thousands of applicants queuing for long hours and has even come from far provinces only to be told that they are not qualified.”
Malacañang earlier reasoned that there is a “job mismatch” which means that the labor force do not qualify to available job opportunities. Clemente said that this is a fashionable scapegoat concocted by DOLE and other so-called experts to cover the incompetence of Malacañang in addressing the roots of the problem. To illustrate this, Anakpawis brought a matching type visual, showcasing a mismatch on the persons working as MMDA chief, ombudsman, DOJ secretary and most especially the President.
Anakpawis cited that the high unemployment rate is caused by the dependent, neo-colonial, export-oriented and import dependent character of our economy. This rising and continuing unemployment, they said, is further intensified due to the global economic crisis experienced by the major economies where the country is hooked-up for centuries. “Our dependence tied us to perennial rising unemployment, trade and budgetary deficits, indebtedness and backwardness”
What should be our economic goals?
“Left and right job fairs will not solve the problem. This will only aggravate the suffering of the masses who are most hit by the onslaught of the crisis of the world capitalist system. Nor will exportation of labor or entry of foreign direct investments absorb the huge joblessness in the country. What the country needs now is a radical policy shift. It is time to define our own national goal and establish a self-sufficient economy that is based on meeting the needs of the people not the profiteering of a powerful few.”
“We must build our national industries to create millions of internally generated jobs. We must free our lands from the control of a handfull of big landowners and foreign big business to liberate our landless peasants and address social inequalities. These should be our national goals in order to affect lasting change.” # # #
Showing posts with label Econ Crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Econ Crisis. Show all posts
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Moratorium on OFW Fees
NEWS RELEASE
25 February 2009
For Reference:
REP. LUZ C. ILAGAN 0920-9213221
Abby Valenzuela (Public Information Officer) 0915-7639619
GABRIELA PARTY-LIST SEEKS MORATORIUM ON OFW FEES
"A moratorium on all the unnecessary and excessive fees collected by the Philippine government from overseas Filipino workers should immediately be put in place to help OFWs cope with the worldwide economic and financial crisis," Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Luz Ilagan said during the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs meeting on Wednesday.
"OFWs are among those who suffer the most under the global depression because aside from having to deal with the financial difficulty, they have to endure the excessive state exactions imposed upon them.
Ilagan added that “Their current situation is pitiful: instead of spending for food and other basic necessities, they opt to set aside a big chunk of their family budget for payments in the attempt to get jobs in other countries.”
According to Ilagan, government departments and agencies collect around P15,550 from Filipinos who wish to work abroad. Among the fees are POEA processing fee (US$100), OWWA Mandatory membership fee (US$25), TESDA Assessment Certificate (P1,000), passport (P750) and authentication fees for various documents (P7,600).
This does not include the placement, medical exam and other fees amounting to an average of more than P100,000 paid to the recruitment agencies before and after they leave the country.
Ilagan suggests that government remove certain fees such as the document authentication and TESDA assessment fees and to cut down on requirements that will only add up to the list of what OFWs need to pay for.
“The OFW remittances which remain the primary source of the country's foreign exchange is what saves our economy from inevitable collapse triggered by the global crisis. We can at least give back to our migrant workers by removing all the excessive government fees which only cause additional burden to them,” said Ilagan.
25 February 2009
For Reference:
REP. LUZ C. ILAGAN 0920-9213221
Abby Valenzuela (Public Information Officer) 0915-7639619
GABRIELA PARTY-LIST SEEKS MORATORIUM ON OFW FEES
"A moratorium on all the unnecessary and excessive fees collected by the Philippine government from overseas Filipino workers should immediately be put in place to help OFWs cope with the worldwide economic and financial crisis," Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Luz Ilagan said during the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs meeting on Wednesday.
"OFWs are among those who suffer the most under the global depression because aside from having to deal with the financial difficulty, they have to endure the excessive state exactions imposed upon them.
Ilagan added that “Their current situation is pitiful: instead of spending for food and other basic necessities, they opt to set aside a big chunk of their family budget for payments in the attempt to get jobs in other countries.”
According to Ilagan, government departments and agencies collect around P15,550 from Filipinos who wish to work abroad. Among the fees are POEA processing fee (US$100), OWWA Mandatory membership fee (US$25), TESDA Assessment Certificate (P1,000), passport (P750) and authentication fees for various documents (P7,600).
This does not include the placement, medical exam and other fees amounting to an average of more than P100,000 paid to the recruitment agencies before and after they leave the country.
Ilagan suggests that government remove certain fees such as the document authentication and TESDA assessment fees and to cut down on requirements that will only add up to the list of what OFWs need to pay for.
