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Market Update
Series of 2002
MU #
41
GUAM IMPOSES
MORATORIUM FOR H-2 VISA WORKERS
Guam
has closed its doors for the entry of foreign workers in the construction
(skilled) sector under the H-2 visa category.
Governor Carl Gutierrez of Guam issued this policy recently in response
to the island’s high unemployment rate which is more than 13%.
The
non-approval of requests for labor certification for foreign workers has
resulted in a de facto moratorium. The
labor certification is the most vital document needed for the hiring of
foreign workers in which the petitioner/prospective employer is able to prove
that there are no available US citizens and/or permanent or legal residents
that could be hired for the position.
The processing of foreign workers is done by the US Labor Department
and the Immigration Naturalization Service (INS).
There
were 209 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) deployed in Guam in year 2000, while
195 were deployed in 2001, registering a decrease of 6.7%. Out of this number,
41 were categorized as skilled construction
workers. There was also a
50% decrease in deployment for the period January – May 2002 with only 49
OFWs deployed, compared to 98 OFWs deployed during the same period last year.
The
moratorium will not affect
workers hired under the H-1B visa category
which comprise professionals like accountants, computer programmers, teachers,
etc. A bigger volume of Filipino
workers deployed to Guam for the past 5 years belonged to this category.
Source:
Philippine Consulate, Guam
August 2002
MU # 40
FULL SAUDIZATION IN 22 SECTORS
The
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had
recently stopped the hiring of expatriates in the following sectors: corporate
administration (administrative managers and their assistants), training
management (training managers), public relations, clerical, sales management,
secretarial, telephone and communications operations, storekeeping, money
collection (money collectors), cashier, money exchange (clerks), postal
service (postmen), information and data processing, library, book sales,
airline ticketing (salesmen and clerks), car sales (showroom salesmen),
building supervision, tourism (tourist guides) and office messengerial
services. Saudi nationals will now man the 600 Haj and a hundred Umrah offices
which used to employ thousands of foreign workers.
The
move is part of the Saudization program where the thrust of the government is
to replace expatriates with local workers in order to manage the 20%
unemployment in the Kingdom. Last year, the government banned the employment
of expatriates under 40 years of age in the jewelry sector and directed corner
shops and private businesses employing more than 20 people to hire only Saudi
nationals.
The
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plans to implement a similar program among its
member states to address the high unemployment rate.
Source:
OMEAA and OUMWA
Department of Foreign Affairs
05 August 2002
MU # 39
ENTRY FOR FOREIGN EXPERTS AND INVESTORS TO
CHINA LIBERALIZED
The
government of China, through its State Council, has announced the
liberalization of entry and residence privileges
for foreign experts and investors. The State Council drafted the new
regulations which target seven categories, including:
·
Foreign experts
invited to China by ministry-level departments to
supervise high-tech projects or important engineering projects;
·
Foreigners
employed by local universities as research experts or possessing at least the
academic title of associate professor;
·
Foreigners
invited by Chinese companies to take vice-managerial or higher positions;
·
Foreigners who
have invested more than $1 million in China’s western regions or $3 million
in other regions; and
·
The spouses and
children (below 18 years old) of foreign experts.
At present,
foreigners who meet the above requirements may apply for an F – category
visa to China which allows them to enter the country for an unlimited number
of times within two to five years, for a maximum of one year per every entry.
Under the new regulations, the Z-category visa allows foreigners to
enter China within two to five years and allows
them to stay for any length of time within the period.
The new immigration rules are in line with China’s
2002-2005 professional personnel-building program aimed to attract the
skills/expertise which China urgently needs, such as :
·
Information
technology
·
bio-technology
·
new materials
and manufacturing technology
·
aviation and
space technology
·
finance and law
·
international
trade
·
science and
technology management
To attract applicants, the China government will
provide professionals with high pay, special laboratories, and research
facilities. The government will also offer preferential policies for
Chinese students overseas to return to the country and contribute to its
development. The government will
improve policies on housing, medical care, children’s education, and
employment of family members of returning students, and make policy
adjustments concerning salary, residency permits and investment matters.
Source: Philippine Embassy, Beijing
DFA
MU
# 38
H-1 B PETITIONS
DECLINE
The US
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) reported that only 60,500 H-1B
petitions were approved from October 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002.
The figure represented a 53.7% decline in approvals from last fiscal
year when 130,700 H-1B petitions were approved during the first nine months.
About half of the H-1B workers were employed by the computer industry.
The decrease in
hiring shows that employers still prefer US nationals over foreign workers
with H-1B when business is down.
The H-1B cap for
fiscal years 2001 through 2003 is 195,000 per year.
Source:
Internet/Shusterman.com
August 2002
MU
# 37
EMPLOYMENT OF DOMESTIC STAFF IN IRELAND
The
Department of Enterprise of Ireland, is now issuing work permits for domestic
staff. However, it processes
applications for work permits only after it has been established that the
person has been employed with the family abroad for at least one year prior to
the date of application. However,
it has been observed that the Department does not adhere strictly to the
policy and continues to issue work permits.
It regards domestic staff as a different or distinct category from
other household help, like the caretakers of children, and has no prohibitions
for the issuance of work permits.
The
present minimum salary for household workers in Ireland is 5.97 euro per hour.
This will be increased to 6.35 euro per hour starting October 1 this year.
Household workers are entitled to full benefits similar to their local
counterparts in terms of salary, working hours, rest periods and Sunday work
premium as provided under the Irish Employment Rights Legislation.
