Ople Center eyes one-stop shops for retrenched OFWs
A nonprofit group on Monday urged the government to set up one-stop assistance centers in various parts of the country to assist overseas Filipino workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the global financial crisis.
In a statement, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center urged government to set clear, simple and unified guidelines and protocols that would enable affected OFWs to seek the help of regional offices and LGUs without having to spend money just to travel to Metro Manila.
“These overseas workers have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The least we could do is to spare them the unnecessary expense of going from one agency to another in search of advice and assistance," the Center said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the Ople Center is scheduled to meet with 10 displaced workers from Hannstar Display Corporation, a Taiwanese company that manufactures LCS screens.
“We will accompany the workers to the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration to jumpstart the reintegration process, and as our own test case on how various stakeholders can work together to help our workers,” Susan Ople, the policy center’s president, said.
Ople said that a total of 140 workers were laid off by Hannstar last month after economic woes forced the company to reduce its workforce.
She said some of the workers were saddled with debts to lending companies before they heard news about the layoffs.
One of the workers told the Ople Center that he had issued post-dated checks to the lending company and expressed fears that his inability to pay due to an abrupt loss of income would lead to legal problems.
Ople said that according to Labor Attache Rodolfo Sabulao, nearly 3,000 workers have been retrenched from their jobs as factory workers in Taiwan. He anticipates that at least 6,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan may lose their jobs next year if the financial crisis deepens.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque, in a recent radio interview, assured affected workers that the labor departments and its attached agencies now have onsite and in-country programs to assist displaced workers.
He assured the public that while the number of affected workers is still within normal levels, the government is very much prepared to assist those affected by the global financial crisis.
Roque said the DOLE is deploying an advance reintegration team composed of officers from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Bureau of Local Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration as well as other relevant offices to Taiwan to render onsite services to affected Filipino workers.
In response to concerns of displaced workers who were made to sign waivers or documents stating that their resignations were voluntary, Secretary Roque assured the Blas F. Ople Policy Center that these documents would not have any bearing especially since the workers were under duress when they signed the papers.
He urged the aggrieved workers to visit OWWA and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration or POEA so that their concerns can be immediately addressed.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
In a statement, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center urged government to set clear, simple and unified guidelines and protocols that would enable affected OFWs to seek the help of regional offices and LGUs without having to spend money just to travel to Metro Manila.
“These overseas workers have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The least we could do is to spare them the unnecessary expense of going from one agency to another in search of advice and assistance," the Center said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the Ople Center is scheduled to meet with 10 displaced workers from Hannstar Display Corporation, a Taiwanese company that manufactures LCS screens.
“We will accompany the workers to the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration to jumpstart the reintegration process, and as our own test case on how various stakeholders can work together to help our workers,” Susan Ople, the policy center’s president, said.
Ople said that a total of 140 workers were laid off by Hannstar last month after economic woes forced the company to reduce its workforce.
She said some of the workers were saddled with debts to lending companies before they heard news about the layoffs.
One of the workers told the Ople Center that he had issued post-dated checks to the lending company and expressed fears that his inability to pay due to an abrupt loss of income would lead to legal problems.
Ople said that according to Labor Attache Rodolfo Sabulao, nearly 3,000 workers have been retrenched from their jobs as factory workers in Taiwan. He anticipates that at least 6,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan may lose their jobs next year if the financial crisis deepens.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque, in a recent radio interview, assured affected workers that the labor departments and its attached agencies now have onsite and in-country programs to assist displaced workers.
He assured the public that while the number of affected workers is still within normal levels, the government is very much prepared to assist those affected by the global financial crisis.
Roque said the DOLE is deploying an advance reintegration team composed of officers from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Bureau of Local Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration as well as other relevant offices to Taiwan to render onsite services to affected Filipino workers.
In response to concerns of displaced workers who were made to sign waivers or documents stating that their resignations were voluntary, Secretary Roque assured the Blas F. Ople Policy Center that these documents would not have any bearing especially since the workers were under duress when they signed the papers.
He urged the aggrieved workers to visit OWWA and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration or POEA so that their concerns can be immediately addressed.
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Comments