“The OFW remittances which remain the primary source of the country's foreign exchange is what saves our economy from inevitable collapse triggered by the global crisis. We can at least give back to our migrant workers by removing all the excessive government fees which only cause additional burden to them,” said Ilagan.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
OWWA funds is now P10B
Press Release
19 February 2009
Sec. Roque's believer admits OWWA funds is now Php.10-B
But DoLE-OWWA has only few programs and services for OFWs and their families, migrant group said
Migrante-Middle East, an alliance of overseas Filipino workers' organizations in the Middle East today said a Philippine labor official admitted that the OWW funds is now P10-B, a compulsory collection of US$25 per departing overseas Filipino workers.
"This is the first time we heard a confirmation from a Labor official about the exact amount of the OFWs funds held in trust to the government; we have been challenging the OWWA for quite some time now to make full public disclosure of the funds but the OWWA administration refuses to do so," said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-ME regional coordinator.
Monterona said during a visit in Dubai the other day of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Help Desk Mission head Labor Attache Jeffrey D. Cortazar is quoted saying "… the OFW funds has doubled within a year under Labor Secretary Marianito Roque from Php.5-B to Php.1-B…X X X"
Monterona said it is naïve and wrong to equate that the increase of OWWA funds is due to the appointment of Mr. Roque as DoLE chief.
"Obviously, Labatt Cortazar, a faithful believer of Sec. Roque trying hard to impress the latter, does not know what he is talking about. The increase of the OFW funds from Php5-B to Php10-B now has nothing to do, if no connection at all, with the appointment of Labor Sec. Roque. The mere fact that there are 3,000 OFWs deployed daily with OWWA charging US25$ per OFWs would certainly lead to the increase of OWWA funds," Monterona added.
Monterona said fellow OFWs have commented that following the line of Labatt Cortazar that it is to the credit of Sec. Roque why the OWWA funds grew, then Wall Street should hire Sec. Roque as it is only within a year he made the OWWA funds grew even twice.
"This is precisely the point why Migrante is alarmed as the OWWA funds continuously grew because of the huge numbers of departing OFWs going abroad and yet there are only few welfare and social programs and services for OFWs and their families," Monterona said.
"If the Arroyo administration does not have a selfish interests to the growing OFW funds held in trust to the OWWA, why it failed to develop and implement more welfare and social programs to the benefits of active OFWs, retired OFWs and their families amid the economic hardship with all prices of basic commodities and services increasing almost daily," Monterona queried.
Monterona said OFWs and their families are dismayed with Arroyo's Expatriate Livelihood support funds asking a lot of requirements and imposing a 5% interest per year to the meager Php50,000 loan for each laid offs OFWs.
"These are reasons why many of the retrenched OFWs until now have not availed the Expat livelihood funds and are not willing to avail at all," Monterona added.
Migrante chapters in the Middle East are urging fellow OFWs who were laid off or will be laid off to get in touch with them, "so that Migrante could provide them the needed assistance and guidance in their claims for a genuine financial support and other assistance that OWWA is to provide to them," Monteorona added.
"Retrenched OFWs who are already in the Philippines could get in touch with Migrante International at telephone number +62 421 0768, or email migrantecampaign@ gmail.com, or send email to migranteme@gmail. com," Monterona ended. # # #
Reference:
John Leonard Monterona
Migrante Middle East regional coordinator
Mobile No.: 00966 564 97 8012
19 February 2009
Sec. Roque's believer admits OWWA funds is now Php.10-B
But DoLE-OWWA has only few programs and services for OFWs and their families, migrant group said
Migrante-Middle East, an alliance of overseas Filipino workers' organizations in the Middle East today said a Philippine labor official admitted that the OWW funds is now P10-B, a compulsory collection of US$25 per departing overseas Filipino workers.
"This is the first time we heard a confirmation from a Labor official about the exact amount of the OFWs funds held in trust to the government; we have been challenging the OWWA for quite some time now to make full public disclosure of the funds but the OWWA administration refuses to do so," said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-ME regional coordinator.
Monterona said during a visit in Dubai the other day of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Help Desk Mission head Labor Attache Jeffrey D. Cortazar is quoted saying "… the OFW funds has doubled within a year under Labor Secretary Marianito Roque from Php.5-B to Php.1-B…X X X"
Monterona said it is naïve and wrong to equate that the increase of OWWA funds is due to the appointment of Mr. Roque as DoLE chief.
