5,000 OFWs to Korea in 10 months

INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:56:00 06/08/2009

Filed Under: Asia Australia - North Asia, Overseas Employment, Diplomacy, Agreement (general), Labor

MANILA, Philippines—Despite being shaken by the global economic crunch, Korea is expected to hire 5,000 more Filipinos within the next 10 months after Labor Secretary Marianito Roque and his Korean counterpart Minister Lee Younghee recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Employment Permit System (EPS).

In a statement issued by the labor department, the memorandum was signed on May 30, and witnessed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House, venue of the bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

Under the new MOU, to ensure that the minimum standards set by the Philippine government such as free accommodation are met, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration may review contract offers of employers.

The pact also minimizes pre-departure cancellation of employment contracts and pre-termination of existing ones by disqualifying employers as well as workers with derogatory records.

Filipino workers will also continue to enjoy pension coverage pursuant to the National Pension Law and shall be entitled to equal treatment with that of Korean workers, including minimum wage and insurance protection.

Aside from the MOU on EPS, the two labor chiefs signed an MOU on Labor and Manpower Development which provides, among others, for the training of workers on-site to better prepare them for their eventual return to the Philippines. There will be exchanges too of trainers and experts and development of curricula to improve vocational education and training.

In a recent survey conducted by the Korea Labor Ministry, Filipinos ranked first in terms of ability to adopt to the Korean society and second in communication skills.

As of December 2007, there are an estimated 80,715 Filipinos in South Korea, 6,187 of whom permanent residents, 62,528 temporary, and 12,000 irregular

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more