OFWs in Israel 'less exposed' to abuse, rights advocate says
MANILA, Philippines - A human rights advocate on Friday said that Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Israel are “less exposed" to abuse compared to those from other countries.
“The Filipino workers are in a better situation because they speak English and have strong community support," said lawyer Anat Kidron of the Israel-based rights advocate group Kav La Oved during a forum at the Quezon City Circle on Friday.
Kidron said that she noticed how Filipinos are always able to find their fellow OFWs and form communities that would protect them from being abused.
Other nationalities, she said, were more prone to experience abuse as workers in Israel. She recounted stories of women workers from Thailand, Moldova and Nepal who sought help from Kav La Oved to escape their sexually abusive employers.
“The phenomenon (of workers being abused) is more widespread than we see," she said.
Victims were reportedly told that “service" was part of their contract or were threatened to be deported unless they give in to the desires of their employers.
Kidron also said that besides a handful of sexual abuse cases, the really “big" issues were the bonding arrangement between the employee and Israeli employer and the exorbitant fees being charged by placement agencies on workers.
The bonding arrangement ties the status of a worker to a specific employer through a worker’s visa. A worker who leaves his/her designated employer without proper arrangements may be deported.
As for the fees, the Israeli government delegates the recruitment of migrant workers to subcontractors and does not intervene. In the absence of government control or supervision, profit-driven companies charge outrageous illegal commissions on migrant workers.
Other concerns of migrant workers in Israel allegedly include minimum wage violations, long working hours, poor lodging conditions, confiscation of passports, and illegal recruitment and trafficking.
The Manila-based Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), which initiated the forum, toured Kidron to government and non-government agencies in Manila that are concerned with migrant workers as well as to the Israeli Embassy.
Kidron said she was impressed to learn that the Philippines has agencies such as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) where OFWs can air their concerns.
She encouraged abused migrant workers to complain to the POEA and to the Israeli embassy.
She said she was also set on starting an “information campaign" that would inform migrant workers of their rights in Israel.
“At the moment, the CMA is the one funding the pamphlets we are giving away, so I hope that the Philippine government will become more involved," she said.
In 2006, a total of 25, 900 OFWs were documented to have been working in Israel. According to the Philippine Embassy in Israel, 77 percent of these are caregivers or nursing aides and 23 percent are domestic workers.
During that same year, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics recorded that 6,400 Filipino workers entered Israel. On the other hand, r POEA recorded only 5,053. - GMANews.TV
“The Filipino workers are in a better situation because they speak English and have strong community support," said lawyer Anat Kidron of the Israel-based rights advocate group Kav La Oved during a forum at the Quezon City Circle on Friday.
Kidron said that she noticed how Filipinos are always able to find their fellow OFWs and form communities that would protect them from being abused.
Other nationalities, she said, were more prone to experience abuse as workers in Israel. She recounted stories of women workers from Thailand, Moldova and Nepal who sought help from Kav La Oved to escape their sexually abusive employers.
“The phenomenon (of workers being abused) is more widespread than we see," she said.
Victims were reportedly told that “service" was part of their contract or were threatened to be deported unless they give in to the desires of their employers.
Kidron also said that besides a handful of sexual abuse cases, the really “big" issues were the bonding arrangement between the employee and Israeli employer and the exorbitant fees being charged by placement agencies on workers.
The bonding arrangement ties the status of a worker to a specific employer through a worker’s visa. A worker who leaves his/her designated employer without proper arrangements may be deported.
As for the fees, the Israeli government delegates the recruitment of migrant workers to subcontractors and does not intervene. In the absence of government control or supervision, profit-driven companies charge outrageous illegal commissions on migrant workers.
Other concerns of migrant workers in Israel allegedly include minimum wage violations, long working hours, poor lodging conditions, confiscation of passports, and illegal recruitment and trafficking.
The Manila-based Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), which initiated the forum, toured Kidron to government and non-government agencies in Manila that are concerned with migrant workers as well as to the Israeli Embassy.
Kidron said she was impressed to learn that the Philippines has agencies such as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) where OFWs can air their concerns.
She encouraged abused migrant workers to complain to the POEA and to the Israeli embassy.
She said she was also set on starting an “information campaign" that would inform migrant workers of their rights in Israel.
“At the moment, the CMA is the one funding the pamphlets we are giving away, so I hope that the Philippine government will become more involved," she said.
In 2006, a total of 25, 900 OFWs were documented to have been working in Israel. According to the Philippine Embassy in Israel, 77 percent of these are caregivers or nursing aides and 23 percent are domestic workers.
During that same year, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics recorded that 6,400 Filipino workers entered Israel. On the other hand, r POEA recorded only 5,053. - GMANews.TV
Comments