Monday, October 19, 2009
OFW remittances up 2.8% to $1.4 billion in Aug | The Philippine Star >> News >> Business
OFW remittances up 2.8% to $1.4 billion in Aug | The Philippine Star >> News >> Business: "MANILA, Philippines - Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) went up by 2.8 percent in August on the back of the steady deployment of Filipino workers abroad and the increasing number of remittance centers worldwide, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday."
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
MIgration News: Philippines
From Migration News
"Remittances to the Philippines rose to $8.5 billion in the first half of 2009, a surprise amid predictions that the global recession would reduce remittances. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said: "our workers are getting jobs and sending home more money than ever. They are keeping the boat stable." Remittances are a seventh of GDP.
However, more Filipinos are discussing the social costs of sending workers abroad, including the reluctance of some in families that receive remittances to accept jobs in the Philippines.
Departing migrants pay a $25 fee to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to provide services in the event of death or illness abroad. The OWWA has posted staff in 38 sites abroad to provide services to migrants.
The Filipino ambassador to the UN between 2003 and 2007 was charged with abusing his household helper in New York. Lauro L. Baja Jr. brought Marichu Suarez Baoanan to New York in 2006; she charged that she was required to work more than 100 hours a week without pay. Baja, who disputes the charges, invoked diplomatic immunity, but a federal judge in June 2009 said that because Baoanan's duties were "unrelated to Baja's diplomatic functions," her suit could proceed.
A July 2008 Government Accountability Office report identified 42 cases of abuse of household help by foreign diplomats in the US over an eight-year period, but emphasized that there were likely more such cases. The GAO cited 19 trafficking investigations involving foreign diplomats from 2005 to 2008, but no indictments. The US Department of State has not yet revoked a diplomatic visa because of an abuse allegation.
Corazon Aquino, who replaced Ferdinand Marcos as president in 1986, died in August 2009, prompting reflections on the past 23 years of developments in the Philippines. Political instability continues. Since Aquino left office in 1992, there have been three presidential elections, two attempts at impeachment, two apparent attempts to stay in power through constitutional change, and one popular uprising that ousted an elected president and another that failed.
Some say that politics diverts attention from the country's economic problems, including poverty--30 percent of the 90 million residents are living below the poverty line."
http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=3558_0_3_0
October 2009 Volume 16 Number 4 |
"Remittances to the Philippines rose to $8.5 billion in the first half of 2009, a surprise amid predictions that the global recession would reduce remittances. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said: "our workers are getting jobs and sending home more money than ever. They are keeping the boat stable." Remittances are a seventh of GDP.
However, more Filipinos are discussing the social costs of sending workers abroad, including the reluctance of some in families that receive remittances to accept jobs in the Philippines.
Departing migrants pay a $25 fee to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to provide services in the event of death or illness abroad. The OWWA has posted staff in 38 sites abroad to provide services to migrants.
The Filipino ambassador to the UN between 2003 and 2007 was charged with abusing his household helper in New York. Lauro L. Baja Jr. brought Marichu Suarez Baoanan to New York in 2006; she charged that she was required to work more than 100 hours a week without pay. Baja, who disputes the charges, invoked diplomatic immunity, but a federal judge in June 2009 said that because Baoanan's duties were "unrelated to Baja's diplomatic functions," her suit could proceed.
A July 2008 Government Accountability Office report identified 42 cases of abuse of household help by foreign diplomats in the US over an eight-year period, but emphasized that there were likely more such cases. The GAO cited 19 trafficking investigations involving foreign diplomats from 2005 to 2008, but no indictments. The US Department of State has not yet revoked a diplomatic visa because of an abuse allegation.
Corazon Aquino, who replaced Ferdinand Marcos as president in 1986, died in August 2009, prompting reflections on the past 23 years of developments in the Philippines. Political instability continues. Since Aquino left office in 1992, there have been three presidential elections, two attempts at impeachment, two apparent attempts to stay in power through constitutional change, and one popular uprising that ousted an elected president and another that failed.
