16 June 2010 PRESS RELEASE After the much-publicized release of the US State Department’s report on human trafficking, the largest OFW group Migrante International challenged president-elect Noynoy Aquino to immediately fire and prosecute RP officials colluding with human trafficking syndicates. The group likewise urged Noynoy to make the DOJ Task Force on Trafficking in Persons…
Tags: overseas Filipino workers
Retrenched Migrants in New Zealand Appeal for Work Extension
By NOEL SALES BARCELONA Correspondent Migrant Watch Bulatlat MANILA — Retrenched migrants in New Zealand want their work permits to be extended for three months to give them ample time to look for work. Dennis Maga, coordinator of Migrante International in Aotearoa, New Zealand, said in a statement that they have already made an appeal…
OFWs Face Bleak Future as Global Crisis Hits Companies Worldwide
BY MARILOU AGUIRRE-TUBURAN MIGRANT WATCH Davao Today Posted by Bulatlat DAVAO CITY — Unlike most overseas Filipino workers who lost their jobs in Taiwan, Isabelita Atis, 29, felt relieved when her plane finally touched down at the Davao International Airport in December last year. She was among the 6,468 thousand overseas Filipinos laid-off in Taiwan…
Lifting of Deployment Ban, Subjecting More OFWs to Abuse
It was only a few years ago when the Arroyo administration issued a total deployment ban to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar and Iraq because of “unstable security conditions”. Fast-forward to the present. The Arroyo administration has now lifted the deployment ban claiming that the security conditions have “improved”. But has the protection of labor and…
Going Through the Eye of a Needle: Availing of the P50K Loan for OFWs
Through the reintegration program of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), a National Livelihood Support Fund was launched to “assist” overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were retrenched due to the global financial crisis. But retrenched OFWs have to comply with the stiff requirements and be prepared for the long haul before they would be able…
Solon Chides Arroyo for Lifting Deployment Ban to Lebanon and Jordan
BY BULATLAT A progressive legislator chided President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her ‘haste in deploying overseas Filipino workers to war-torn Lebanon and Jordan. On Wednesday, Arroyo, through Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, announced the lifting of the deployment ban to Lebanon and Jordan. Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Luzviminda Ilagan described the move as “like sending cannon fodder.”…
Do Not Lift Deployment Ban to Lebanon, Gov’t Urged
A migrant group urged the government not to lift the deployment ban to Lebanon as the situation remains volatile. BY BULATLAT MIGRANT WATCH A migrant group urged the government not to lift the deployment ban to Lebanon as the situation remains volatile. John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said that war could spark again…
Gov’t Rakes Billions of Pesos Annually on OFW Processing Charges, Studies Show
Studies by the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) and the International Seafarers’ Action (ISAC) Philippines Foundation, Inc. show that the government rakes in billions of pesos from mandatory exactions on prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA Correspondent MIGRANT WATCH Bulatlat Aling Rose (real name withheld upon request),…
‘Resiliency Plan for OFWs a Grand Hoax’ – Migrant Group
A global alliance of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) branded the Arroyo administration’s economic resiliency plan for OFWs as a grand hoax. BY ANGIE DE LARA AND RONALYN OLEA MIGRANT WATCH Bulatlat Evanessa Valmadrid is one of the retrenched OFWs from Taiwan who trooped to the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NCRO), February 27, hoping to…
WA’s Largest Union Lodges Case for OFW vs Employer
In a singular case on behalf of a Filipino overseas worker (OFW), Western Australia’s largest union the LHMU (Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union)* has filed proceedings against the OFW’s employer in the WA State Industrial Relations Commission. It is alleged that the employer Susan Law of TPL Executive Search Limited has underpaid Fe A. (full…
No Measures Taken to Improve Conditions of OFWs in Jordan Despite Lifting the Ban – Migrante
The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) imposed a deployment ban on Jordan in January 2008 due to reports of widespread abuse to Filipino workers. Overseas Filipino workers in Jordan were maltreated; some were even raped. Despite these reports of abuses, the DoLE partially lifted the ban with no measures instituted to uplift the miserable…