EDITORIAL - Protecting workers

Countries that send workers overseas and nine of their top destinations have agreed to adopt measures to protect women workers and strengthen cooperation to promote the welfare of migrant workers. The agreement was reached at the recently concluded second ministerial meeting of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, held in Pasay City.

With a tenth of its population overseas, the Philippines is a fitting host for the dialogue of 11 labor-sending and nine labor-receiving countries. Apart from the Philippines, the countries of migrant worker origin in the dialogue are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The worker destinations are Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Among the Philippine contributions to the dialogue were proposals to facilitate the repatriation of migrant workers as well as the adoption of standard employment contracts with prescribed minimum terms. President Aquino, addressing the meeting, said the government wanted fair and efficient recruitment of Filipino workers, and their treatment with dignity in the host countries.

The adoption of the proposals will be good for overseas Filipino workers. But it will be even better if the President can achieve his ultimate goal, which is to create an environment that will stop the continuing exodus of Filipinos, and entice the millions of OFWs to come home.

This calls for the creation of an environment that supports job-generating long-term investments and viable enterprises. OFWs remit billions of dollars every year, with the money liberating their families from poverty. But the phenomenon has its social costs. Children are growing up without parents. Marriages are placed under serious strain, sometimes leading to a breakup.

Leaving loved ones to find work overseas for lack of better opportunities at home is almost always painful. The pain is worse for those who find themselves forced to work under oppressive conditions in a foreign land. Among the biggest victims of abuse and unfair labor practices abroad are women. The Abu Dhabi Dialogue seeks to address these problems. Even as international cooperation improves in this area, the Aquino administration must intensify its efforts to achieve the President’s ultimate goal, or at least lay down a solid foundation to bring home OFWs.