Some say that politics diverts attention from the country's economic problems, including poverty--30 percent of the 90 million residents are living below the poverty line."
http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=3558_0_3_0
Friday, October 2, 2009
La. Teacher Union Files Complaint Against Recuiter
La. Teacher Union Files Complaint Against Recuiter
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers charges that teachers from the Philippines were brought over to fill a teacher shortage, then held in servitude by the recruiting company. The firm is accused of taking chunks of the teachers' wages and threatening to deport them if they complained.
Listen to the Story
[3 min 5 sec]
Friday, July 10, 2009
from MIGRATION NEWS Vol. 16, No. 3, July 2009
Taiwan. Taiwan is an export-dependent economy hit hard by the fall in global trade. Taiwan's exports fell over 40 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to a year earlier, and manufacturing employment fell as electronics factories laid off workers. Unemployment topped six percent, the highest rate in decades.
Many of those laid off were foreign workers. The number of foreign workers peaked at 374,000 in July 2008 before falling to 343,000 in April 2009, when migrants were almost four percent of Taiwan's 9.2 million workers. Migrant layoffs were concentrated in electronics and garment manufacturing, affecting primarily Filipina and Thai women, while the number of Indonesian caregivers rose slightly. In April 2009, the number of migrant caregivers, 172,000, exceeded the number of migrant industrial and construction workers, 171,000, for the first time.
Many foreign workers want jobs in Taiwan because of relatively high minimum wages, NT$17,280 ($510) a month or about $3 an hour in all sectors except care giving, where the minimum wage is NT$15,840. Manufacturing workers typically earn $200 to $400 a month in overtime. Most of the migrant women employed in electronics are in their mid-20s and usually have at least high-school diplomas.
As factory production shrinks, foreign workers risk loss of overtime and layoffs. Most migrants live in company-provided dorms, for which many employers deduct NT$4,000 a month for room and board, 23 percent of the minimum wage. In addition, Taiwan allows the labor brokers who match most migrants with jobs to charge up to NT$1,800 a month for their first year in Taiwan, NT$1,700 a month during the second year, and NT$1,500 a month during the third year, or about 10 percent of the Taiwanese minimum wage.
However, many brokers charge migrants an additional NT$200,000 ($6,000) as a placement fee, which is allowed if the migrant signs a side agreement.
Foreign workers are not obtaining the overtime work they expected, making it difficult to repay the loans they took to get jobs in Taiwan. Migrants are entitled to the minimum wage even if their hours are reduced unless they agree to fewer hours. Some factories have asked migrants to adopt 4-3 work schedules, four days of work followed by three days off.
A few migrants have accepted return tickets to their countries of origin, saving their employers severance costs; many hope to be selected to return when the economy recovers. With recovery, however, many of the minimum-wage assembly jobs now filled by migrants in Taiwan may move to lower-wage countries such as China and Vietnam.
The Council of Labor Affairs, which regulates the employment of migrant workers, banned the recruitment of additional foreign workers in March 2009 for factories wishing to hire migrants for the third or overnight shift. The CLA also limited migrants to a maximum 20 percent of a manufacturer's work force.
Many of those laid off were foreign workers. The number of foreign workers peaked at 374,000 in July 2008 before falling to 343,000 in April 2009, when migrants were almost four percent of Taiwan's 9.2 million workers. Migrant layoffs were concentrated in electronics and garment manufacturing, affecting primarily Filipina and Thai women, while the number of Indonesian caregivers rose slightly. In April 2009, the number of migrant caregivers, 172,000, exceeded the number of migrant industrial and construction workers, 171,000, for the first time.
Many foreign workers want jobs in Taiwan because of relatively high minimum wages, NT$17,280 ($510) a month or about $3 an hour in all sectors except care giving, where the minimum wage is NT$15,840. Manufacturing workers typically earn $200 to $400 a month in overtime. Most of the migrant women employed in electronics are in their mid-20s and usually have at least high-school diplomas.
