Philippines seeks relaxed immigration policies for OFWs

04/08 1:56:17 PM

The Philippines has proposed to labor receiving countries the relaxation of immigration policies to enable migrant workers including the overseas Filipino workers (OFWS), to apply for new jobs before the expiration of the workers' employment contracts.

In a speech at the recent International Conference on Migration and Development in Brussels, Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas proposed the removal of the so-called 'barriers' to the movement of migrants in host countries to maximize the migrants' contributions to development.

The barriers pertain to immigration policies, quotas on certain professions or occupations, and employment contracts that explicitly restrict migrant workers from applying for a new job once the current contract ends, Sto. Tomas said.

She added that the absence of rules on the mutual recognition of skills and qualifications also limit the mobility of migrant workers across countries.

The barriers to the entry to and exit from certain occupations and geographical locations tend to limit the migrant workers' capacity to fully contribute to development, the Labor Chief said.

In contrast, countries which allow migrants to thrive in their territories in recognition of their huge economic contributions, have proven to rise and be included among the most economically successful, Sto. Tomas said.

Countries with the high levels of immigrant workers such as the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg in Europe are now among the wealthiest in the world, she said, even as she called on host countries to ensure good working conditions for migrant workers.

For migrant workers to be productive contributors to the receiving country, they should be guaranteed with decent employment terms and conditions such as commensurable wages and work environment that provide for rest and recreation, social protection, and political participation, Sto. Tomas further said.

The DOLE chief also proposed for the development of terms of reference that would govern the movement of irregular workers to address legal norms and the lack of administrative resources that make the repatriation of irregular migrants difficult.

For instance, she said that migrant workers with irregular status could earn the right to have their statues legalized if they met minimum conditions such as being gainfully employed and found to have made an effort to integrate with the host country's social mainstream like learning the language.

The Secretary added that host countries would be better off regularizing the status of migrant workers they cannot send back home.

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