Russia open to forge labor deal with Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — A key official of the Russian government  has cited the need for a labor agreement between the Philippines and Russia as he acknowledged the vital role some 10,000 “undocumented” overseas Filipino workers play in their local economy.

In a Facebook post, Ambassador Carlos Sorreta said Dmitry Yalov — who sits as deputy chairman in Leningrad Region Government - has conceded that they need Filipino workers, especially those in the service industry, for them to survive.

“Russia needs migrants including Filipino household workers, without them the Russian economy could suffer,” he wrote, quoting Yalov, who is also the chairman of Russia’s Committee on Economic and Investment Activity.

Sorreta issued the statement after House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s visit to Moscow recently.  She asked Russian officials to “legalize Filipino workers” in their country, because  undocumented foreigners are always arrested by police.

Another Moscow official, Kirill Adzinov, head of the visa department, main directorate for migration of the Ministry of the Interior — also noted the Philippines’ perennial problem and suggested an agreement might cure it.

“The Russian goverment recognizes the problem faced by Filipino workers in Russia and believes a labor agreement, of which Russia has several, is a solution but this should be negotiated carefully,” Sorreta said.

Speaking recently at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Arroyo said a big majority of the estimated 10,000 Filipinos working in Russia are “undocumented which makes them prone to arrest and detention.”

“The vast majority of Filipino workers in Russia are household workers and nannies, except for around 200, all of them — from 5,000 to 10,000 — are undocumented. They pay as much as US$3,800 for improper or manufactured visas,” she said.

Arroyo said the undocumented Filipinos were always on the radar of the police, under constant threat of arrest and deportation.

Crimes against them go unreported for fear of deportation. They fall victim to illegal recruiters and human traffickers, she said.

Arroyo said a labor agreement between the two counties would both serve the interests of the two nations.

“What is the solution to maximize the potential of our Filipino workers to contribute to Russian development and investment attractiveness? The solution is a labor agreement between our two countries,” she said.

Arroyo was invited to speak at the SPIEF,  one of the leading global platforms for members of the business community to meet and discuss the key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world as a whole.