By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
Published: 19/9/2005, 07:59 (UAE)
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=182518
Dubai: Labour ministry officials say they know that recruitment agencies are abusing foreign housemaids they bring into the country to work, but say the ministry is powerless to oversee their activities.
Asked by Gulf News about complaints from housemaids that agencies keep them in tiny attics, beat them and give them very little to eat before delivering them to their sponsor, an official from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs said he was aware of what was happening.
“Yes, hundreds of housemaids are mistreated by the agencies, and we know that,” he said. “But we can’t inspect them and go inside to find out what is going on. Even the Interior Ministry cannot do that. The agencies are taking advantage of this.”
A Gulf News reporter visited four recruitment agencies in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, posing as a potential employer. In one agency about 25 housemaids of different nationalities were crowded into a small room above the office. They crouched silently on the floor.
“Take one,” the woman at the agency said. Gulf News saw a lady at one agency slap one of the housemaids who had been returned by a dissatisfied client. The maid had neither done nor said anything before she was slapped in the face.The official said the labour and interior ministries were both powerless because neither had full oversight over the issue.
The labour ministry merely issued licences for the agencies to pursue their business in the UAE. As for the Interior Ministry, he said its Immigration and Naturalisation Department issued visas for the housemaids.The official said: “Everything to do with these agencies should be placed under one ministry, and we have suggested that it should be the Interior Ministry. “We want to explain this problem to the media.
These agencies mistreat people and break the law because they are not under full control of anybody,” he said. An Indonesian housemaid named Hini, now working for a family in Sharjah, said the previous housewife who employed her in Abu Dhabi forced her to wear a veil day and night in the house because she was young and pretty.When the housewife found her sleeping without a headscarf, she said, “She kicked me and woke me up, asking me to cover my hair while sleeping.
I cried a lot and I asked them to send me back to the agency, who also mistreated me and they used to beat me until I found another sponsor who treated me well.” She said back at the agency in Dubai dozens of maids were kept in a small room.
Maria, another housemaid at another agency in Sharjah, said she and 20 other housemaids were kept in a small attic above the agency.
A woman who runs a labour recruitment agency in Sharjah told Gulf News she kept the housemaids in an attic at the agency while they were awaiting deportation or changes in their visas.
Number of domestic workers set to grow
The number of foreign housemaids in the UAE is estimated at 300,000. They represent 20 per cent of the workforce. However, this number is expected to rise to 800,000 by 2010, according to figures released by Dubai Municipality two years ago.
They come from India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, East Africa.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Overseas remittances bypass Philippines poor, says ADB
Posted: 11:58 AM
Sept. 13, 2005
Agence France-Presse
Inq7.net
http://money.inq7.net/breakingnews/view_breakingnews.php?yyyy=2005&mon=09&dd=13&file=17
BILLIONS of dollars of cash transfers from the Philippines' huge overseas work force have largely bypassed the Southeast Asian nation's poor, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
While the money has boosted personal consumption, the main driver of its economy, the overall impact is patchy, with more prosperous areas of the country and higher-income families receiving the lion's share, it said.
"The poorer segment of Philippine society has been largely excluded from the opportunities provided by migration, and OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) tend to come from less poor regions," the Manila-based lender said in a report.
The Philippines central bank says around eight million overseas Filipinos -- nearly a 10th of the population -- will send home 9.4 billion dollars this year via formal banking channels, up 10 percent from last year's levels.
The country is the third highest recipient of remittances, behind Mexico and India.
The ADB, however, estimates that the actual level of remittances will be about three times the official amount, with overseas workers using other, informal means of transfer.
It found that despite sustained GDP growth in the four years to 2003, real average family incomes in the Philippines have fallen 10 percent, with the total income of the poorest 10th of the population having stagnated.
About 44.1 percent of Filipinos earned no more than a dollar a day in 2003.
"While a significant proportion of families report that income from abroad is their main source of income, these families are mainly based in urban areas," the report said.
"Furthermore, families from higher income groups tend to receive larger proportions of income from abroad than lower income groups."
Provinces with the highest levels of poverty, particularly in the rebellion-torn southern island of Mindanao, have the lowest proportion of overseas workers.
