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"