"Obviously, Labatt Cortazar, a faithful believer of Sec. Roque trying hard to impress the latter, does not know what he is talking about. The increase of the OFW funds from Php5-B to Php10-B now has nothing to do, if no connection at all, with the appointment of Labor Sec. Roque. The mere fact that there are 3,000 OFWs deployed daily with OWWA charging US25$ per OFWs would certainly lead to the increase of OWWA funds," Monterona added.
Monterona said fellow OFWs have commented that following the line of Labatt Cortazar that it is to the credit of Sec. Roque why the OWWA funds grew, then Wall Street should hire Sec. Roque as it is only within a year he made the OWWA funds grew even twice.
"This is precisely the point why Migrante is alarmed as the OWWA funds continuously grew because of the huge numbers of departing OFWs going abroad and yet there are only few welfare and social programs and services for OFWs and their families," Monterona said.
"If the Arroyo administration does not have a selfish interests to the growing OFW funds held in trust to the OWWA, why it failed to develop and implement more welfare and social programs to the benefits of active OFWs, retired OFWs and their families amid the economic hardship with all prices of basic commodities and services increasing almost daily," Monterona queried.
Monterona said OFWs and their families are dismayed with Arroyo's Expatriate Livelihood support funds asking a lot of requirements and imposing a 5% interest per year to the meager Php50,000 loan for each laid offs OFWs.
"These are reasons why many of the retrenched OFWs until now have not availed the Expat livelihood funds and are not willing to avail at all," Monterona added.
Migrante chapters in the Middle East are urging fellow OFWs who were laid off or will be laid off to get in touch with them, "so that Migrante could provide them the needed assistance and guidance in their claims for a genuine financial support and other assistance that OWWA is to provide to them," Monteorona added.
"Retrenched OFWs who are already in the Philippines could get in touch with Migrante International at telephone number +62 421 0768, or email migrantecampaign@ gmail.com, or send email to migranteme@gmail. com," Monterona ended. # # #
Reference:
John Leonard Monterona
Migrante Middle East regional coordinator
Mobile No.: 00966 564 97 8012
Gov’ts unwilling to protect rights
Press Release
19 February 2009
For reference: Eni Lestari
Chairperson
Tel. No.: (852) 96081475
International migrant group decries layoffs, labor flexi moves
Gov’ts, unwilling to protect rights of foreign workers - IMA
Attacks to our wage and job security are happening everywhere. Yet, both the sending governments and the receiving ones are incapable or worse, unwilling, to stem the tide of violations to the rights of migrants that the financial crisis brings.
This was declared by Eni Lestari, chairperson of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) as migrants around the world reel from the creeping impact of the US-born financial crisis.
Speaking from HK where she is based as a domestic helper, Lestari said that her group has been receiving regular reports from their members in the United States, Canada and in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Europe regions of mass layoffs of migrants and implementation of more labor flexibilization schemes due to the financial slump.
“What we have feared for is rapidly coming true as termination of employment hounds domestic helpers; factory workers, like in Taiwan, are stripped of their labor rights with many even forced to resign from their jobs; immigrants and migrants in the US are fired from their jobs or are made to work for even few hours; and more workers ran away from abusive conditions in Saudi Arabia and become stranded,” she remarked.
Lestari cited the termination of more than 800 Filipino workers in Taiwan as well as about 1,000 workers in the construction and financial sectors in Dubai, United Arab Emirates as some of the more recent victims of the financial tsunami. She said that even the Indian and Pakistani authorities in the UAE are also expecting layoffs of their nationals soon.
In Canada, the government itself has admitted the reduction of demand for temporary foreign workers in the midst of the financial crunch and warned of ‘tougher times’. Meanwhile, 75,000 undocumented Indonesian migrants in Syria will be deported back to Indonesia early this year and the Indonesian government has even signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Syria over this.
Lestari said that the situation has been increasingly hard especially for migrant workers who are “carted off back home”.
“These repatriated workers find themselves in an even worse situation as they have to face mountains of debt, unemployment and insecurity for the future of their family. Instead of assistance, the responses of sending governments are empty promises of protection, deafening silence, or schemes that do not genuinely serve the migrants,” she added.
The IMA chair mentioned, in particular the governments of Indonesia and Philippines – two of the countries with the most number of nationals overseas – as “inutile” in protecting the wellbeing of their citizens abroad as well as “severely unprepared” for their responsibilities to their repatriated workers.
“Instead of providing the needed assistance to those who have been sent home and bringing about changes to reduce the vulnerability of its nationals abroad, the Philippine government institutes more policies like the ban on direct hiring that put migrants under the mercy of unscrupulous recruiters. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government remains as ineffective as ever in curbing the excesses of Indonesian recruitment agencies that continue to squeeze dry migrants of their hard-earned income,” she relayed.
