Philippines To Seek Bilateral Labor Ties With Overseas Filipino Worker's Host Countries | October 31, 2007 | AHN

Philippines To Seek Bilateral Labor Ties With Overseas Filipino Worker's Host Countries | October 31, 2007 | AHN: "Philippines To Seek Bilateral Labor Ties With Overseas Filipino Worker's Host Countries October 24, 2007 11:23 a.m. EST Preciosa Dumlao - AHN News Writer Manila, Philippines (AHN) - The Philippine government should pro-actively negotiate for bilateral labor agreements with countries hosting Filipino workers, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada who is concurrent chairman of the Senate Labor Committee and of the Joint Congressional Committee on Labor and Employment. Estrada noted the report by Kanlungan Center, a private group assisting distressed overseas Filipino workers, that the Philippines has bilateral labor agreements with only 13 out of the 197 countries hosting OFWs, namely: Norway, United Kingdom, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Libya, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Indonesia. 'Practically everyday, we hear of Filipino workers being abused and maltreated by their employers abroad, especially, in countries that our government does not have bilateral labor agreements with. Such agreements could prevent these misfortunes by laying down the necessary guidelines and provisions for the protection of our workers,' he said."

The Manila Times Internet Edition | BUSINESS > Telcos cashing in on OFWs

The Manila Times Internet Edition | BUSINESS > Telcos cashing in on OFWs: "Telcos cashing in on OFWs By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter TWENTY-FOUR-year-old Rosemarie, a daughter of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) deployed in Hong Kong, said constant communications with her mother abroad helps ease the pain of distance. “We always call or text my mother to chat and say thank you,” she said. Rosemarie is only one of millions of other Filipinos whose parents or siblings have to work abroad, and whose remittance-fueled spending on calls and text messages has propped up the multibillion-peso telecommunications industry. According to a fresh survey by Nielsen Media Research, communications between OFWs and their loved ones back home is often done once a week by more than a third of respondents. Close to a fifth do that once a month, and another fifth use the phone twice a week. Nielsen sampled 300 remittance recipients, aged 18 years and above, from all socioeconomic classes."

Migration News

Migration News: "China, Taiwan Migration News Vol. 14 No. 4, October 2007 Print-Friendly Version China's economy and society are being transformed by rural-urban migration. In 1978, before market reforms began, about 70 percent of Chinese were employed in agriculture, which generated 28 percent of GDP. By 2006, only 43 percent of the 760 million Chinese workers were employed in agriculture, which generated 12 percent of GDP. At least 150 million of the 327 million agricultural workers in China are considered redundant. Farmers and especially their children are pushed out of agriculture by low incomes and pulled into urban areas by the availability of jobs. In 2006, urban residents in China had an average income of 10,500 yuan ($1,400), compared with 3,300 yuan ($440) in rural areas Government policies aim to increase rural incomes and slow rural-urban migration. Some 210 million Chinese have left the place in which they are registered. However, Chinese living in places in which they are not registered are not entitled to public housing, schooling or health care. The city of Beijing is approaching its ceiling of 18 million people, including 12 million permanent residents who have the Beijing hukou, or household registration certificates, and over five million migrants. Taiwan. The Council of Labor Affairs in July 2007 announced that it would issu"

That Midas touch in HK parish - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

That Midas touch in HK parish - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos: "That Midas touch in HK parish By Blanche Rivera Inquirer Last updated 07:35pm (Mla time) 10/08/2007 MANILA, Philippines – As Hong kong Bishop Joseph Cardinal Zen said, it could have been another Italian or American. Instead, the new shepherd of Hong Kong's biggest parish is a Filipino. A former altar boy from Pangasinan has been appointed parish priest of St. Joseph's Church in Central Hong Kong, touted as the area's biggest parish with about 8,000 Mass attendees every weekend, most of them Filipino migrants. On Sept. 1, Fr. Midas Tambot, SVD, officially became the first Filipino priest to take over St. Joseph, now known as a church of migrants due to the bulk of overseas Filipino workers who turn the place into the biggest Filipino Catholic melting pot in Hong Kong on Sundays."

Stand with the Burmese Protesters

Stand with the Burmese Protesters: "Stand with the Burmese Protesters After decades of military dictatorship, the people of Burma are rising – and they need our help. Marches begun by monks and nuns snowballed, bringing hundreds of thousands to the streets. Now the crackdown has begun, but the protests are spreading... When the Burmese last marched in 1988, the military massacred thousands. If the world stands up and supports their struggle, this time they could win. We're in a race against time-- targeting the dictatorship's main backer China in a global advertising campaign, delivering the petition to the UN secretary-general and sending the Burmese our support via radio-- To Chinese President Hu Jintao and the UN Security Council: We stand alongside the citizens of Burma in their peaceful protests. We urge you to oppose a violent crackdown on the demonstrators, and to support genuine reconciliation and democracy in Burma. We pledge to hold you accountable for any further bloodshed."

ABS-CBN News Online

ABS-CBN News Online: "Gov’t likely to miss 1-M OFW deployment target for ’07 The Philippine Star Local job recruiters expressed optimism that despite the opening of new labor markets abroad for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the government is unlikely to reach the annual yearly target deployment of at least one million workers because of the drop in the hiring of housemaids. Jackson Gan, of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (FAME), said at least 100,000 Filipino domestic helpers lost their jobs because of the new government policy that fixed to $400 per month the minimum salary for maids. 'The new markets that the Department of Labor and Employment is bragging about like Canada, Spain, and New Zealand will not make up for the loss of 100,000 jobs of domestic helpers,' Gan pointed out. Housemaids from Thailand and Indonesia accept salaries as low as $150, while maids from China are paid $50 to $100. Gan said the hiring of OFWs in Taiwan also declined as a result of the Taiwanese government’s protest over the controversial Philippine government policies. He added that quite a number of Middle East-bound Filipino workers were also unable to leave the country due to lack of airline flights including the ban on processing fees for OFWs and the alleged unfair treatment for Taiwanese investors i"

Philippines: Government Bans Its Critics From Entering (Human Rights Watch, 28-9-2007)

Philippines: Government Bans Its Critics From Entering (Human Rights Watch, 28-9-2007): "Philippines: Government Bans Its Critics From Entering Human Rights Watch Has Obtained Official Blacklist Barring More Than 500 People (New York, September 28, 2007) – The Philippines government should stop blacklisting peaceful critics and banning them from entering the country, Human Rights Watch said today. ' The Philippine government has the right and duty to protect its citizens from genuine security threats. ' Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch Contribute Related Material Philippines Government Blacklist Written Statement, July 24, 2007 Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines Report, September 28, 2007 Photo Essay: Attacks on Civilians in the Philippines Graphic, July 30, 2007 More information on The Philippines Country Page More of Human Rights Watch's work on Counterterrorism Thematic Page Free Email Newsletter Human Rights Watch has obtained a copy of a Philippines government blacklist banning 504 people from entering the country in July and August with, according to the document, “Al-Qaeda/Taliban Link.” The Bureau of Immigration of the Philippines Justice Department blacklist includes individuals from more than 50 countries, including expatriate Filipinos. The blacklist..."