100,000 jobs await OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - At least 100,000 more jobs in Guam, Saudi Arabia and Qatar await Filipino workers.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported that the government is currently negotiating agreements for the hiring of more Filipino workers abroad.

POEA chief Jennifer Manalili said the government is looking at 15,000 to 20,000 jobs for highly skilled Filipino workers in Guam.

Manalili said Guam will be requiring massive manpower with the impending construction of camps and other buildings to house American military officers who will be relocating in the area in 2010.

She said Guam would initially be needing construction workers and eventually service workers after the completion of the construction projects.

Manalili said during a recent marketing mission in Guam, employers expressed preference to hire Filipino workers.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque also reported that Saudi Arabia is set to embark on massive construction projects that will generate about 60,000 jobs for Filipinos.

Roque also noted that Qatar agreed to provide 20,000 additional working visas for Filipino workers.

“Qatar initially pledged to allocate 120,000 visas, but they agreed to provide another 20,000 for us,” Roque said in an interview.

According to Roque, a group of employers from Singapore and France are also coming to Manila to look at the possibility of hiring Filipino workers.

“There are so many overseas jobs available for Filipino workers, the challenge now is for us to generate the qualified workers to fill those demands,” Roque pointed out.

The recruitment industry, however, doubted that the country would be able to capture the biggest share of manpower requirement in Guam.

Recruitment leaders said jobs will remain elusive for Filipinos in Guam if the government fails to resolve issues on hiring of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

They said the standard employment contract of POEA runs contrary to Guam labor laws, which require workers to pay for their food and accommodation expenses.

Also under Guam laws, all workers have to pay 28 percent tax on earnings which our OFWs may find oppressive.

Filipino OFWs also face competition for the Guam jobs with Chinese sub-contractors who will pay their workers only $500 as against the $1,500 salary for an ordinary laborer from the Philippines.

Recruiters said the POEA should not mislead the public that the jobs available in Guam are exclusive for Filipinos.