"Poverty remains a significant challenge in the Philippines, and it is a challenge that continues to grow," said Shamshad Akhtar, head of the ADB's Southeast Asia department.
"The number of poor Filipinos is increasing," she said, owing to the rapid 2.36 percent population growth rate, and "rural poverty has proven to be particularly intractable".
Sept. 13, 2005
Agence France-Presse
Inq7.net
http://money.inq7.net/breakingnews/view_breakingnews.php?yyyy=2005&mon=09&dd=13&file=17
BILLIONS of dollars of cash transfers from the Philippines' huge overseas work force have largely bypassed the Southeast Asian nation's poor, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
While the money has boosted personal consumption, the main driver of its economy, the overall impact is patchy, with more prosperous areas of the country and higher-income families receiving the lion's share, it said.
"The poorer segment of Philippine society has been largely excluded from the opportunities provided by migration, and OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) tend to come from less poor regions," the Manila-based lender said in a report.
The Philippines central bank says around eight million overseas Filipinos -- nearly a 10th of the population -- will send home 9.4 billion dollars this year via formal banking channels, up 10 percent from last year's levels.
The country is the third highest recipient of remittances, behind Mexico and India.
The ADB, however, estimates that the actual level of remittances will be about three times the official amount, with overseas workers using other, informal means of transfer.
It found that despite sustained GDP growth in the four years to 2003, real average family incomes in the Philippines have fallen 10 percent, with the total income of the poorest 10th of the population having stagnated.
About 44.1 percent of Filipinos earned no more than a dollar a day in 2003.
"While a significant proportion of families report that income from abroad is their main source of income, these families are mainly based in urban areas," the report said.
"Furthermore, families from higher income groups tend to receive larger proportions of income from abroad than lower income groups."
Provinces with the highest levels of poverty, particularly in the rebellion-torn southern island of Mindanao, have the lowest proportion of overseas workers.
"Poverty remains a significant challenge in the Philippines, and it is a challenge that continues to grow," said Shamshad Akhtar, head of the ADB's Southeast Asia department.
"The number of poor Filipinos is increasing," she said, owing to the rapid 2.36 percent population growth rate, and "rural poverty has proven to be particularly intractable".
Remittances outstrip ODA, FDI for poor countries--experts
Posted: 5:00 PM
Sept. 12, 2005
Agence France-Presse with XFN-Asia
Inq7.net
http://money.inq7.net/breakingnews/view_breakingnews.php?yyyy=2005&mon=09&dd=12&file=20
OVERSEAS remittances from workers in developed countries have outstripped foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development aid (ODA) as sources of funds for developing countries, financial experts said Monday.
Total overseas workers' remittances to developing countries are conservatively estimated at 200 billion dollars a year," said Donald Terry, manager of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank.
In contrast, foreign direct investment amounts to about 125 billion dollars a year and official development assistance is only some 50-60 billion dollars annually, Terry told an international conference on remittances in Manila.
He estimated the number of workers sending remittances overseas at about 125 million worldwide.
This huge transfer of funds had been hidden because financial institutions were not aware how large the total was, said Robert Bestani, director-general of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) private finance department.
It was also not widely acknowledged because it was "very controversial," he added.
"It's wonderful to talk about the free flow of goods but it's not wonderful to talk about the free flow of people," said Bastani.
He said this situation could increase as more of the poor sought work in developed countries while richer regions, like Europe and Japan, suffered a shortage of young workers.
India, Mexico and the Philippines were the three countries which got the largest amount of remittances from their nationals overseas, said Bastani at the opening of a joint conference on how such remittances could lower poverty.
The forum, sponsored by the ADB, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the MIF at the ADB headquarters in Manila, will look into ways of tracking such remittances and how they can be harnessed to help the poor.
Terry remarked that the total amount of overseas remittances to poor countries was officially placed at 126 billion dollars but that all studies showed that there were still vast amounts going through unofficial channels.
The amount officially recorded as going to Asia is about 50 billion dollars a year, said Terry, about equal to the amount going to Latin America.
But considering the large amounts still going through unofficial sources, the total for Asia would more likely hit 75 billion or even 100 billion dollars a year, said Terry.
