OFWS need protection

Editorial cartoon for June 7, 2018

AS THE country marks National Migrant Workers Day today, we reiterate the call for better treatment and protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in their host countries.

The government must boost the welfare of OFWs, especially domestic workers under vulnerable conditions. Our migrant workers should be safe. They should not be threatened or exploited. Their rights must be protected and their dignity respected as called for by Republic Act 10022 (Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act) that was approved in 1995 yet.

A migrant is a person – with feelings and a history, a human being, thus not a tool for profit or an instrument for pleasure, most especially women. Recent government statics show how migration is becoming feminized as more women are migrating of their own volition, seeking better economic opportunities. The 2015 survey on OFWs by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed there were slightly more OFW women than men. In terms of age, women OFWs also tend to be younger than men. In short, they leave the country at a much younger age. The PSA said about seven percent of female OFWs were in the 15 to 24 years age group and 29.5 percent were in the 25 to 29 years age group.

There is currently an estimated 10 million Filipino workers in different countries. These OFWs contribute to the economic growth of the country through their foreign currency remittances that saved the Philippines from financial crisis in previous years.

But the supposed positive experiences and productive impacts of labor migration are overshadowed by hardships and difficulties, putting in jeopardy the migrants’ human rights and dignity as persons. The government should make sure that host countries will welcome Filipinos into their communities, and step up efforts to combat intolerance and discrimination against migrants.

When migrants go to another community, it is not only for labor but also to share their knowledge, skills and expertise. Let them live fully and fruitfully with one another. There should be no attempts to eradicate their ethnicity. This calls for their adoption by or absorption into the community. It is communion with all, in contrast to exclusivity or isolationism.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here