For contract cleaners who are not provided full
board and accommodation, the rate prescribed by the Joint Labor Committee is
6.87 euro per hour.
Source:
Philippine Honorary Consul, Ireland
July 2002
MU
# 36
HEALTH CARE SHORTAGE IN WASHINGTON
A
critical shortage of available workers in many health care occupations is felt
in Washington State, according to a recent report of the Health Care Labor
Shortage Work Group. According to
the report, there will be over 6,000 job openings in healthcare each year,
between 2002 and 2008.
Health
occupations that face critical shortages include nurses, medical aides, dental
hygienists, billers and coders, laboratory personnel, pharmacists, physicians
and radiology technologists.
The
State’s acute care hospitals reported a shortage of 2,200 workers in 2001
when recruiting new nurses, as well as experienced nurses, posed a major
challenge. During the same period, the average nursing staff
turnover rate in Washington hospitals was 16.7 percent.
The
Work Group has also identified some strategies to address the shortage, which
include increase awareness among young people of opportunities in health care,
and encourage folk men to consider health career options that have
traditionally been female-dominated, particularly in nursing and dental
hygiene.
Source:
Internet, Washington State Home Address
July
2002
MU#35
MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE IN KSA
Foreign
workers and their dependents with resident permits have been covered by a new
health insurance scheme called “Cooperative Health Insurance”, effective
06 September 2002. The scheme which will be implemented gradually over the
next three years, will be imposed on companies employing over 500 workers
within the first year of the health insurance law. On the succeeding year, it
will apply to companies employing over 100 workers and on the third year, it
will apply to all companies including sponsors hiring household workers. After
the third year, the Saudi government will consider applying the scheme to its
citizens.
Under
the scheme, Saudi employers will be required to pay the premium, the amount of
which will to be agreed upon by the employer and the insurance company. The
health insurance is a prerequisite in obtaining an iqama or legal residence
permit.
The
maximum amount of coverage is SR250,000 or about US$67,000. Insured workers
can obtain diagnosis and treatment from service providers. Workers, however,
have to pay a deductible fee prior to diagnosis and treatment. Workers may
reimburse from the company any emergency treatment that was not provided by
the service provider.
The
employer is obliged to include the foreign worker and his family in the
insurance coverage from the date of arrival of the worker in the Kingdom and
shall give him the insurance card within 10 days of his arrival. The insurance
shall end with the death of the beneficiary, upon expiry or cancellation of
the document or upon final departure of the worker.
If
a worker transfers to another employer, the new employer has to include him in
the insurance system from the date of his transfer.
This
insurance scheme does not apply to foreign employers working in government
where the regulation does not allow them to conclude contracts with private
hospitals for treating their staff. Workers in government are entitled to
medical treatment at public hospitals. It also does not apply to non-Saudis
working in the private sector whose contracts stipulate that they are to be
treated at health institutions affiliated to the employer. If treatment is not
available at the health institution, the employer is to provide complimentary
health insurance coverage. The health insurance coverage is limited to
services extended in the Kingdom by authorized service providers.
While
the new health insurance scheme was designed to enhance the welfare of
expatriate workers, including OFWs, it is also viewed as a measure to make
foreign labor more expensive and give the employer the incentive to hire Saudi
workers instead.
In
another development, all business entities regardless of size are required to
enroll their workers at the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI)
system, effective July 2002. Previously, only large and medium companies were
required to enroll their workers under the GOSI accident insurance system.
SOURCE:
OMEAA, DFA,
July 2002
MU#34
MORE BENEFITS FOR EXPAT NURSES IN UAE
The
Ministry of Health (MOH) of the United Arab Emirates, in its bid to attract
more skilled expatriate nurses, is offering more financial and status
benefits. The benefits which will
be given gradually include annual return ticket instead of every two years,
government housing, and furniture allowance.
The value of the above benefits ranges from Dhs 2000
to Dhs 3000 (US$544.52 - US$816.78) depending on the grade level of the
nurses.
Every nursing staff who has spent four years on the job will be
promoted, and get an increment ranging from Dhs 80 to Dhs 700 (US$21.78 -
US$190.58) according to grade level.
The MOH is finding ways to improve the living
conditions of its nursing staff to prevent them from being pirated by
hospitals of other countries. Earlier
reports revealed that Filipino
nurses employed in UAE are enticed to work in USA, Canada and the United
Kingdom which offer higher wage and better benefits.
Source:
POLO - Abu Dhabi, UAE,
July 2002
MU#33
Employment Opportunities in China
The
economic boom is resulting in employment opportunities in Southern China.
The Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong and in Guangzhou City reported
that
foreign Domestic Helpers (DH) are in high demand by affluent Chinese
families and a significant number of expatriates working in various companies.
Officials of the Department of Labor in Guangzhuo City likewise confirmed the
prospect and reported that although China does not issue visas for foreign DH,
it is studying the possibility of allowing
the entry of foreign DH as house managers and English speaking nannies
and governess for the expatriate community and affluent Chinese families.
There are also employment opportunities for Filipino English Teachers
who can speak basic Cantonese or Putonghua.
Filipinos working in the southern China Province are
composed of middle managers (40%), entertainers (15%), top managers like
Financial Controllers and General Managers, and Filipino DHs with “jumping
visa” (4-5%).
