Deployment slump prods RP to ask Taiwan to raise labor quota

A ranking official from the Philippine labor department on Saturday disclosed that the government is negotiating with Taiwan to increase the labor quota for the Philippines as Middle Eastern countries have slashed down job orders for Filipinos. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that the 11-percent drop in the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the first quarter of 2007 has pressured Philippine labor officials to do the move. Deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East has plummeted after the Philippine government imposed new labor policy increasing the minimum wage of domestic workers to $400 from $200, among other requirements. Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) earlier warned the government against imposing the new policy, saying it would lead to huge cuts in job orders from the Middle East, the biggest employer of OFWs. The source said that Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Rosalinda Baldoz and director general Augusto Syjuco of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) went to Taiwan last week reportedly to discuss the possibility of increasing labor quota and the deployment of domestic workers. “They [Baldoz and Syjuco] were there to discuss possible increase in the deployment of OFWs with Taiwan’s Council on Labor Affairs," the source said. Labor Secretary Arturo Arturo Brion reportedly suggested studying the Taiwan labor market because OFWs there are receiving a minimum wage of $700, which is higher than the $400 minimum wage set for domestic workers. POEA records show that majority of Filipinos in Taiwan are factory workers. “They [labor officials] wanted to explore Taiwan’s market for caregivers because we could train our domestic workers for the market," the official added. Latest records indicate that deployment of OFWs drop by 11 percent, attributed to the imposition of the $400 monthly salary ceiling. For the first three months, deployment of OFWs dropped by more than 30,000 or from 280,605 in the first quarter of 2006 to 249, 681 during the same period in 2007. Secretary Brion has said that the salary-rate increase might have caused the drop in deployment, but insisted they expect it would be so and that it “would be temporary." Aside from increasing the deployment quota, the labor department also asked clarification on Taiwan’s refusal to recognize the skills certificates TESDA has issued, particularly for drivers. –GMANews.TV