Uncertainty for OFWs in 2009
By MARIA ALETA O. NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS..
Migrant leader Garry Martinez cooked half a kilo of spaghetti and a few pieces of hotdogs for noche buena to celebrate Christmas with his kid.
“We prepared a little for noche buena. We’re used to simple living,” he said stressing that what’s important is for him and his child was to spend precious time together last Christmas.
Martinez’s wife is an overseas Filipino worker employed as a domestic helper in Israel.
The chairperson of Migrante International said that even in the Middle East, his wife is also experiencing the effects of the financial crisis and has expressed difficulty in sending remittances back to their family.
Martinez believes that his family was not the only who spent what he calls a “black Christmas” as many OFWs have been laid off due to the crisis.
Migrante International said that their count of displaced OFWs in Taiwan is now at 3,000. The group is still monitoring the situation of OFWs in other countries like Macau, South Korea and in the Middle East.
“It’s a dark season because of the crisis. We’re basing this on what the ILO (International Labor Organization) said that 20 million will lose their jobs as a result of the financial crisis,” he said.
He lamented that the government’s response is not attuned to the demands of OFWs affected by the crisis. Instead, the government is implementing its labor export policy, and pushing for the psychological test and other fees which further burden many Filipino migrants.
“There’s a global financial crisis but our government is still asking us to pay additional fees,” he said.
But the government is also taking steps to insure that the future would still be bright for its number one contributor to the economic coffers, the OFWs.
Migrant leader Garry Martinez cooked half a kilo of spaghetti and a few pieces of hotdogs for noche buena to celebrate Christmas with his kid.
“We prepared a little for noche buena. We’re used to simple living,” he said stressing that what’s important is for him and his child was to spend precious time together last Christmas.
Martinez’s wife is an overseas Filipino worker employed as a domestic helper in Israel.
The chairperson of Migrante International said that even in the Middle East, his wife is also experiencing the effects of the financial crisis and has expressed difficulty in sending remittances back to their family.
Martinez believes that his family was not the only who spent what he calls a “black Christmas” as many OFWs have been laid off due to the crisis.
Migrante International said that their count of displaced OFWs in Taiwan is now at 3,000. The group is still monitoring the situation of OFWs in other countries like Macau, South Korea and in the Middle East.
“It’s a dark season because of the crisis. We’re basing this on what the ILO (International Labor Organization) said that 20 million will lose their jobs as a result of the financial crisis,” he said.
He lamented that the government’s response is not attuned to the demands of OFWs affected by the crisis. Instead, the government is implementing its labor export policy, and pushing for the psychological test and other fees which further burden many Filipino migrants.
“There’s a global financial crisis but our government is still asking us to pay additional fees,” he said.
But the government is also taking steps to insure that the future would still be bright for its number one contributor to the economic coffers, the OFWs.
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