'Low-skilled workers most vulnerable to financial crisis impact'

by MARIA ALETA O. NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Unskilled and semi-skilled workers are the first to be affected by the global financial crisis, according to regional trade union leaders.

“First round of job losses will be the unskilled and the semi-skilled. Domestic work is threatened. The construction, forestry, wood sector would all be threatened,” Ambet Yuson, Asia Pacific regional representative of the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) said.

Yuson was among the speakers during the press conference "Workers Without Borders, Workers Without Rights: The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and What It Should Do For Migrant Workers”, also attended by other global unions and the International Labor Organization (ILO) in connection with the upcoming 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) this October.

Last September, Yuson said the US removed 160,000 workers employed in the construction industry. He expects the number to increase to about half a million in the next three months.

“More countries, like Spain, are closing doors to migrants. Australia has also announced to stop building houses and commercial buildings. They won’t be needing construction workers. Bababa ang demand for construction workers,” he said.

Left with no other alternative, Yuson it is possible that those people who will lose their jobs would probably try their luck in finding employment by going underground. He said this could give rise to the number of Filipino undocumented workers.

“Dahil sa kakulangang ng trabaho dito, maraming mga workers doon ang mapipilitang manatili, magiging undocumented sila. Yung iba, ayaw umuwi kasi walang trabaho dito. Wala daw trabaho dito, tapos sa Pasko, uuwing walang dala,” he said.

Remittances could go down by 50%?

A major impact of this would be on the remittances sent home by OFWs to their families.

“There have been reports from our members, they said they are only sending 50% of their remittances or the money that they should send back home,” Yuson said.

Annie Geron, Public Services International Vice President said they received feedback from their unions which estimates around 200,000 workers in the service sector employed in 193 countries will be affected.

“If the nurses and caregivers are performing according to their profession, they are safe. But the problem is, most of them are doing jobs that are overqualified,” she said.

Yuson stressed the need for the Philippine government to take the issue of social protection in the GFMD.

He said the government should help protect the rights of migrant workers.

“What is the plan of the Philippine government? We already know that people are coming back. We already know that there is an increase in human rights violations against migrant workers? Is there work available back here? I think we should not wait. The government should come up with a plan,” he said.

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