SPECIAL REPORT : OFW DEPLOYMENT ISSUES
Contrary to Malacañang claims most OFWs are still laborers --- Arroyo bill to detain professionals attacked
The Philippine Nurses Association’s President Dr. Leah Samaco Paquiz on Saturday expressed concern over the bill filed by Rep. Ignacio Arroyo to keep professionals, including nurses and doctors, from leaving for jobs abroad without first working in the
Did he file the bill because of government claims that Filipino professionals have become the bigger component of OFW deployments? If so, then he is wrong. The bigger segment is still laborers and unskilled workers.
The Philippine Medical Association expressed opposition but its vice-president did not elaborate because the PMA still had to actually learn from Arroyo what he really wants and what his proposed bill says.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) opposed Arroyo’s House Bill 4580.
“We consider the bill absolutely unfair and highly discriminatory, because it singles out registered professionals,” said former senator and TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera.
Negros Oriental’s Rep. Arroyo, the President’s brother-in-law, authored the bill with the aim of discouraging Filipino professionals from leaving the country. He expressed concern that the health and education sector may end up not having enough teachers and professionals if RP graduates continue to go abroad to work for high pay.
His proposed law covers doctors, nurses, pharmacists, midwives, medical technologists, physical therapists, engineers, teachers, sailors, accountants, interior designers, nutritionists and criminologists, librarians, guidance counselors and master plumbers. These are all in the Professional Regulatory Commission’s category of “registered professionals.”
Herrera questioned the government’s authority to restrain professionals from leaving.
He was joined by human rights lawyers interviewed by The Manila Times. They told us people couldn’t be prevented to leave the country if they want to.
Herrera has submitted his, the TUCP’s, position paper to the House and the Senate, petitioning the House Committee on Labor and Employment to reject Arroyo’s bill.
“We have a huge glut of professionals in many sectors. In the case of nurses, the main reason they are leaving the country is because wages here are grossly inadequate. And the pay is meager, precisely because of the massive surplus of nurses. This is the law of supply and demand at work,” Herrera said.
The TUCP official said preventing nurses from leaving the country would further create a huge surplus and lower their wages to a minimum.
Herrera said that nurses comprise the biggest group of professionals leaving the country. Every year, more than 21,000 Filipino nurses seek employment in the
He added that the
Nurses’ salary increase law
Dr. Paquis explained that nurses, doctors and other professionals would not leave the country is they were paid properly.
Since 2002, she said, because of, Republic Act 9173, also known as the Nursing Act of 2002, the salaries of nurses should have been not lower than the government’s salary grade 15. “This is clear in Section 32 that ‘in order to enhance the general welfare, commitment to service and professionalism of nurses, the minimum base pay of nurses working in public health institution shall not be lower than salary grade 15,’ ” she pointed out.
“It has been six years since the law was enacted. It has not been implemented,” she complained.
“Under the law, a nurse in the government should be receiving a monthly salary of P16,093, but many nurses are still receiving way below this legal monthly salary. Some are receiving less than P10,000 monthly income. How do we expect these nurses to remain in government service with this kind of salary?” asked Paquiz. She points out that while salary is not the only reason why nurses serve, she recognizes that the foreign employment conditions are much better than here.”
Absolutely unfair
“We consider the bill absolutely unfair and highly discriminatory, because it singles out registered professionals,” said TUCP’s Herrera, a Manila Times columnist.
Herrera doubts the government’s capability to enforce the law.
“How is the government actually going to require compliance, when it is not in position to physically bar professionals from leaving the country,” he asked.
Like Herrera, other commentators question the wisdom of Rep. Arroyo’s proposal, considering that there is large surplus of professionals in many sectors of the labor market.
“We have a huge glut of professionals in many sectors. In the case of nurses, the main reason they are leaving the country is because wages here are grossly inadequate. And the pay is meager precisely because of the massive surplus of nurses. This is the law of supply and demand at work,” the former senator noted.
Annually, around 21,000 nurses leave the country to seek employment in the
Both the nursing and medical associations question why nursing and physicians’ positions all over the country are vacant.
Why is the government not filling these up?
If nurses are hired to take these jobs, some of them who would rather not leave their parents in the
Some are surprised why there seems to be a frenzy to hold professionals in the country when in fact the majority of OFWs deployed continue to be laborers and unskilled workers.
NSO statistics
According to the government’s National Statistics Office the number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at anytime during the period April to September 2007 was registered at 1.75 million. This represents an increase of 15.3 percent over the estimated 1.52 million OFWs in April to September 2006.
Out of the total OFWs during the period April to September 2007, 92.4 percent (1.61 million) were Overseas Contact Workers (OCWs) or those with existing work-contact abroad. The number of OCWs in April to September 2007 went up by 16.6 percent over the 1.38 million OCWs estimated for the same months in 2006.
The largest number of OFWs is in age group 25 to 29 years old
There were more male OFWs (50.9 percent) than females (49.1 percent) during the period April to September 2007. More than half (55.2 percent) of the OFWs were below 35 years old, the largest number (24.5 percent of total OFWs) was recorded in age group 25 to 29 years. Female OFWs were generally younger compared to male OFWs. Of the total number of female OFWs, 28.8 percent belonged to age group 25 to 29 years and 21.3 percent were in age group 30 to 34 years. Meanwhile, male OFWs were almost evenly distributed among the age groups 25 to 29 (20.3 percent), 30 to 34 (20 percent) and 45 years and over (22.8 percent).
Saudi Arabia remains the favorite destination of OFWs
Laborers and unskilled workers top major occupation group
One out of three (35 percent) OFWs in April to September 2007 were laborers and unskilled workers, which include domestic helpers, cleaners and manufacturing laborers. During the same months in 2007, those who worked as service workers and shop and market sales workers made up 14.3 percent; trades and related workers, 13.8 percent; and plant and machine operators and assemblers, 13.4 percent.
Remittances in April to September 2007 total P110 billion
OFWs sent a total remittance of 110 billion pesos for the period April to September 2007, an increase of 8 billion pesos (7.7 percent) from the estimated remittance of 102 billion pesos for the same months in 2006. Included in the total remittances are cash sent (74.6 percent), cash brought home (20.7 percent) and remittances in kind (4.7 percent). Of the total cash remittance sent for the period April to September 2007, 76.8 percent were sent through bank, 14 percent were sent through door-to-door and the rest (9.2 percent) were sent through the agency and or local office, friends and or co-workers and other means. OFWs working in
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Link: http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/aug/24/yehey/top_stories/20080824top1.html
Contributed by: Skippy the man
