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..."

Migrant culture - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Migrant culture - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos: "Starting in the 1960s, departures included nurses, midwives to specialists: from pediatrics, internal medicine to obstetrics and oncology, said Jaime Galvez Tan, Fernando Sanchez and Virginia Balanon at a University of the Philippines lecture. “A health disaster is impending if nothing drastic is done.” That will take some doing. Eight million Filipinos now live and work in over 190 countries. And about 3,000 leave every day. They’ve “midwifed” today’s “culture of migration… which permeates Filipino society,” Maruja Asis of Scalabrini Migration Center observed. “Migration has become a way of life,” Asis told the East Asian Labor Migration Conference. Eyebrows arch if someone preferred to work here. “The expectation is: you’d like to work overseas, like many Filipinos.”"

It's A Small (And Changing) World After All | Wise Bread

It's A Small (And Changing) World After All | Wise Bread: "It's easy to stick our heads in the sand and say that the answer to 'Life, The Universe, and Everything' is 42. But we all very well know that the world we live in is a constantly changing one, thanks to evolution, industrialization, and the more recent trend and buzzword: Globalization. After reading The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman, my interest in this topic was piqued. At one point or another, and in many cases unbeknownst to us, we have placed a call to customer service and actually spoken to somebody in India. In fact, as I learned from the book (or audiobook as it so happens), working in a customer call centre in India is a coveted position, and training includes adopting the english accents specific to each region of the US and North America. So although the person on the other side of the line may say their name is Andy and sound like he is from Georgia, he could very well be Ajeet and only have a vague knowledge of where Georgia is."

Filipino Migrants Mount Global Protests for ‘Beloved Hero’ | Bulatlat

Filipino Migrants Mount Global Protests for ‘Beloved Hero’ | Bulatlat: "In Taiwan, members of Migrante International-Taiwan chapter, Labor Rights Association and Taiwan Committee for Philippine Concerns (TCPC) held a rally on September 2 at the Dutch Trade Office in Taipei. The groups said that the arrest diverts the attention of the public in the Philippines and abroad regarding the gross human rights violations of the Philippine government. Some members of the TCPC have joined fact finding missions in the Philippines against human rights violations."

The Manila Times Internet Edition | OPINION > The Achilles’ heel of RP’s migration program

The Manila Times Internet Edition | OPINION > The Achilles’ heel of RP’s migration program: "The Achilles’ heel of RP’s migration program Of the estimated 8 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) worldwide, women, who outnumber the men, are the most vulnerable to employers’ abuse and exploitation. They are the Achilles’ heel of the country’s migration program. Female OFWs have spread all over the globe to find work. Nurses and caregivers abound in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and other rich nations suffering from the acute shortage of medical workers. South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore teem with women factory workers. Domestic helpers are found in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, Italy and the Middle East. Many DHs are exposed to employers’ maltreatment, nonpayment or underpayment of salary, contract substitution, long working hours and sexual abuse. The videoed rape of “Melissa,” a maid in Saudi Arabia, by her employer, underscores the impunity with which depraved employers treat their Filipino maids."

Migration Letters - Current Issue - Contents

Migration Letters - Current Issue - Contents:

Year: 2007 - Volume: 4 - Issue: 1

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Philippine labour migration to Taiwan: Social, political, demographic, and economic dimensions
Author: Stephen J. Sills Migration Letters, Vol.4, No.1, pp.: 1-14
abstract full text

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A maid in servitude: Filipino domestic workers in the Middle East
Author: Kathy Nadeau Migration Letters, Vol.4, No.1, pp.: 15-27
abstract full text

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Organizing women migrants: The Filipino and Cape Verdean women’s associations in Rome
Author: Wendy Pojmann Migration Letters, Vol.4, No.1, pp.: 29-39
abstract full text