Deployment to Jordan 'OK' for returning maids, skilled workers
UPDATED 5:30 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - Returning domestic helpers as well as skilled workers are allowed to be deployed to Jordan, an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
Esteban Conejos Jr, DFA undersecretary for migrant workers affairs, on Monday clarified that unlike in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Nigeria, some Filipino workers could still return to Jordan for work.
"It is wrong to say that there is a total deployment ban to Jordan. There is only a temporary suspension of deployment," Conejos said.
Conejos made the statement amid reports that the Philippine government had partially lifted the “total deployment ban" in the Middle East country for returning household service workers (HSWs) who would receive a salary of at least $400.
Reports of widespread abuse of Filipino workers prompted the government to ban deployment in Jordan in January 2008.
Marianito Roque, secretary of the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment, recently issued Department Order No. 93-08 series of 2008 that grants partial exemption to returning HSWs in Jordan.
Roque also instructed the Philippine Overseas and Employment Agency (POEA) and the Philippine Labor Office in Jordan (POLO) to resume the processing of employment documents of qualified returning HSWs.
Online news site Jordan Times reported on Monday that the Jordanian government was keen on tightening regulations in the hiring of HSWs.
Amjad Wishah, the Labor Ministry’s director for recruitment told the Jordan Times that "unauthorized agencies in the Philippines supply their Jordanian counterparts with domestic helpers who are not trained and cannot do their jobs properly."
There are about 70,000 foreign domestics in Jordan, according to The Jordan Times citing government records. About 11,000 to 12,000 of them are Filipinos, 20,000 are Indonesians, and 35,000 are Sri Lankans.
According to Conejos, the DFA is reviewing the status of the countries where deployment of Filipino workers have been banned.
When asked if the ban in Lebanon could be lifted soon because conflicts there appeared to have already fizzled out, Conejos said it was too early to say.
"We review their status every quarter before coming up with a recommendation," Conejos said.
Despite the total deployment ban in the four Middle East countries, many Filipino workers still go there, risking their lives for employment.
One out of every two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) last year ignored reports of harsh working conditions abroad and still chose to work in the Middle East.
A report by the National Statistics office (NSO) said that from April to September 2007, almost half or 46.8 percent of overseas workers were hired in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and other Middle East countries.
Last year, 45.8 percent of the OFWs worked in the Middle East during the same period, according to NSO. - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV
Esteban Conejos Jr, DFA undersecretary for migrant workers affairs, on Monday clarified that unlike in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Nigeria, some Filipino workers could still return to Jordan for work.
"It is wrong to say that there is a total deployment ban to Jordan. There is only a temporary suspension of deployment," Conejos said.
Conejos made the statement amid reports that the Philippine government had partially lifted the “total deployment ban" in the Middle East country for returning household service workers (HSWs) who would receive a salary of at least $400.
Reports of widespread abuse of Filipino workers prompted the government to ban deployment in Jordan in January 2008.
Marianito Roque, secretary of the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment, recently issued Department Order No. 93-08 series of 2008 that grants partial exemption to returning HSWs in Jordan.
Roque also instructed the Philippine Overseas and Employment Agency (POEA) and the Philippine Labor Office in Jordan (POLO) to resume the processing of employment documents of qualified returning HSWs.
Online news site Jordan Times reported on Monday that the Jordanian government was keen on tightening regulations in the hiring of HSWs.
Amjad Wishah, the Labor Ministry’s director for recruitment told the Jordan Times that "unauthorized agencies in the Philippines supply their Jordanian counterparts with domestic helpers who are not trained and cannot do their jobs properly."
There are about 70,000 foreign domestics in Jordan, according to The Jordan Times citing government records. About 11,000 to 12,000 of them are Filipinos, 20,000 are Indonesians, and 35,000 are Sri Lankans.
According to Conejos, the DFA is reviewing the status of the countries where deployment of Filipino workers have been banned.
When asked if the ban in Lebanon could be lifted soon because conflicts there appeared to have already fizzled out, Conejos said it was too early to say.
"We review their status every quarter before coming up with a recommendation," Conejos said.
Despite the total deployment ban in the four Middle East countries, many Filipino workers still go there, risking their lives for employment.
One out of every two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) last year ignored reports of harsh working conditions abroad and still chose to work in the Middle East.
A report by the National Statistics office (NSO) said that from April to September 2007, almost half or 46.8 percent of overseas workers were hired in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and other Middle East countries.
Last year, 45.8 percent of the OFWs worked in the Middle East during the same period, according to NSO. - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV
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