Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com: "Organ sales in the Philippines 3:22 The Philippines prepares to sell its citizens' kidneys 'like any export.' CNN's Hugh Riminton reports"

The Manila Times Internet Edition | OPINION > POEA’s marketing missions

The Manila Times Internet Edition | OPINION > POEA’s marketing missions: "POEA’s marketing missions The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) drew flak the other day from a powerful group of fee charging private recruitment agencies for its continuing job marketing missions. The Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (Pasei), which is composed of 700 placement firms, excoriated the POEA for invading its “domain.” “It’s predatory and totally unfair,” cried Pasei president Victor Fernandez, accusing the POEA of being the administrator of the government’s overseas employment program and at the same time a competitor of an estimated 1,500 recruitment agencies in the country. The latest POEA initiative, which was protested by Pasei, is its ongoing talks with the government of the United Arab Emirates to fill its labor requirements, particularly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with Filipino workers under a government-to-government arrangement. Unless stopped, Fernandez said, the POEA’s “incursions” will continue into other countries experiencing a construction and business boom, such as Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Yemen."

{Comments - I am surprised that these agencies have the nerve to complain when there is so much documentation of their exploitation of OFWs!}

Monday, November 19, 2007

The Manila Times Internet Edition | OPINION > RP best economy in Asean

The Manila Times Internet Edition | OPINION > RP best economy in Asean: "ersonal consumption expanded by 6 percent due to large and growing OFW remittances. Unemployment fell to 7.8 percent in first half to 2007 from 8.1 percent in 2006. Among salaried workers, the largest increase was in the public or government sector due to the elections. The Arroyo administration eliminated the consolidated public sector deficit in 2006, the World Bank notes. A P32 billion consolidated public sector surplus was recorded in first half 2007, about one percent of GDP, driven in large part by higher surpluses of the social security funds and government units."

Sunday, November 11, 2007

SLUMP IN OFW HIRING FEARED TO LAST FOR YEARS

SLUMP IN OFW HIRING FEARED TO LAST FOR YEARS: "SLUMP IN OFW HIRING FEARED TO LAST FOR YEARS MANILA, NOVEMBER 5, 2007 (STAR) By Mayen Jaymalin - Despite the global demand for highly skilled workers, local recruitment industry leaders yesterday warned that fewer overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are likely to get hired abroad in the coming year. Recruitment industry leaders said the slump in hiring of Filipino workers this year may continue in the coming years due to government�s effort to take over the recruitment of workers from private sector. This, even as there are expectations that remittances from OFWs will double to about $21.4 billion in the next three years. Jackson Gan, Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (PILMAT) president, said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) does not have sufficient manpower and expertise to handle the recruitment of hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers. �The government, particularly the POEA, does not have the capacity to handle the recruitment of the large market in the Middle East which could lead to lower deployment in the coming year,� Gan said."