Working Overseas

RIYADH—Saudi Arabia’s National Commission for Recruitment (NCR) said it would allow the entry of workers from Indonesia and the Philippines on a new consolidated contract beginning on January 1.

The NCR, a subsidiary of the Riyadh-based Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, postponed the date of the implementation of the new contract regulations because it had noticed some labor supply agents in Indonesia resorting to swindling and forgery of documents related to worker recruitment, Al-Eqtisadiah daily reported. Read the rest of this entry »

The industrial front remained calm as the notices of strikes and lockouts filed with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) in 351 establishments since January this year did not materialize into actual strikes or lockouts.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said that November 1, 2008 — All Saints Day — is a special non-working holiday throughout the country.

Firming up the international thrusts and cooperation to protect and ensure the welfare of vulnerable migrant workers, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday joined hands in launching a pilot project designed to administer the proper employment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque today pushed for the mutual recognition of professional skills and qualifications of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to ensure equality of treatment and compensation for the migrants and ,thus, optimize their contributions to the growth and development of both labor sending and receiving nations.

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque today said that the Philippines and Qatar have firmed up the way towards a renewed, vigorous enforcement of the welfare and protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) through a new accord or protocol addressing gaps and strengthening the existing labor accord between the two countries. Roque signed the Additional Protocol to the existing Labor Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Philippines and the Government of the State of Qatar with His Excellency, Qatar Minister of Labor Dr. Sultan bin Hassan Al-Dhabit Al-Dosari, in the capital city of Doha, Qatar last October 19, 2008. The Labor Chief indicated that Qatar currently hosts an estimated 190,000 OFWs, based on the estimates of the Philippine Mission in that country. He added that the deployment of OFWs on documented status in that country had grown to 56,277 in 2008, making Qatar the 4th top host destination of OFWs in the world, and the 3rd in the ME, after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Roque emphasized that the signing of the Additional Protocol between the RP and Qatar will strengthen the welfare of OFWs by addressing the gaps that had arisen in 11 years following the forging of the old MOA between the two countries in 1997. He said that the Additional Protocol would also pave the way for additional benefits for both the OFWs and the bilateral labor partnership between the two countries. Significantly, he also said that the accord had succeeded in the adoption of a Standard Employment Contract for OFWs, which is designed to address the problem of contract substitution as only one contract will be observed by both governments. As importantly, the document affirmed the recruitment and placement process of OFWs through a licensed Philippine recruitment agency, which protects OFWs from being hired and victimized, falling easy prey to abuse and maltreatment, through the so-called “irregular channels.” Roque, in an interview by the Qatar Tribune, attested that a new RP-Qatari governments Technical Working Group (TWG) has now been formed to monitor, towards the effective enforcement of, the points of the Additional Protocol in the interest and welfare of the OFWs. Roque emphasized that the new, agreed RP-Qatar provisions, like the Standard Employment Contract, are expected to address the problem of contract substitution,

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said it has already set in place a contingency plan aimed at assisting local and overseas Filipino workers who may lose their jobs due to the global financial crisis.

The third cycle of the Philippine agenda on decent work was launched Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, in a bid to strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration in the efforts to provide for more full, decent, and productive employment for Filipino workers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said.

Labor, management, and government in Southern Luzon have convened for a two-day meet in Tagaytay City to strengthen tripartism and social partnership in the efforts to prevent strikes and sustain economic gains in the region.

In the midst of clamor for safe and healthful workplaces, the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) convened Wednesday the 11th National Occupational Safety and Health Congress to highlight the zero accident program as a tool in sustaining the productivity of workers and growth of business and the economy.