230K Jobs in PH for Middle East Crisis-Hit OFWs
MANILA: More than 230,000 positions are open to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), who may be displaced in the Middle East due to political or economic crisis, the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has said.
Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz was quoted as saying by Manila Bulletin that this includes job postings from private companies in the PhilJobNet, the official job-search website of DOLE, as well as the vacancies from other government agencies.
Meanwhile, more than a third of the employment opportunities were in other “alternative markets,” which came from valid job orders of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the report said.
Reportedly, the list does not yet include the openings from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Subdivision and Housing Developers Association, Inc., Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors, Inc.; EEI Realty Corporation, and Philippine Association of Private Recruitment and Placement Agencies.
“These numbers may still increase as the DOLE is still awaiting job vacancies data from its partners both in the private and public sectors,” Baldoz reportedly said.
The labor chief also pointed out they also have livelihood opportunities for displaced OFWs, who would like to start their own business instead of being employed through their Assist WELL Program, said the news portal.
DOLE reportedly made the assurance amid reports that several OFWs in the Middle East are now appealing for government assistance after they were displaced by armed conflict and by the economic slowdown in the Arab region.
Some migrant advocate groups and recruitment agencies, however, criticized the job opportunities presented by the government saying it will not be applicable for some of the affected highly skilled OFWs, the report pointed out.
“The jobs will not be useful for those OFWs, who were displaced because of the austerity measures implemented by some Middle East countries due to the drop in oil prices since many of them work in the construction and oil industry,” Blas F. Ople Policy Center President Susan Ople was quoted as saying.
Ople and other migrant stakeholders have been appealing to DOLE to conduct tripartite consultations to address this issue, reported Manila Bulletin.