DHs with “jumping visa” are foreign DHs who were
hired in Hong Kong under Hong Kong employment contracts and later apply for a
3-month tourist visa to enter China using their Ids issued by the Hong Kong
government. Upon expiry of the visas, the DH leaves China for Hong Kong, gets
another 3-month China tourist visa, and reenters China.
China-based companies are allowed to hire foreign
workers provided that no applicants for the position are available locally.
They follow strict guidelines which include securing a labor license.
The company and the worker must sign an employment contract within 15
days and an employment permit is issued within 30 days.
The employment
permit allows the foreign worker to work in China for 6 months.
It is renewable every 6 months, regardless of the length of the
employment contract.
The number of OFWs deployed to China for the past 6
years reached 9,339. Deployment
in 2001 was registered at 1,979 compared to 2,348 in 2000 and 1,858 in 1999.
Source:
POLO, Hong Kong, June
2002
MU#
32
US
IT WORKFORCE BOUNCES BACK
US
companies shed over 500,000 IT workers in the past year according to a study
by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), which provides
the most competitive analysis of IT workforce trends. The study estimated that
the demand for IT workers in the next 12 months would increase substantially.
The following are the notable findings of the ITAA
analysis of the IT workforce trends:
·
IT Workforce lost 5% of employment with
reductions felt all over the country.
·
Hiring managers estimate that they will
attempt to fill 1.1 million positions in the next 12 months, up to 27 percent
over the level measured last year. Of
this number, almost 600,000 will go unfilled due to lack of qualified workers.
·
Companies employ more programmers than any
other type of IT worker.
·
Hiring
managers continue to place a premium on previous work experience as the best
means of skill development.
·
IT work seems to be migrating south.
The demand for IT workers in the Midwest and West has dropped 68
percent and 71 percent respectively since 2000.
·
On the average, companies expect to hold on
to their IT workers for just over two years
The study
further showed that the
C++ programming
language is
the most in demand technical skill in the US, followed by Oracle, SQL,
Java and Windows NT.
Source:
ITAA Press Release.htm
, May 2002
MU #31
NEW IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENT IN CNMI
A new immigration regulation was recently
signed by the Governor of Saipan requiring all aliens who enter the
Commonwealth of Northern Marianas (CNMI) as tourist, to present a visitor
entry permit (VEP). The visitor
has to apply for the VEP, which is valid for single entry for a period of 30
days, before departure from his point of origin.
Overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) with valid work permits, including US visa holders
whose visa are valid for 60 days, and holders of diplomatic/official passport
are not required to present a VEP.
The
new CNMI immigration requirement is seen as a support to the program of POEA
of legally documenting all OFWs before leaving the country.
The move will discourage the departure of Filipinos from Manila in the
guise of tourists but whose actual purpose is to work in the CNMI.
Source:
DFA, Office of American Affairs
June
2002
MU
#30
SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL WORKERS IN THE US
The shortage of health care workers is an emerging crisis in most of
the states in the USA.
It is projected that by year 2005, the demand for registered nurses
(RNs) in New York will exceed supply by over 17,000 nurses and by 2015, the
gap is expected to double. The
state of Iowa has 2,500 vacancies for RNs, 700 vacancies for licensed
practical nurses (LPNs), and 2600 vacancies for assisting personnel.
Graduates of Iowa’s nurse education and training programs for RNs and
LPNs have decreased by 27 percent in the past six years while 64 percent of
the current RNs will be retired by 2009.
The State of Maine also revealed that its health-care providers will
need 1,050 more nurses next year than the number of graduates from Maine’s
educational institutions. It also faces shortage of radiologic technologists
and technicians, health information technicians, surgical technologists,
pharmacy technicians, medical transcriptionists, respiratory therapists, and
medical and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians.
The global demand for nurses, an aging workforce, and new opportunities
for women in other professions are some of the factors attributed to this
shortage.
The projected shortage of medical workers, particularly nurses, will
surely create job opportunities for our Filipino nurses, as they are preferred
over other nationalities because they are genuinely caring and dedicated to
their jobs.
Source: US State Website, June 2002
MU
#29
NEW LABOUR LAW IN BAHRAIN
Bahrain has recently
issued a decree providing for imprisonment
of Bahraini employers between
three and six months and a fine of BD500 to BD1000 if they are found
recruiting expatriate workers without first obtaining
a license from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The decree
also prohibits recruitment of
expatriate workers without proper medical clearance to ensure that they are
healthy and fit to work.
The law was enacted to
eradicate the practice of “visa trading”, a rampant and lucrative business
in the country where original
employers sell “free visas” to other employers. With the new decree, free
visa holders will have no jobs since employers will no longer hire them for
fear of breaching the law.
Filipino workers who were employed through visa trading can request the
assistance of the POLO in Bahrain to legalize their stay. Only a few workers
availed of the two (2) amnesty programs offered by the Bahrain government
before the effectivity of the decree.
In year 2001, about 5,861 Overseas Filipino Workers were deployed to
Bahrain. About 2,000 to 3,000 Filipino workers in the country are “free
visa” holders.
Source:
POLO, Bahrain
, June 2002
MU
#28
DEMAND FOR SKILLED WORKERS IN GERMANY
Germany has a landmark immigration bill approved in March 2002.
If signed by the President, it will take effect
on 1 January 2003.
The new immigration law admits skilled foreigners and entrepreneurs.
It allows foreigners who graduate from German universities to remain in
the country and work, and mandates German language training for refugees and
immigrants who fail a proficiency test.