Bestani said the overseas remittances were very effective as the money was going to the poor who need it most.
However the experts said the money could have a wider multiplier effect and could also be put to better use by the recipients if they were only aware of their financial options.
Terry cited India and Ecuador where remittances were being routed through micro-finance institutions and were being used in different financial services like home mortgages.
The challenges facing financial institutions is to find ways to lower transaction costs for remittances and learn how to channel more of the money into investment, Bestani said.
The experts also warned governments against excessive intervention like taxation or forcing people to use their remitted funds in certain ways.
Bestani said it was highly unlikely that terrorists and criminals were relying on overseas remittances to launder funds, remarking that individual amounts being sent home were too small.
Sept. 12, 2005
Agence France-Presse with XFN-Asia
Inq7.net
http://money.inq7.net/breakingnews/view_breakingnews.php?yyyy=2005&mon=09&dd=12&file=20
OVERSEAS remittances from workers in developed countries have outstripped foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development aid (ODA) as sources of funds for developing countries, financial experts said Monday.
Total overseas workers' remittances to developing countries are conservatively estimated at 200 billion dollars a year," said Donald Terry, manager of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank.
In contrast, foreign direct investment amounts to about 125 billion dollars a year and official development assistance is only some 50-60 billion dollars annually, Terry told an international conference on remittances in Manila.
He estimated the number of workers sending remittances overseas at about 125 million worldwide.
This huge transfer of funds had been hidden because financial institutions were not aware how large the total was, said Robert Bestani, director-general of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) private finance department.
It was also not widely acknowledged because it was "very controversial," he added.
"It's wonderful to talk about the free flow of goods but it's not wonderful to talk about the free flow of people," said Bastani.
He said this situation could increase as more of the poor sought work in developed countries while richer regions, like Europe and Japan, suffered a shortage of young workers.
India, Mexico and the Philippines were the three countries which got the largest amount of remittances from their nationals overseas, said Bastani at the opening of a joint conference on how such remittances could lower poverty.
The forum, sponsored by the ADB, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the MIF at the ADB headquarters in Manila, will look into ways of tracking such remittances and how they can be harnessed to help the poor.
Terry remarked that the total amount of overseas remittances to poor countries was officially placed at 126 billion dollars but that all studies showed that there were still vast amounts going through unofficial channels.
The amount officially recorded as going to Asia is about 50 billion dollars a year, said Terry, about equal to the amount going to Latin America.
But considering the large amounts still going through unofficial sources, the total for Asia would more likely hit 75 billion or even 100 billion dollars a year, said Terry.
Bestani said the overseas remittances were very effective as the money was going to the poor who need it most.
However the experts said the money could have a wider multiplier effect and could also be put to better use by the recipients if they were only aware of their financial options.
Terry cited India and Ecuador where remittances were being routed through micro-finance institutions and were being used in different financial services like home mortgages.
The challenges facing financial institutions is to find ways to lower transaction costs for remittances and learn how to channel more of the money into investment, Bestani said.
The experts also warned governments against excessive intervention like taxation or forcing people to use their remitted funds in certain ways.
Bestani said it was highly unlikely that terrorists and criminals were relying on overseas remittances to launder funds, remarking that individual amounts being sent home were too small.
Monday, September 12, 2005
24 OFWs on death row for various crimes--DFA
First posted 02:28pm (Mla time)
Sept 12, 2005
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net
http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=1&story_id=49985
APART from a Filipina maid in Singapore who faces death by hanging if she is convicted for the murder of a compatriot, at least 24 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are on death row for various crimes, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.
In an interview with INQ7.net, Pedro Chan, executive director of the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, said most of the 24 death-row inmates are in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. He said those in Saudi Arabia face capital punishment for murder, while those in Malaysia face the death penalty for drug-related cases.
Chan also said that of the seven million Filipinos overseas, his office is handling some 25,000 assistance-to-nationals cases at the moment, including those that involve crimes and capital punishment.
“These figures are relatively low if you compare for example with the crime rate in Metro Manila. Of course, [OFWs] are more behaved when they are outside the country. When you have seven million people, these incidents are bound to happen.
