UAE to provide 1,500 Filipinos with jobs - DOLE

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would be providing 1,500 jobs for Filipinos in three sectors.

A pilot project providing jobs in the health care, hospitality and construction sectors was launched Thursday by the DoLE and the UAE Labor Ministry.

The project will follow workers from recruitment to reintegration. The UAE government said that it was testing out policies for temporary contractual employment. If the project becomes a success, policies will be institutionalized.

The project focuses on four cycles of employment: recruitment, residency, preparation for reintegration and reintegration. The UAE will take charge of cycle two and three.

The project will benefit 3,000 workers from both India and the Philippines, officials said.

"This is an advantage to both sending countries [like the Philippines and India] as well as destination countries like the UAE," said Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque.

Mr. Roque also said that the agreement with UAE shows the commitment of the Philippines to expand "safer migration channels."

UAE Labor Minister Saqr Gobash Saeed Ghobash said the project would take care of workers’ welfare.

"Our government wants to make sure that the workers we are getting know what they are getting into and we want to help them," said Mr. Ghobash.

Members of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) who attended the program’s launch said that the UAE pilot project was a step in the right direction, as agreements like that of the Philippines and India with the UAE were concrete steps to promote "safe migration."

"We want to encourage more regional participation. Regional agreements [like this one of India, Philippines and UAE] are easily replicable," said IOM Asia-Pacific spokesperson Christopher Lom.

Mr. Lom noted that bilateral labor agreements are not easily reproduced by other countries as the issues involved are usually very specific to the parties.

The criteria for selection of the workers are still unclear. Philippine Overseas Employment Administration chief Rosalinda D. Baldoz said that a steering committee would be meeting this Monday to discuss the mechanisms of the pilot project.

"We’re happy because finally, destination countries are doing their responsibility to provide means to train and help to reintegrate the workers. It shows that the Middle East is finally opening up," Ms. Baldoz said. — E.N.J. David, BusinessWorld

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