In 2000, Germany launched a “greencard” program that allows
employers to bring foreign communications and information technology experts
into the country for up to five years. Of the 20,000 permits available, about
14,000 had been issued to
foreigners mostly from India which represents the largest single group of
foreign “green cards” specialists. Most
of these cards were issued in Bavaria.
Source: Migration
News
, June
2002
MU
#27
TEMPORARY
MORATORIUM ON SELECTED ALIEN WORKERS IN MICRONESIA
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has recently enacted Public
Law No. 12-13, also known as “An Act to Declare a Temporary Moratorium on
the Immigration of Certain Alien Workers, and for Other Purposes”.
Public Law 12-13 allows the entry of only the following skills:
accountant (at least B.A.
degree), agricultural researchers, agronomist, architects (licensed and
accredited), aquaculture researchers, attorneys (licensed), auto body
builders, aviation mechanics, aviators, bank managers/supervisors, biologists,
business advisers, certified plumbers, chemists for coconut processing plant,
chemists for manufacturing of juice, soft drinks and alcohol, civil engineers
(licensed and accredited), comptrollers, computer programmers and technicians,
dive masters (certified), draftsmen, economists, electrical engineers
(licensed and accredited), electricians, electronics technicians, engineers
(licensed and accredited), engineers for manufacturing plant for juice, soft
drinks and alcohol, environmental scientists, fishing boat engineers, foreign
investment permit holders, government contractors, health care
specialists/medical technologists, heavy equipment mechanics, information
technology experts, internal auditors (licensed CPA only), licensed surveyors,
longline and purse seine fishermen, machinists, marine biologists, marine,
archeologists, master bakers, master chefs (accredited and certified), medical
doctors (licensed and accredited), missionaries, skilled carpenters, scuba
diving instructors (certified), surgeons, nurses ( RN or LPN), surveyors,
tailors/seamsters/seamstress, teachers and professors, and veterinarians.
Despite the implementation
of the law, the Philippine Consulate is optimistic that the effects of the
moratorium on immigration would be minimal since businessmen and employers in
Micronesia believe that the locals are not yet ready or qualified to assume
the positions that will be vacated by foreign workers.
It is also likely that foreign workers and local businessmen will
contest the law and file suit for its suspension.
Other employers may file for exemptions from the law that would allow
OFWs to remain in the FSM. Further,
the law operates prospectively and will apply to new recruits only.
There are about
1,000 overseas Filipino workers all over the four states of FSM.
According to the Philippine Consulate General in Guam, about 20% of our
OFWs will be affected by the new law.
Source:
DFA, OLAMWA, June 2002
MU
#26
U.S. EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS UP
UNTIL 2006
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor
has published employment
projections in
the US
which is
expected to increase from 132.4 million to 150.9 million for 1996-2006.
The
projections were based on various assumptions about factors such as output,
unemployment, productivity, and inflation.
In the employment projections, labor force assumptions were held
constant, while deriving projections from information on the demand for goods
and services, advances in technology, changes in business practices, the
occupational composition of industries, and historical trends.
The
projected employment change focused on 10 clusters of occupations based on the
Federal Government’s Standard Occupational Classification System, as
follows:
·
Executive,
administrative, and managerial occupations
Workers
in executive, administrative, and managerial occupations establish policies,
make plans, determine staffing requirements, and direct the activities of
businesses, government agencies, and other organizations.
This group includes managerial and administrative occupations, such as
financial property, health services, and construction managers, purchasers and
buyers, education administrators, and funeral directors.
It also cover management support occupations that provide technical
assistance to managers such as accountants and auditors, budget analysts, loan
officers, purchasing agents and underwriters.
Overall,
employment of executive, administrative, and managerial occupations is
expected to grow about as fast as average (10 to 25 percent increase in
employment) for all occupations. However,
differences in the rate of expansion for individual industries will produce
varying rates of employment change for particular kinds of managers and
support workers. The
employment of engineering, science, and computer systems managers will grow
much faster than average compared to industrial production managers which is
expected to decline.
·
Professional
and technical occupations
Professional
and technical occupations are expected to grow faster than average
(a 21 to 35 % increase in employment) and gain more new jobs than any
other occupational group.
Population
trends and increasing student enrollments will fuel a faster than average
increase in the overall employment of teachers who will account for nearly
one-fourth of all job growth among professional and technical occupations.
Increased demand for health and social services from a growing and
aging population will spur rapid growth for physical and occupational
therapists, and social and human services assistants.
Likewise, employment of computer scientists, computer engineers, and
systems analysts is expected to double during the next decade as organizations
become increasingly dependent on advancing technologies and the workers who
implement them, while employment of drafters and air traffic controllers will
show little change because of increased use of labor saving equipment. The
number of physicists and astronomers will also decline because of budget
tightening and decreased demand for physics-related research.
·
Marketing
and sales occupations
Workers in this
group sell goods and services, purchase commodities and property for resale,
and stimulate consumer interest. This
group includes cashiers, counter and rental clerks, insurance agents and
brokers, manufacturers’ and wholesale sales representatives,
real estate agents, brokers, and appraisers, retail sales workers,
financial services sales representative, and travel agents.
Overall
employment in this group is expected to grow as fast as average (10 to 20
percent increase in employment) because of the increased demand for financial,
travel and other services. Securities
and financial services sales representatives will grow faster than average as
investment increases and diversifies and as financial institutions offer more
complex services. Employment of
services sales representatives should increase as the health care and computer
industries expand rapidly, requiring more workers to market and service their
products. Faster than average
employment growth is expected for counter and rental clerks and travel agents
due to increased demand for business and recreational services.