“[The OFWs] stand out only because the cases usually involve both Filipino victims and Filipino perpetrators, and because they happen outside the country,” he said.At the same time, DFA spokesman Gilbert Asuque said funds have already been released for the hiring of two Singapore-based lawyers, one each for suspect Guen Garlejo Aguilar and for victim Jane Parangan La Puebla.
Asuque said Philippine embassy officials have already talked to Aguilar but only about “general things” as Singapore police officials have advised them against discussing the case.
“The right to remain silent and the right against self-incrimination are really honored there as requirement of the law,” he said. #
Sept 12, 2005
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net
http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=1&story_id=49985
APART from a Filipina maid in Singapore who faces death by hanging if she is convicted for the murder of a compatriot, at least 24 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are on death row for various crimes, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.
In an interview with INQ7.net, Pedro Chan, executive director of the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, said most of the 24 death-row inmates are in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. He said those in Saudi Arabia face capital punishment for murder, while those in Malaysia face the death penalty for drug-related cases.
Chan also said that of the seven million Filipinos overseas, his office is handling some 25,000 assistance-to-nationals cases at the moment, including those that involve crimes and capital punishment.
“These figures are relatively low if you compare for example with the crime rate in Metro Manila. Of course, [OFWs] are more behaved when they are outside the country. When you have seven million people, these incidents are bound to happen.
“[The OFWs] stand out only because the cases usually involve both Filipino victims and Filipino perpetrators, and because they happen outside the country,” he said.At the same time, DFA spokesman Gilbert Asuque said funds have already been released for the hiring of two Singapore-based lawyers, one each for suspect Guen Garlejo Aguilar and for victim Jane Parangan La Puebla.
Asuque said Philippine embassy officials have already talked to Aguilar but only about “general things” as Singapore police officials have advised them against discussing the case.
“The right to remain silent and the right against self-incrimination are really honored there as requirement of the law,” he said. #
Monday, September 05, 2005
Nurse Assaulted
Monday, 05 September 2005
7 DAYS
http://www.7days.ae/local-news/nurse-assaulted.html
This man hit his receptionist in the face with a phone. He got a dhs500 fine. She got four stitches and faces a six month ban. A dental nurse who was assaulted by her boss faces being banned from the country after he reported her as an absconder.
Grace Castello was celebrating her 30th birthday when Dr Mohamed Nihad Mohammed Gouma, a dentist based in the Comprehensive Medical Centre at the Crown Plaza in Dubai, lost his temper over the time of an appointment and hit her over the head with the telephone.
“I was asking a patient to come to the clinic at 2.00pm instead of 4.00pm. I was surprised when he started shouting at me and took the phone from my hand and hit me with it.
He hit me with the telephone so hard that I had a cut on my forehead and I started bleeding,” Castello, from the Philippines, said. A surgeon in the same building gave her four stitches, she said.
The case eventually went to court, where Gouma was found guilty and ordered to pay dhs500 compensation for the attack. When Castello said she was too afraid to return to work, she was reported as an absconder, and she could now be banned from the country for six months.
“He wanted to settle the case amicably and I refused, hoping that this man learns a lesson,” she said. “But I feel he has got away with a mild punishment - even for a traffic violation we get the same fine.
“My sponsor had warned me that I was digging my own grave and now I feel he is right,” she said. When contacted by 7DAYS, Dr Gouma claimed Castello had fallen over and invented the story. He hung up when told 7DAYS had seen court documents on the case.
Siza Darwish, the patient who was on the other end of the phone when Castello was attacked, said she could hear a man screaming. “Then I heard a bang and she [Castello] was crying.
“The call was disconnected after a while,” Darwish told 7DAYS. Despite repeated requests, Dr Gouma’s sponsor refused to comment on the case.
7 DAYS
http://www.7days.ae/local-news/nurse-assaulted.html
This man hit his receptionist in the face with a phone. He got a dhs500 fine. She got four stitches and faces a six month ban. A dental nurse who was assaulted by her boss faces being banned from the country after he reported her as an absconder.
