Reinventing labor migration

In an election year, perhaps, it is timely to think outside of the box, and start envisioning a new paradigm for Philippine labor migration. It is high time to reinvent the overall framework of our state policies on overseas employment. 

As of today, we operate in a system of intentional contradictions. Our legal framework claims that the Philippine government does not promote labor migration as an instrument of our national policy. And yet, our labor bureaucracy pushes our labor Attachés to undertake aggressive marketing of our skills abroad.

The labor books pretend that labor migration is just a stop gap measure to address shortfalls in our domestic labor markets. And yet, that “stop gap” spin has been used since the mid seventies or more than thirty five years ago. Enough of this national hypocrisy.

The incoming new administration should come to power with a new agenda on labor migration. That agenda should first of all, confront the fundamental issue of whether or not we should continue exporting our human capital to the Middle East, the Americas, Europe and to the neighboring Asian Pacific economies. And if so, for how many more years. They should bring with them long-term, medium-term and short-term labor strategic plans. And these plans should be without any taint of hypocrisy.

Unsolicited suggestions

For the probable winners in the May presidential and legislative polls, we venture to suggest a Five-Point Labor Strategy for this decade. The new administration may call it the Five Pillars of Labor Migration Policies.

The first should be a Rational Overseas Deployment Policy involving skills that are not needed by our own National economic development.

Second, we should totally withdraw from 5D’s (Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous, Deceptive and Degrading) Jobs. 

Third, protection for OFWs should be total, unconditional and full. 

Fourth, the private recruitment industry should be totally overhauled. 

And fifth, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLOs) should be strengthened and supported with adequate and proper resources.

Rationalizing overseas employment means that we should put our own national development over and above sending away our vital human capital in the name of earning foreign exchange, to prop up our economy. That means that we should stop “hemorrhaging” our economy as being done presently, stop exporting skills that we precisely need here to build our nation. 

In fact, to go deeper, our economy and educational system should be mutually reinforcing, in that the schools should produce the skills that the economy precisely needs to develop. 

Secondly, we should stop exporting domestic helpers. Ninety-five percent of our human rights violations are experienced by our DHs. We should stop sending abroad unskilled laborers, untrained workers and those who are not emotionally prepared to face the travails of overseas employment.