There is
greater competition for jobs in higher paying marketing and sales occupations,
such as securities and financial services sales representatives, than in lower
paying ones, such as
retails sales workers. Opportunities
will be best for well trained, personable, and ambitious people who enjoy
selling.
·
Administrative support occupations, including clerical
Workers in this
group prepare and record memos, letters, and reports, collect accounts, gather
and distribute information, operate office machines, and handle other
administrative tasks. The group
includes occupations such as adjuster, investigator, and collector in the
insurance industry, computer and communications equipment operator,
information clerk, postal clerk and mail carrier, secretary, bank teller, and
typist.
This group will
continue to employ the largest number of workers, although employment will
grow more slowly than average (an increase to 0 to 9 percent).
Despite the tremendous increase expected in the volume of clerical
tasks, increased automation and other technological changes will cause a
decline in some occupations including typist, word processor, bookkeeping,
accounting and auditing clerk. In
contrast, employment of teacher aides should grow much faster than average as
schools increasingly make use of these workers to help with growing
enrollments, including those of students in special education and students for
whom English is a second language.
A projected
faster than average increase in employment of receptionist reflects rapid
growth of the services or industries where they work.
Similarly, the expanding population, economy, and volume of insurance
sales will spur growth among adjusters, investigators, and collectors. Because many administrative support occupations are large and
have relatively high turnover, opportunities should be abundant for full and
part-time jobs, even in slow-growing occupations.
·
Service
occupations
This group
includes a wide range of workers in four subgroups:
Food and beverage; health; personal, buildings, and grounds; and
protective services.
Full and
part-time jobs will be plentiful for food and beverage service workers because
of the group’s large size, high turnover, and overall average employment
growth.
Most health
services occupations-including medical assistants and physical and corrective
therapy assistants and aides, which are among the faster growing occupations
in the economy are expected to grow much faster than the average.
Such rapid growth reflects an increasing and aging population,
technological advances in medicine, and the increasing use of support
personnel who are cost-effective providers of health care
Growth in
personal, buildings, and grounds service occupations will vary widely.
Homemaker-home health aide will grow much faster than the average
because of the increase in the elderly population and advances in medical
technology that can make in-home treatment more effective.
Employment of private household workers, on the other hand, will
decline rapidly, as child-care and household cleaning service firms
increasingly assume those duties.
·
Mechanics,
installers, and repairers
Workers
in this group adjust, maintain, and repair automobiles, industrial equipment,
computers and many other types of machinery.
Occupations include electronics repairer, television and cable
television line installer, aircraft, automotive and motorcycle mechanic,
millwright, musical instrument repairer, rigger and watchmaker.
Average
overall growth is expected due to continued importance of mechanical and
electronic equipment throughout the economy, but projections vary by
occupation. Computer and office
machine repairer is expected to be the fastest growing occupation in this
group, reflecting the increased use of these machines, while employment of
electronic home entertainment equipment repairer, telephone installer and
repairer, farm equipment mechanic, millwright, and vending machine servicer
and repairer is expected to decline due to laborsaving devices and
improvements in reliability.
·
Construction
trades occupations
Workers
in this group construct, alter, and maintain buildings and other structures.
Occupations include carpenter, electrician, roofer, drywall worker,
carpet installer, and plumber.
Virtually
all of the new jobs will be in construction.
An increase in the number of households and industrial plants, the
desire to alter or modernize existing structures, and the need to maintain and
repair the Nation’s infrastructure-highways, dams, and bridges-will result
in an significant number of new jobs. However,
overall employment is expected to grow more slowly than average as
construction activity declines and the industry benefits from productivity
gains and more efficient technologies. Employment
of insulation workers will grow the fastest, roofers and tile setters the
slowest.
-
Production
occupations
These workers
set up, adjust, operate, and tend machinery and use handtools and hand-held
power tools to make goods and assemble products.
Occupations include prepress printing worker, machinist, assembler,
jeweler, stationary engineer, butcher, apparel worker, and fisher.
Increase in
imports, overseas production, and automation – including robotics and
advanced computer techniques - will result in little change in overall
employment. Growth, however slow,
is nevertheless expected for printing press operators, welders, butchers, and
meat, poultry, and fish cutters. Employment
of water treatment plant operators is expected to grow faster than average due
to construction of new plants and expansion of water and waste water treatment
services. Desktop publishing
specialists should experience much faster than average employment growth with
the shift to computer-based layout and printing.
Many production
occupations are sensitive to the business cycle and competition from imports.
When factory orders decline, workers may face shortened workweeks,
layoffs, and plant closings.
·
Transportation
and material moving occupations
Operating
the equipment used for moving people and materials is the principal activity
of workers in this group. Occupations
include bus driver, rail and water transportation worker, subway and streetcar
operator, and truck driver. Overall
employment is expected to grow about as fast as average (a 10 to 20% increase
in employment), but prospects vary by occupation. The fastest growing occupations in this group are bus and
truck drivers. Employment
declines are expected for rail and water transportation occupations,
reflecting global competition, improved efficiency, and technological
advances.
·
Handlers,
equipment cleaners, helpers and laborers
These workers
perform routine tasks and assist skilled workers.
Some occupations include parking lot attendants, service station
attendants, and helpers in construction trades.
