Over 7,000 jobs in Dubai await Filipinos as deployment and recruitment for skilled and semi-skilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) pick up pace, according to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Labor Attache John Rio Bautista said that this is a testament to the success of the labor agreement between the Philippines and the UAE on the resumption of the deployment of domestic workers.
“We will continue to implement ‘yun pong successfully concluded agreement between the Philippines and the UAE. We started last March – the effectivity in our resumption and we are now gaining ground. At the moment we have received requests for accreditation of job orders for more than 7,000 workers,’ said Bautista.
The new labor attache further said that there are 5,000 verified employment contracts, of which 3,000 OFWs have already arrived in the emirate to date. Bautista attributed this safe and legal pathway to the new and enforced comprehensive employment contract that provides a thorough protection for OFWs, particularly for household service workers.
“Napakaganda po ng employment contract – as agreed ng both governments, napaka-comprehensive po ng employment contracts and we have included therein the directives of the president in providing more protection sa ating mga OFW Household Service Workers. We are going to implement that thoroughly and we can still improve through the joint committee meeting with our counterparts here,” said Bautista.
He added that apart from HSW requests, job orders and recruitment for skilled labor are now rising in demand as well.
‘Nagpi-pick up na rin po ang recruitment and deployment ng ating mga skilled professionals. For example, Dubai Duty Free is now recruiting their previous workers – matataas po ang sweldo. So open po ang opisina to receive those job orders that we think will give the opportunity to our fellow Filipinos to get a better life here at tulong na rin sa kanilang mga pamilya. Mabilis po ang aming gagawing aksyon sapagkat nakikita po namin ay meron pong umaasa ng mas magandang buhay kung sila ay mabibigyan ng pagkakataon at syempre katumbas po noon ay kailangang mabigyan naman sila ng tamang proteksyon dito po sa kanilang pagta-trabaho,” said Bautista.
Championing safety
The Philippines recently affirmed its commitment to ensure a safe and orderly migration pathway for OFWs in the GCC region with a strong representation at the recently concluded sixth ministerial ‘Abu Dhabi Dialogue’ – a forum that engaged participating countries in a multi-lateral discussion for the development of mutually beneficial labor programs.
A delegation from the Philippines led by Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Administrator Bernard Olalia of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Administrator Hans Cacdac of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, together with the heads of Philippine Overseas Labor Offices from all over the GCC convened in Abu Dhabi during the sidelines of the 3-day meeting participated by 16 countries spanning the GCC, South Asia, and Southeast Asian regions.
During the press conference, Bello highlighted: “This is very timely to consider due to the changing landscape of migration. (We aim to) make migration more beneficial and safer for our migrant workers. The purpose of meeting my labor attaches is to see to it that we can provide better protection and benefits for each of our OFWs in this part of the world.”
In attendance during the press conference were Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, H.E. Amb. Hjayceelyn Quintana, Philippine Consul General to Dubai, H.E. ConGen Paul Raymund Cortes, together with nine labor attaches assigned to different GCC countries including, Labor Attache Manuel Dimaano of Abu Dhabi, UAE; Labor Attache John Rio Bautista of Dubai, UAE; Labor Attache Fidel Macauyag of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Labor Attache Roel Martin of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Labor Attache Hector Cruz of Eastern Region Office Saudi Arabia; Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa of Kuwait; Labor Attache Gregorio Abalos Jr. of Oman; Labor Attache Vicente Cabe of Bahrain; and Labor Attache Adam Musa of Qatar.
‘Bagong Bayani’
In a town hall meeting with the Filipino community held in the Dubai Consulate, Bello revealed that OFWs’ remittances reached $30 billion dollars or Php 1.5 trillion in 2020.
“You are called as the ‘Bagong Bayani’ because you are contributing to our economy a yearly amount of $30 billion dollars. Ganoong kalaki ang binibigay ninyo sa ekonomiya ng ating bansa,” said Bello.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that as of August 2021, OFWs from all over the world sent home $20.3 billion dollars (Php 1 trillion), with a positive growth rate of 5.7%. Of this number $852.6 million dollars (Php 43.3 billion) came from OFWs in the UAE.
POEA Head Olalia stated that OFW deployment slowed down last year.
“The pandemic is an unprecedented event that defied the usual norms in labor migration. We also note from the recent reports that the deployment of our overseas Filipino workers declined by as much as 74% here. And now it has started to pick up all because of the intervention of the Secretary of the Department of Labor headed by our Secretary Bello,” said Olalia.
