RP must seal labor pacts with UAE states - group

President Gloria Arroyo must seal labor agreements with United Arab Emirates’ member states instead of peddling Filipino labor at cheap price to Gulf traders, a migrants group said Friday. The purpose of Arroyo’s visit to Dubai, a member state of the UAE, is to sell Filipino labor to traders and not to lure investors to invest in the Philippines, said Nhel Morona, Migrante-UAE secretary general. In a statement on the occasion of Arroyo’s visit to Dubai, Morona warned UAE businessmen against believing claims that the Philippines is on the road to progress. “We warn Emirati traders not to be duped by Arroyo’s tall ambition of luring you to invest in the Philippines," Morona said. He described the Arroyo administration as most corrupt and most brutal to Muslim population in the southern Philippines, adding that the police and the military were behind most of extra judicial executions in the country. According to him, Arroyo has no concern for overseas Filipino workers as she did nothing to ease up the paralyzing effect on OFWs the rising power of the peso against the dollar. The strong peso has eroded OFW dollar remittances by 20 percent. “If she is keen on helping us, why won’t she press for the host government to sign and lobby other friendly governments to approve the United Nations Covenant to Protect Migrant Workers and their Families?" Morona said. Migrante-UAE urged emirates businessmen not to support Arroyo. “Do not support a president that kills journalists and political activists, violates human rights and stifle press freedom, squeezes Filipino migrant workers with excessive state exactions and abandoned victimized overseas workers," the Migrante statement said. Morona said that Arroyo’s visit side trip must be used to convince emirates states hosting Filipino workers to develop a mechanism to punish employers who exploit workers through contract substitution, long working hours, non-payment of salaries, among other forms abuses. Pres. Arroyo is expected to arrive in Dubai Saturday evening for several meetings with traders in the UAE, who could be interested in pouring investments to the Philippines. The president attended the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, before proceeding to Dubai. In a coffee meeting with members of the Philippine media in Switzerland, Arroyo said the Dubai trip would be aimed at opening up several economic agreements with traders in the Gulf state. "Because Dubai is a financial capital, several of the businessmen around the Gulf also made appointments to see me. So I am going to have like an extension of Davos (economic meeting) there," the President said. - GMANews.TV