Overall,
employment in this group is expected to grow about as fast as the average for
all occupations, although some occupations, such as machine feeder and service
station attendant, will show little or no change. Many opportunities will arise from the need to replace
workers who leave these high turnover occupations.
However, the number of openings will depend on the strength of the
economy, particularly for construction laborer and other occupations in
industries highly sensitive to changes in business cycle.
The
complete information on employment estimates for each occupation is available
at the POEA Marketing Branch.
Sources:
US
Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The 1996-2006 Job Outlook in Brief
June 2002
MU
#25
ACCREDITATION OF MAID AGENCIES IN SINGAPORE SEEN
The Government of Singapore will soon introduce an accreditation system
for employment agencies, especially those hiring household helpers, to ensure
they maintain acceptable professional and ethical standards for the protection
of foreign workers.
Singapore’s
Manpower Ministry is presently working with the Consumers Association of
Singapore on the scheme to initially accredit employment agencies which opt to
join, while moving to a mandatory accreditation for all. The call for
regulation stemmed from reports of unscrupulous action, poor service and abuse
of maids by some agencies, and employers saddled with problems of
inexperienced maids.
Singapore
has more than 800 employment agencies dealing with the placement of foreign
workers. More than 60% of the
140,000 domestic helpers (DH) in the country are hired through these agencies.
OFWs deployed to Singapore reached 3,444 in 2001, majority of whom are DHs.
An estimated 49,718 OFWs worked in Singapore in the same year.
MU#24
HEALTH INSURANCE NOW MANDATORY IN ISRAEL
Filipino Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Israel enjoy health
insurance coverage from the government through the national health insurance
program. It is mandatory for Israeli employers to provide health insurance
coverage to their hired foreign workers. Illegal workers, on the other hand,
can avail of the program at a higher premium and under limited coverage.
However, not many illegal workers have availed of the program for fear that
the personal information they provide to the insurance company may be used by
authorities to trace their whereabouts.
The
Philippine Embassy is encouraging OFWs without working permits to subscribe to
a health insurance plan for their own welfare and protection. They may also
opt to renew their membership with OWWA or SSS to ensure medical and social
security coverage.
There are about 60,000 Filipinos in Israel.
MU #23
UPDATE ON EMPLOYMENT OF FILIPINOS IN MALAYSIA
The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Malaysia has directed that the original
Letter of Approval for Work Permit, Employment Pass, and Dependent’s Pass
issued by the Immigration Department should be endorsed by the Consular
Division of the MFA. The Malaysian Embassy in Manila will only issue visas to
workers and their dependents who have complied with the requirement
Meanwhile,
the Malaysian Government announced that the amnesty offer for illegal
immigrants would cease once the Immigration (Amendment) Act 2002 comes into
force. Illegal immigrants are
encouraged to report to the Immigration Department. Various foreign embassies
are urged to assist in verifying documents and provide travel documents.
There
are about 400,000 to 600,000 illegals in Malaysia.
Only about 53,374 have so far responded to the country’s repatriation
program since March this year. The
slow response is possibly due to, among others, illegal immigrants waiting
until the last minute to surrender themselves and flight booking problems.
MU #22
HONG
KONG SAR BOOST EMPLOYMENT OF LOCAL DOMESTIC HELPERS
Hong Kong SAR has opened thirteen one-stop family service centers all
over Hong Kong last month to offer matching services for 7,000 local domestic
helpers (LDH) and target employers in its effort to help LDHs gain a share in
the market dominated by foreign domestic helpers (FDH). The move complements
other measures to promote LDH employment (refer to MU#18).
In support
of this program, transportation facilities will be provided to LDHs commuting
from far places such as New Territories to Hong Kong Island where a big number
of employers stay. While the move also aims to attract employers who are very
particular about Chinese cooking to hire LDHs, it is also expected to address
the perennial language problem.
FDH groups and labor unions cited that FDHs and LDHs are not exactly
competing for the same market. By
comparison, the minimum wage of FDH at HK$3,670.00 is much lower than the
hourly part time rate of HK$50 for LDH. Also
FDH are more willing to put in longer hours to their work.
Filipino DHs are already facing tough competition from Indonesians
whose number continues to rise dramatically every year. Indonesian DHs are
reportedly better trained and conversant in Cantonese, more tolerant of
extreme working conditions, and accept salaries lower than the prescribed
minimum wage.
BACK
TO TOP
MU #21
EMPLOYMENT
PROSPECTS IN DUBAI
Several industry sectors in Dubai have announced plans of expanding their
services. One of these is in the financial services where demand for manpower
may soar with the creation of the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC)
which aims to serve a market of 1.5 billion people.
The DIFC is designed to attract the world’s major players in
institutional finance and is expected to make the emirate a regional financial
services center.
In the communications industry, the Emirate Telecommunication Corporation (ETISALAT)
plans to open corporate offices in Ajman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with its
workforce consisting of 63% expatriate workers. On the transport industry, the
Dubai Municipality and the Department of Civil Aviation have launched a new
bus service to and from Dubai International Airport (DIA). The DIA is being
used by about 13 million passengers a year and the number is on a steady
increase.
Demand for workers in the construction and engineering design sectors will
continue to rise due to expansion in infrastructure facilities such as roads,
bridges and mono rail system to ease the city’s growing traffic. Dubai is to
spend US$817 million on infrastructure during the next 3 years. The government
has also allocated US$1.3 billion to set up housing projects. Work has also
begun on the construction of the Dubai Festival City, which will include
offices, hotels, shopping centers and residential and entertainment
components.
