HK migrants' group criticizes GFMD objectives
disaster in the making for the millions of overseas Filipino workers.
That was how the militant United Filipinos n Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante-HK) view the Philippines’ hosting on October 27 – 30 of the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development where some 200 delegates from various sectors worldwide are expected to participate.
“What benefits can OFWs get from a process that aims to intensify labor export, increase remittances and profit from labor migration, ensure the flow of cheap but skilled migrant labor to receiving countries, and practically substitute forced migration as a development framework instead of genuine development in sending countries?" asked Unifil chairperson Dolores Balladares.
The DFA signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Monday with Ayala Foundation that was designated to head the civil society component of the GFMD.
Balladares sought to dispute the assurance of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said the forum is expected to improve the condition of the nearly 10 million OFWs across the globe.
“We expect to reach a consensus with countries hosting Filipino workers for better treatment of OFWs," Conejos said, asserting that the Philippine government will work out arrangements for better benefits and more secure working conditions with countries hosting OFWs.
“For us, the GFMD in Manila is another disaster-in-the-making. The Philippines’ hosting of the GFMD is a recognition of how this government has transformed forced migration and commodification of migrants to a level of near perfection – with billions of dollars in remittances, millions more in government charges, and an ideal partnership between the government and private businesses that participate in the migration process," Balladares countered.
She said her group is highly-skeptical of the “practical solutions for practical problems" that Conejos, who has been designated as GFMD chairman, has outlined as the thrust of the forum.
“GFMD merely discusses management of the migration process that they could not push in the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) Mode 4 talks with the collapse of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Nowhere in the process are the actual practical issues of migrants tackled such as low wages, abuses of recruiters, absence of protective labor laws to migrants, widespread discrimination and xenophobia, criminalization of undocumented migrants, and real welfare assistance to migrants," Balladares said.
According to her, the Philippine government’s plan to impress protection of migrant workers to receiving countries by showing how it does so with Filipino workers is an “empty brag" and “extremely hypocritical."
“What kind of protection can the Philippine government show when it is the promoter of policies like the POEA guidelines that make us vulnerable to abuses? What kind of welfare can it promote when its own program is impotent and reeks of corruption and anomalies?" she asked further.
She said the Manila forum “will yet again distort the reality of forced migration and skirt the primary issues of migrant workers."
“The Philippine government is an expert in issuing motherhood statements on the protection of migrant workers while aggressively seeking out markets for its primary commodity and source of income – the Filipino migrant workers – regardless of the condition we face abroad. This is the only lesson it can impart to fellow labor exporters and the only agenda it has for receiving countries," Balladares said.
For the GFMD to have real benefits to migrant workers, she urged migrant workers to challenge the framework of the GFMD talks and force governments to table concrete issues of migrant workers.
“Especially for Filipino migrants, the GFMD in Manila is a venue to expose the disaster that is the Philippine labor export program. We should unite with migrant workers of other nationalities to stop the commodification of migrant labor and demand for genuine development that will finally end forced migration," she suggested.
In September 2006, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convened a high-level dialogue to discuss the nexus between migration and development. Then Secretary General Kofi Annan, a vigorous supporter of the dialogue, proposed the creation of a global forum to mark the beginning of inter-governmental discussions about migration and development.
The inaugural GFMD was held in Brussels, Belgium in 2007. The forum is a government-led initiative that is open to all 192 United Nations-member states.
It is a voluntary process that addresses issues related to migration and development through the identification of best practices, promotion of exchange of experiences while adding value to existing regional consultations, identification of obstacles to smart policymaking, exploration and adoption of innovative approaches, and enhancement of cooperation among countries. - GMANews.TV
That was how the militant United Filipinos n Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante-HK) view the Philippines’ hosting on October 27 – 30 of the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development where some 200 delegates from various sectors worldwide are expected to participate.
“What benefits can OFWs get from a process that aims to intensify labor export, increase remittances and profit from labor migration, ensure the flow of cheap but skilled migrant labor to receiving countries, and practically substitute forced migration as a development framework instead of genuine development in sending countries?" asked Unifil chairperson Dolores Balladares.
The DFA signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Monday with Ayala Foundation that was designated to head the civil society component of the GFMD.
Balladares sought to dispute the assurance of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said the forum is expected to improve the condition of the nearly 10 million OFWs across the globe.
“We expect to reach a consensus with countries hosting Filipino workers for better treatment of OFWs," Conejos said, asserting that the Philippine government will work out arrangements for better benefits and more secure working conditions with countries hosting OFWs.
“For us, the GFMD in Manila is another disaster-in-the-making. The Philippines’ hosting of the GFMD is a recognition of how this government has transformed forced migration and commodification of migrants to a level of near perfection – with billions of dollars in remittances, millions more in government charges, and an ideal partnership between the government and private businesses that participate in the migration process," Balladares countered.
She said her group is highly-skeptical of the “practical solutions for practical problems" that Conejos, who has been designated as GFMD chairman, has outlined as the thrust of the forum.
“GFMD merely discusses management of the migration process that they could not push in the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) Mode 4 talks with the collapse of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Nowhere in the process are the actual practical issues of migrants tackled such as low wages, abuses of recruiters, absence of protective labor laws to migrants, widespread discrimination and xenophobia, criminalization of undocumented migrants, and real welfare assistance to migrants," Balladares said.
According to her, the Philippine government’s plan to impress protection of migrant workers to receiving countries by showing how it does so with Filipino workers is an “empty brag" and “extremely hypocritical."
“What kind of protection can the Philippine government show when it is the promoter of policies like the POEA guidelines that make us vulnerable to abuses? What kind of welfare can it promote when its own program is impotent and reeks of corruption and anomalies?" she asked further.
She said the Manila forum “will yet again distort the reality of forced migration and skirt the primary issues of migrant workers."
“The Philippine government is an expert in issuing motherhood statements on the protection of migrant workers while aggressively seeking out markets for its primary commodity and source of income – the Filipino migrant workers – regardless of the condition we face abroad. This is the only lesson it can impart to fellow labor exporters and the only agenda it has for receiving countries," Balladares said.
For the GFMD to have real benefits to migrant workers, she urged migrant workers to challenge the framework of the GFMD talks and force governments to table concrete issues of migrant workers.
“Especially for Filipino migrants, the GFMD in Manila is a venue to expose the disaster that is the Philippine labor export program. We should unite with migrant workers of other nationalities to stop the commodification of migrant labor and demand for genuine development that will finally end forced migration," she suggested.
In September 2006, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convened a high-level dialogue to discuss the nexus between migration and development. Then Secretary General Kofi Annan, a vigorous supporter of the dialogue, proposed the creation of a global forum to mark the beginning of inter-governmental discussions about migration and development.
The inaugural GFMD was held in Brussels, Belgium in 2007. The forum is a government-led initiative that is open to all 192 United Nations-member states.
It is a voluntary process that addresses issues related to migration and development through the identification of best practices, promotion of exchange of experiences while adding value to existing regional consultations, identification of obstacles to smart policymaking, exploration and adoption of innovative approaches, and enhancement of cooperation among countries. - GMANews.TV
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