As factory production shrinks, foreign workers risk loss of overtime and layoffs. Most migrants live in company-provided dorms, for which many employers deduct NT$4,000 a month for room and board, 23 percent of the minimum wage. In addition, Taiwan allows the labor brokers who match most migrants with jobs to charge up to NT$1,800 a month for their first year in Taiwan, NT$1,700 a month during the second year, and NT$1,500 a month during the third year, or about 10 percent of the Taiwanese minimum wage.
However, many brokers charge migrants an additional NT$200,000 ($6,000) as a placement fee, which is allowed if the migrant signs a side agreement.
Foreign workers are not obtaining the overtime work they expected, making it difficult to repay the loans they took to get jobs in Taiwan. Migrants are entitled to the minimum wage even if their hours are reduced unless they agree to fewer hours. Some factories have asked migrants to adopt 4-3 work schedules, four days of work followed by three days off.
A few migrants have accepted return tickets to their countries of origin, saving their employers severance costs; many hope to be selected to return when the economy recovers. With recovery, however, many of the minimum-wage assembly jobs now filled by migrants in Taiwan may move to lower-wage countries such as China and Vietnam.
The Council of Labor Affairs, which regulates the employment of migrant workers, banned the recruitment of additional foreign workers in March 2009 for factories wishing to hire migrants for the third or overnight shift. The CLA also limited migrants to a maximum 20 percent of a manufacturer's work force.
Monday, July 6, 2009
GMANews.TV - After Vecina, 57 more OFWs still on death row - Pinoy Abroad - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News
GMANews.TV - After Vecina, 57 more OFWs still on death row - Pinoy Abroad - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News: "MANILA, Philippines - Overseas Filipino worker (OFW) May Vecina’s reunion with her family on Tuesday after a year on Kuwait’s death row is definitely another feather in the cap for the Arroyo administration.
But the current number of OFWs facing the death penalty abroad means the government still has a lot of work to do.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said the number of overseas Filipinos on death row stands at 57, down from 59 after the commutation of the death sentence of an OFW in Taiwan and the reversal of another in Malaysia."
But the current number of OFWs facing the death penalty abroad means the government still has a lot of work to do.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said the number of overseas Filipinos on death row stands at 57, down from 59 after the commutation of the death sentence of an OFW in Taiwan and the reversal of another in Malaysia."
Monday, June 15, 2009
PIA Information Services - Philippine Information Agency
PIA Information Services - Philippine Information Agency: "In 1997, Janette's husband left her for another woman while she was still working in Taiwan. One of her children broke the news, advising her to stop sending money to their father because he got a new woman in their house."
PIA Information Services - Philippine Information Agency
PIA Information Services - Philippine Information Agency: "Cebu City (14 June) -- An OFW from Taiwan appeals to the government and prospective employers to waive, if not, reduce the experience requirement for job applicants in the 111th Independence Day Mega Job Fair that is now underway in SM City Cebu's Grand Trade Hall since Friday.
Mark Anthony Campos, 27, from Butuan City came to Cebu just to try his luck here looking for work so he can help his family back home.
'They (government and prospective employers) must consider waiving or reducing the highly prohibitive experience requirement for the job offers which is unfair to those who know the job well but only lack a year or two in related work experience.
Campos is one of the thousands of OFW's from Taiwan that were retrenched last year after several manufacturing and export companies there suffered losses due to the economic slump in America.
With dismay, he said that since his homecoming last December, he can no longer count the job fairs he has joined."
Mark Anthony Campos, 27, from Butuan City came to Cebu just to try his luck here looking for work so he can help his family back home.
'They (government and prospective employers) must consider waiving or reducing the highly prohibitive experience requirement for the job offers which is unfair to those who know the job well but only lack a year or two in related work experience.
Campos is one of the thousands of OFW's from Taiwan that were retrenched last year after several manufacturing and export companies there suffered losses due to the economic slump in America.
With dismay, he said that since his homecoming last December, he can no longer count the job fairs he has joined."
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