With the operation of two 5-star hotels in Dubai (Medinat Jumeirah Hotel and
Grand Hyatt Hotel) by the end of the year, the demand for hotel workers
including managerial positions will also increase. Two more hotels will be
completed by year 2003 in time for the IMF/World Bank meetings in Dubai. The
Dubai Municipality has also announced the need to hire additional food
inspectors.
MU #20
MEASURES TO REDUCE ILLEGAL ALIENS IN KOREA
The
Korean Government through the Ministry of Justice has adopted a Voluntary
Reporting Program for Illegal or Undocumented Foreign Workers to reduce the
level of illegal workers in Korea.
The program allows foreigners with valid passport or travel document
and air or boat ticket to leave Korea for their homeland without any penalty
any day from March 25 to May 25, 2002. Those who report and register with the
Immigration Bureau during the same period may be given until March 31, 2003 to
work but
will be required to leave on their confirmed air or boat ticket. The
government will conduct serious crackdown against illegal foreign workers
from May
26 which may intensify throughout the month of June.
Those who are caught employing illegal workers will face 3 years
imprisonment or pay fine between 30–50 million won, while workers will be
subjected to deportation and 5 year ban on re-entry.
Illegal workers in Korea are
estimated at 78% of the 331,00 foreign workers. The Korean government also
suspects that 60% of the 29,000 Filipinos
have become undocumented and about 10,000 or 83% of 12,000
Filipinos granted
short term entries have likewise become illegal. Hong Kong and Beijing
are reportedly used as transit point for illegal recruitment of Filipinos to
ROK.
In
March 2002, measures that
subject entry applications of foreign women seeking jobs in the service
and entertainment industries to
more careful review were also adopted.
Visa screening was made stringent for foreigners seeking to enter Korea
for purposes of study, tourism, business, visiting relatives, marrying or
cohabiting Korean nationals.
In
a related development, the Korea Government through the Ministry of Labor is
considering the introduction of “foreign manpower system” (FMS) in
addition to the existing “industrial trainee system. The proposed system
will allow small and medium sized companies in some industries, freedom to
legitimately employ foreign workers starting June 2002.
This is intended to meet
gaps in the Korean labor sector while limiting influx of foreign
migrant workers. It is expected to address cases of employer’s violation of
foreign illegal workers’ rights who are unable to defend themselves due to
their status.
The Government will
issue guidelines on the issue of employment and management of foreign
workforce including the introduction of
detailed contracts and mechanisms in handling labor related disputes.
Under the system, the hiring of foreign labor will be limited to industrial
sectors where there is labor shortage and employment is inevitable.
The program will not allow hiring of illegal workers already in Korea.
The new measures adopted and to be adopted by the Korean government
will restrict the influx of Filipino migrant workers to Korea but will
at the same time open up possibilities for work under the proposed FMS.
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MU #19
MALAYSIA
NEEDS 6,000 FOREIGN NURSES
The Ministry of Health, Malaysia announced during the International
Nurses Day celebration in Kuala Lumpur that it will recruit 6,000 foreign
nurses in stages to meet the growing needs of the expanding health care
sector. He said there is an acute
shortage of nurses following the expansion of health care services resulting
in the need to recruit in India, Pakistan and East Asia.
The Malaysian Government is setting up nursing colleges and adopt
various incentives to encourage nationals to take up nursing as
a profession.
It hopes to train enough local nurses by 2007. The government also welcomes
foreign investors to set up international nursing schools in the country.
MU
# 18
HONG KONG SAR PROPOSES TO PROVIDE
MORE JOBS TO LOCAL DOMESTIC HELPERS
The Hong Kong SAR Government is considering four
proposals to
provide more job opportunities for local domestic helpers (LDHs).
The proposals include freezing the present number of foreign domestic
helpers (FDH); levying taxes on HK employers for hiring
FDHs; subsidizing HK
employers for hiring LDH and
increasing the minimum wage of FDH.
The proposals were met with mixed reactions from different sectors. The Hong
Kong Federation of Trade (FTU) and Chairman of the Employee Retraining Board (ERB)
are pushing for a review of the policy, citing that
setting a quota on the number of FDHs will be a better way to help the
locals find jobs. Entry of foreign
workers may be allowed only for elderly parents, handicapped children or newly
born babies. The collected taxes will go to the local workers’ training fund
which can increase government revenue and discourage hiring of FDH.
Those
opposed to the tax proposal claim
that it is unfair to impose additional taxes on HK employers.
Others claim that providing government subsidy for hiring locals and increasing foreign workers minimum wage
may not be feasible at this time when economy is not robust and
the government has a large budget deficit.
Hong Kong is the largest labor
market of Filipino workers in Asia, hiring 39.85% of total deployment to the
region. In
2001 Hong Kong was second largest employer of Filipino workers with a
total deployment of 113,583
workers, next to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
An estimated 173,889 Filipinos are presently working in Hong Kong.
MU
#17
MALAYSIA LOCAL INDUSTRIES OPT FOR
FOREIGN WORKERS
Most
local industries
in Malaysia prefer to hire
foreign labor
despite the high costs of engaging them because of the tendency of
locals to “job-hop”. Job-hopping
affects the quality of goods produced, particularly in the manufacturing and
production sectors.
Local industries retain foreign labor for continuity of work and for
fear that they will start a similar industry in their own country and become
future competitors.