Lestari also expressed their fear that the crisis shall bring about a more systematic and intense export of labor as sending countries sink in even deeper problems and only the forced migration of its people can be the source of its income.
“This is precisely what the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) gears for. The exploitation of migrants shall be more widespread and intense as slogans of migration for development shall surely be used as one way out of poverty and crisis we are experiencing,” she said.
The group renewed their call for sparing the wage and jobs of migrants during these hard times. Lestari said that workers, including migrants, must be granted reprieve from the attacks to their rights and livelihood.
The IMA chairperson also called to their members to continue to monitor the impacts of the crisis to migrant workers especially cases of retrenchments and labor rights violations. She said that actions should be launched wherever and whenever possible as IMA drumbeats the issues in the international level.
“Workers and the people must come first and not the big businesses and monopolists that have caused this crisis. Imperialists have plundered the world and the people are the ones made to suffer from its policies of neoliberal globalization. This is what we, migrants and immigrants, shall continue to struggle against,” she ended.#
19 February 2009
For reference: Eni Lestari
Chairperson
Tel. No.: (852) 96081475
International migrant group decries layoffs, labor flexi moves
Gov’ts, unwilling to protect rights of foreign workers - IMA
Attacks to our wage and job security are happening everywhere. Yet, both the sending governments and the receiving ones are incapable or worse, unwilling, to stem the tide of violations to the rights of migrants that the financial crisis brings.
This was declared by Eni Lestari, chairperson of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) as migrants around the world reel from the creeping impact of the US-born financial crisis.
Speaking from HK where she is based as a domestic helper, Lestari said that her group has been receiving regular reports from their members in the United States, Canada and in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Europe regions of mass layoffs of migrants and implementation of more labor flexibilization schemes due to the financial slump.
“What we have feared for is rapidly coming true as termination of employment hounds domestic helpers; factory workers, like in Taiwan, are stripped of their labor rights with many even forced to resign from their jobs; immigrants and migrants in the US are fired from their jobs or are made to work for even few hours; and more workers ran away from abusive conditions in Saudi Arabia and become stranded,” she remarked.
Lestari cited the termination of more than 800 Filipino workers in Taiwan as well as about 1,000 workers in the construction and financial sectors in Dubai, United Arab Emirates as some of the more recent victims of the financial tsunami. She said that even the Indian and Pakistani authorities in the UAE are also expecting layoffs of their nationals soon.
In Canada, the government itself has admitted the reduction of demand for temporary foreign workers in the midst of the financial crunch and warned of ‘tougher times’. Meanwhile, 75,000 undocumented Indonesian migrants in Syria will be deported back to Indonesia early this year and the Indonesian government has even signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Syria over this.
Lestari said that the situation has been increasingly hard especially for migrant workers who are “carted off back home”.
“These repatriated workers find themselves in an even worse situation as they have to face mountains of debt, unemployment and insecurity for the future of their family. Instead of assistance, the responses of sending governments are empty promises of protection, deafening silence, or schemes that do not genuinely serve the migrants,” she added.
The IMA chair mentioned, in particular the governments of Indonesia and Philippines – two of the countries with the most number of nationals overseas – as “inutile” in protecting the wellbeing of their citizens abroad as well as “severely unprepared” for their responsibilities to their repatriated workers.
“Instead of providing the needed assistance to those who have been sent home and bringing about changes to reduce the vulnerability of its nationals abroad, the Philippine government institutes more policies like the ban on direct hiring that put migrants under the mercy of unscrupulous recruiters. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government remains as ineffective as ever in curbing the excesses of Indonesian recruitment agencies that continue to squeeze dry migrants of their hard-earned income,” she relayed.
Lestari also expressed their fear that the crisis shall bring about a more systematic and intense export of labor as sending countries sink in even deeper problems and only the forced migration of its people can be the source of its income.
“This is precisely what the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) gears for. The exploitation of migrants shall be more widespread and intense as slogans of migration for development shall surely be used as one way out of poverty and crisis we are experiencing,” she said.
The group renewed their call for sparing the wage and jobs of migrants during these hard times. Lestari said that workers, including migrants, must be granted reprieve from the attacks to their rights and livelihood.
The IMA chairperson also called to their members to continue to monitor the impacts of the crisis to migrant workers especially cases of retrenchments and labor rights violations. She said that actions should be launched wherever and whenever possible as IMA drumbeats the issues in the international level.
“Workers and the people must come first and not the big businesses and monopolists that have caused this crisis. Imperialists have plundered the world and the people are the ones made to suffer from its policies of neoliberal globalization. This is what we, migrants and immigrants, shall continue to struggle against,” she ended.#
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