Labor exporting countries to the Middle East, particularly those dealing in the Gulf countries, will have to watch and closely monitor the economic, social and political developments in these areas that may affect the deployment of their workers. Dr. Hussain Al-Mahdi, Chairman of Human Resources of the Federation of GCC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FGCC) and the Bahrain Chambers of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), expressed this caution during the Labor and Investment Opportunity Forum organized by the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in the Gulf Region held recently in Dubai. “Although GCC countries are following long-term strategies of infrastructure development for which they have funding from large reserves accumulated over the years, it is important to have a close watch on developments on the region,” he said. He said the remittances of foreign workers to their countries are not correlated with the fall in the prices of oil. He added that a steady rise in the volume of remittances from the Gulf region will continue. The World Bank projected that remittance flows to developing countries will continue to rise. For example, remittance flow to Southeast Asia will increase from the projected $63 billion in 2009 to $70 billion in 2011. Mahdi cited the increase in remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) that amounted to $16.426 billion in 2008, an increase of $2 billion from that of 2007 volume of $14.4 billion. A big portion of the OFW remittances outflowed from the Gulf region. He also urged labor exporting countries to regularly update their labor market variables, such as work opportunities, wages, and incentive packages, especially for skilled workers and professionals, for the information of labor importing countries in the region. He also recommended the holding of annual and semi-annual meetings, such as forum, road shows and exhibitions, be held to keep both exporting and importing countries fully updated on the development of the region's labor market.