Source:
National News, The Sun, Malaysia
MU
#16
REPATRIATION PROCEDURES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN MALAYSIA
The
Government of Malaysia, through its Ministry
of Home
Affairs, has announced
that pending the enforcement of the amended Immigration Act,
illegal immigrants in Malaysia will be deported or repatriated to their
countries of origin in the following manner:
1.
The illegal
immigrant has
to register
with his
Embassy. The costs of
repatriation shall be at the
expense of his government;
2.
The illegal immigrant may voluntarily give himself up to the Malaysian
authorities. The costs of repatriation shall be borne by the illegal
immigrant.
A total of 7,323 Filipinos
were deported/repatriated from June
2001 to March 2002, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Filipino nationals in Malaysia are estimated
at 550,000 as of December
2000, with Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) numbering to 76,000 in 2000 and
78,000 in 2001. OFWs
deployed in 2000
reached a total of 5,450 and
6,228 in 2001.
Source:
Ministry of Home Affairs, Malaysia
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MU
#15
TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON SELECTED
ALIEN WORKERS IN MICRONESIA
The President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has signed
into law Congressional Act No. 12-13 also known as “An Act to Declare a
Temporary Moratorium on the Immigration of Certain Alien Workers, and for
Other Purposes.”
To implement the law, the following
guidelines were issued:
1.
Within
90 days beginning 13 March 2002, the President shall declare specific
occupations and industries in the FSM for which there are insufficiently
trained FSM citizens, based upon information provided by each State Governor;
2.
Within
120 days beginning on 12 April 2002, the President shall promulgate revised
and updated regulations implementing the provisions of the law; and
3.
An
alien worker whose occupation does not fall under the specific occupations or
industries declared by the President, and who currently holds a valid
entry/work permit that is valid beyond the 90 days, but will expire during the
moratorium, must leave the FSM and cannot return once the permit expires.
The overseas Filipino workers in the FSM
maintain a “wait and see” attitude on the full implementation of the new
law.
There were 431 OFWs deployed to Micronesia in 2001.
Source:
DFA-Office of the Undersecretary For
Migrant Workers Affairs
MU #14
IRELAND TIGHTENS ENTRY OF FOREIGN WORKERS
The Irish government has started to tighten its rules on the entry of
foreign workers due to the country’s increase in unemployment. Starting
January this year, a stricter system of assessing work applications of
immigrants was enforced given turbulent economic situation in Ireland.
.
Under the new system, new work permit applications will be accepted
only if they are accompanied by a letter from the state training and
employment authority confirming that all reasonable efforts have been exerted
by an employer to hire locally or in Europe, before considering
non–nationals. Employers must also register all their job vacancies with
FA’S (Foras Aiseanna Saotheir), the Irish training and employment authority,
before filing an immigrants application for work permit.
The system was met with mixed reaction by employer groups and unions. A
sharp decline in the number of work permit applications by 39% was noted, from 825 per week last year to the present
325 per week.
The
work permits given to nationals outside of the European Economic Area are valid
from one month to one year
and are renewable. Last year, some 36,436 foreigners were granted work permits
compared to about 18,000 in the year 2000.
There
were about 3,734 Overseas Filipino Workers deployed to Ireland in 2001.
Source:
Irish Examiner, Migration News
MU#13
MALAYSIA RE-OPENS ITS DOORS TO FILIPINO WORKERS
The
Malaysian Government has re-opened its doors to Filipino migrant workers after
it’s excluded the Philippines as source of foreign workers in October 2001.
This inclusion came after Malaysia suspended the hiring of Indonesian workers
in an effort to curb the growing unrest among them. Some 400 Indonesian
recently figured in labor related problems and acts of violence which prompted
a plan by the Home ministry of Malaysia to reduce by half, the number of Indon
workers estimated at 900,000. The reduction will be a boon to workers from the
Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos and Sri Lanka.
The
recent developments are expected to benefits Filipinos, who are Indon’s
closest competitors specially in domestic, construction and service sectors.
In the past two weeks, the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has noted an
increase in the number of employment contracts processed for Filipino workers.
Meantime,
the Malaysian health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng announced that the need for
more foreign doctors will increase almost four fold in the next three years.
The ministry of health, which has been relying on foreign doctors for many
years, said the need is now widespread. The expansion of services at the
clinic level in district and state hospitals requires more health personnel
particularly those with specialization. In five years, health Minister
Chua hopes to fill up the present 3, 500 vacancies with doctors and
specialists in order to give optimal treatment to patients.
Source:
POLO, Kuala Lumpur
, Achieve Inc.
MU#12
PALAU
AIRFARE COST
Continental Micronesia announced that it would no longer charge an
additional cost of airfare for overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Palau with
expired work permits, provided that the tickets is purchased while the work
permits is still valid.
An OFW who purchase a roundtrip ticket ( Manila-Palau-Manila) with a
valid work permit at the time of purchase, will only pay the current worker
fare valid for one year even if he will have to pay the regular one0way fare
from Palau to Manila if they cannot present a valid work permit at the time
the air ticket was purchased.
Source:
Continental Micronesia
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MU
#11
AUTHORITY TO BOARD: A CNMI IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENT
The government
of Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands recently stressed the need for all
foreigners to present an Authority to Board (ATB) in order to enter the CNMI.
Exempted from this requirement are holders of valid work permits and
permanent residents of the United States.
The ATB,
approved by the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Immigration, is
expected to prevent tourist-workers from entering CNMI.
The document is not issued to those who have pending application for
work permit.
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