Grace Castello was celebrating her 30th birthday when Dr Mohamed Nihad Mohammed Gouma, a dentist based in the Comprehensive Medical Centre at the Crown Plaza in Dubai, lost his temper over the time of an appointment and hit her over the head with the telephone.
“I was asking a patient to come to the clinic at 2.00pm instead of 4.00pm. I was surprised when he started shouting at me and took the phone from my hand and hit me with it.
He hit me with the telephone so hard that I had a cut on my forehead and I started bleeding,” Castello, from the Philippines, said. A surgeon in the same building gave her four stitches, she said.
The case eventually went to court, where Gouma was found guilty and ordered to pay dhs500 compensation for the attack. When Castello said she was too afraid to return to work, she was reported as an absconder, and she could now be banned from the country for six months.
“He wanted to settle the case amicably and I refused, hoping that this man learns a lesson,” she said. “But I feel he has got away with a mild punishment - even for a traffic violation we get the same fine.
“My sponsor had warned me that I was digging my own grave and now I feel he is right,” she said. When contacted by 7DAYS, Dr Gouma claimed Castello had fallen over and invented the story. He hung up when told 7DAYS had seen court documents on the case.
Siza Darwish, the patient who was on the other end of the phone when Castello was attacked, said she could hear a man screaming. “Then I heard a bang and she [Castello] was crying.
“The call was disconnected after a while,” Darwish told 7DAYS. Despite repeated requests, Dr Gouma’s sponsor refused to comment on the case.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Employers Placing Women in Night Shifts Face Fines
Fahd Al-Ghaithi, Arab News/Al-Eqtisadiah
Tuesday, 30, August, 2005 (25, Rajab, 1426)
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=69275&d=30&m=8&y=2005
RIYADH, 30 August 2005 The Ministry of Labor has warned institutions in the private sector that women should not work during the evening. An exception is made for those in the medical field where their job requires them to work at night or that they are in a continuous working shift in a hospital that requires them to stay all day.
Muhammad Al-Duwaish, the director of the legal department and labor relations at the ministry, told Arab News that the Kingdom had signed an agreement with the International Labor Organization which states that women should not work in the evening. He said that the signed agreement was for their own protection and not discriminatory as some say. Al-Duwaish said that institutions found not complying with the rule could be fined. The fine ranges from SR500 to SR1,000.
In addition, the authorities will be informed and the female section of the institution will be shut down.Commenting on the appeals made by some women in the medical field who earlier asked the minister of labor to exempt them from the ruling since their jobs required that they be in the hospital in the evening, he said that there was no need for such appeals because women in the medical field had already been exempted.
Al-Duwaish said other countries which signed the agreement would also comply with it and that the Kingdom was not the only country applying a no-evening working hours for female employees. “All countries that have signed the agreement will comply with it, including Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He noted that women should understand that the agreement was not to take away any of their rights but was instead to protect them. #
Tuesday, 30, August, 2005 (25, Rajab, 1426)
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=69275&d=30&m=8&y=2005
RIYADH, 30 August 2005 The Ministry of Labor has warned institutions in the private sector that women should not work during the evening. An exception is made for those in the medical field where their job requires them to work at night or that they are in a continuous working shift in a hospital that requires them to stay all day.
Muhammad Al-Duwaish, the director of the legal department and labor relations at the ministry, told Arab News that the Kingdom had signed an agreement with the International Labor Organization which states that women should not work in the evening. He said that the signed agreement was for their own protection and not discriminatory as some say. Al-Duwaish said that institutions found not complying with the rule could be fined. The fine ranges from SR500 to SR1,000.
In addition, the authorities will be informed and the female section of the institution will be shut down.Commenting on the appeals made by some women in the medical field who earlier asked the minister of labor to exempt them from the ruling since their jobs required that they be in the hospital in the evening, he said that there was no need for such appeals because women in the medical field had already been exempted.
Al-Duwaish said other countries which signed the agreement would also comply with it and that the Kingdom was not the only country applying a no-evening working hours for female employees. “All countries that have signed the agreement will comply with it, including Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He noted that women should understand that the agreement was not to take away any of their rights but was instead to protect them. #
15,000 entertainers lose jobs in Japan
By Mayen Jaymalin
The Philippine Star
08/30/2005
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200508300408.htm
At least 15,000 Filipino entertainers have lost job opportunities in Japan and figures are expected to increase in the coming months as the Philippines continues to bear the brunt of Tokyo’s new hiring policy.
Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) showed a dramatic 38.46 percent drop in the deployment of overseas performing artists (OPAs) for the past seven months of the year due to Japan’s stricter visa requirements in employing foreign performers.
Based on POEA records, only 23,359 Filipino entertainers were hired from January to July or almost 15,000 fewer than the recorded 37,958 OPAs deployed in the Asian country during the same period last year. In July alone, hiring of OPAs declined by 73 percent to 1,664, a big drop from the 6,292 Filipino entertainers deployed during the same period in 2004.
Officials of the local recruitment industry said they are no longer expecting the total deployment in Japan to reach 30,000 this year.
"Most OPAs, who were deployed this year, applied for their visas before the implementation of the new hiring policy so we expect the hiring of OPAs to drop by half this year," said a recruitment official, who requested not to be named. He noted that only 291 OPAs were granted visas by the Japanese embassy since the implementation of the new hiring policy last March. "We used to have an annual deployment of over 63,000 OPAs to Japan," he added.
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas admitted there has been a steady deployment drop, but noted local recruitment agencies are now preparing to undertake appropriate actions to enable OPAs to comply with the new hiring requirements.
Sto. Tomas also pointed out that the new policy is not singling out Filipinos, saying other foreign entertainers must abide by Tokyo’s new requirements as well. "It’s not that the new policy is biased against us (Filipinos) because it is for all entertainers (wanting to work in Japan)," Sto. Tomas said.
Earlier, local recruiters had warned of a possible drop in the deployment of OPAs as well as dollar remittances from Filipinos in Japan as soon as the Japanese government began restricting the entry of foreign workers.
The Philippine Association of Agencies Deploying Artists said OPAs annually remit some $1 billion to the country but the figure could decline dramatically due to the new hiring rules. The Japanese government is enforcing the new immigration law in an effort to curb the worsening human trafficking and prostitution problem in the country. #
The Philippine Star
08/30/2005
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200508300408.htm
At least 15,000 Filipino entertainers have lost job opportunities in Japan and figures are expected to increase in the coming months as the Philippines continues to bear the brunt of Tokyo’s new hiring policy.
Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) showed a dramatic 38.46 percent drop in the deployment of overseas performing artists (OPAs) for the past seven months of the year due to Japan’s stricter visa requirements in employing foreign performers.
Based on POEA records, only 23,359 Filipino entertainers were hired from January to July or almost 15,000 fewer than the recorded 37,958 OPAs deployed in the Asian country during the same period last year. In July alone, hiring of OPAs declined by 73 percent to 1,664, a big drop from the 6,292 Filipino entertainers deployed during the same period in 2004.
Officials of the local recruitment industry said they are no longer expecting the total deployment in Japan to reach 30,000 this year.
"Most OPAs, who were deployed this year, applied for their visas before the implementation of the new hiring policy so we expect the hiring of OPAs to drop by half this year," said a recruitment official, who requested not to be named. He noted that only 291 OPAs were granted visas by the Japanese embassy since the implementation of the new hiring policy last March. "We used to have an annual deployment of over 63,000 OPAs to Japan," he added.
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas admitted there has been a steady deployment drop, but noted local recruitment agencies are now preparing to undertake appropriate actions to enable OPAs to comply with the new hiring requirements.
Sto. Tomas also pointed out that the new policy is not singling out Filipinos, saying other foreign entertainers must abide by Tokyo’s new requirements as well. "It’s not that the new policy is biased against us (Filipinos) because it is for all entertainers (wanting to work in Japan)," Sto. Tomas said.
Earlier, local recruiters had warned of a possible drop in the deployment of OPAs as well as dollar remittances from Filipinos in Japan as soon as the Japanese government began restricting the entry of foreign workers.
The Philippine Association of Agencies Deploying Artists said OPAs annually remit some $1 billion to the country but the figure could decline dramatically due to the new hiring rules. The Japanese government is enforcing the new immigration law in an effort to curb the worsening human trafficking and prostitution problem in the country. #
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