Many OFWs ignore reports of harsh working conditions abroad

MANILA, Philippines - One out of every two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) last year ignored reports of harsh working conditions abroad but still chose to work in the Middle East.

According to a report released by the National Statistics office (NSO) at the weekend, almost half or 46.8% of overseas workers in April-September 2007 were hired in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and other Middle East countries.

This is only 1% higher than the 45.8% of OFWs that worked in the Middle East during the same period the previous year.

Saudi Arabia was reported to still host the most number of Filipino workers, accounting for 19.8%.

In an interview with BusinessWorld, Jeremiah M. Opiniano of The OFW Journalism Consortium, a nongovernment organization that advocates overseas workers welfare, Wednesday said that people still flock to the Middle East to seek greener pasture. - BusinessWorld

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