Australia urged to open more doors for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine senator who is visiting the ‘Land Down Under’ urged the Australian government to look into the possibility of allowing more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) entry into the country amid the global economic crisis. Senator Francis “Chiz" Escudero met with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Tuesday to discuss the prospects of allowing Filipino workers in the medical and non-skilled sectors to enter the country for work. Escudero is in Australia upon the invitation of its government, a statement from his office said. Citing data from the Department of Labor and Employment, health workers such as medical practitioners, nurses, midwives and pharmacists, remained in high demand in Australia, the statement from Escudero said. “We talked about the possibility of a government-to-government arrangement on labor migration at various levels," said Escudero. As of February 24, a total of 5,774 Filipino workers have been laid off from their work abroad – 4,375 of whom have reportedly retuned to the Philippines since October 2008. The POEA report, based on data from Philippine Overseas Labor Offices onsite, said that Taiwan had fired 4,197 Filipino workers from the electronics, metal works, and semiconductor industries. Filipinos in Australia had also been affected by the economic downturn as 75 workers in the shipbuilding industry were laid off. But Australia is still seen as the next oasis for skilled and professional Filipino workers. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said in an earlier interview that they are tapping Australia as the next top destination country for OFWs as the global economic crisis is expected to worsen this year. Aside from opening more job opportunities for Filipinos, Escudero also asked Australia to adopt measures to protect migrants’ rights. "I believe it’s time the Philippine government acknowledged that we have a labor export policy to weed out unscrupulous labor recruiters and to protect our workers," he added. In the last two years, the Australian embassy in Manila said that there has been a substantial increase in Filipino skilled workers moving to Australia. In 2008, the increase was estimated to be 136 percent higher than in 2007. - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV