Taiwan recalling OFWs laid off due to crisis

MANILA, Philippines -Some Taiwanese companies have started recalling overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were laid off due to the global financial crisis, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) announced on Wednesday.

“Several Taiwanese manufacturers value the significant contribution of their Filipino talent and skilled workforce to their enterprises’ future growth and competitiveness," said Antonio I. Basilio, resident representative of MECO, Manila’s de-facto embassy in Taiwan.

He said that some workers who were asked to go on a three-month vacation have also started returning to their Taiwanese employers.

The MECO said that employers in the electronics sector made the move in light of the improvements in the economy of the export-dependent country.

As proof, Basilio said the jobs registered with the online Job Bank in Taiwan rose to 203,000 in early May – the highest in six months, thereby indicating that the country’s employment market is “regaining momentum."

Taipei-based Labor Attaché Rodolfo M. Sabulao even said that a total of 3,434 job orders for Filipino workers bound for Taiwan were processed and verified during the last quarter of 2008.

A total of 3, 563 workers, on the other hand, were laid off and repatriated over the same period – leaving a net job loss of 129 workers.

Moreover, Sabulo noted that the number of workers hired during the first four months of 2009 exceeded the number of job cuts in the latter part of 2008.

“Job orders have also been steadily increasing by at least 15 percent every month while the number of workers receiving pink slips has been on the decline," the report stated.

During January to April 2009, 4,406 job orders were processed and verified by MECO’s labor posts as against the 1,509 workers retrenched by their employers – resulting in a net job gain of 2, 897 workers.

The data, said Sabulo, was based on job orders processed and verified by MECO’s labor posts in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung as against the workers retrenched by their employers over the same period.

Taiwan’s economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis which stemmed from the financial troubles of the United States last year.

As a result, many companies in the electronics sector, which were exporting their products to US and Europe, shut down their operations and laid off local and foreign workers – causing the local unemployment rate to shoot up. - With Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

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