With the imminent displacement of some 250,000 Overseas Filipino Worker (OFWs) due to the ongoing credit crisis in Dubai, government officials have promised the Philippine government is ready to extend help the migrant workers. Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in a radio interview the Department of Labor and Employment is taking steps to redeploy Filipinos who may be affected by the economic crunch. “(DOLE Secretary Marianito) Roque has assured us that they are ready to immediately help re-deploy those that will be affected,” Remonde said. The militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno, however, questioned the government's ability to help Filipino migrant workers facing retrenchment. KMU said migrant Filipinos in Dubai may end up in low-paying and temporary jobs, or suffer from having no jobs at all upon their return. “Around 250,000 OFWs in Dubai stand to be affected by the Middle East city's credit crisis, which now takes its toll on the migrant sector in the form of salary reductions and job cuts. Some OFWs in Dubai are already suffering from delayed income,” KMU said on its website. It cited government's poor record of creating informal jobs in response to massive layoffs inside and outside the country. As such, it said retrenched OFWs in Dubai may receive a gloomy welcome from the growing informal sector which stands at 14.7 million or half of the country's labor force. “What else does this government have in store for retrenched workers locally and abroad apart from sweeping streets and other informal jobs? Unfortunately, retrenched workers are left with no choice but to join the informal sector which is not covered by social protection measures and minimum wage regulation,” said KMU Chairman Elmer Labog. Informal workers in the country include jeepney drivers, tricycle drivers, vendors, own-account employees, and home-based workers among others. “Quite tragically, the poor employment opportunities at home which pushed Filipinos to seek decent livelihood in other countries, is still the final destination of our laid-off kababayans who now work in Dubai,” added Labog. Labog also said a surge in the informal sector will reflect greater poverty in the country. In turn, he said more low-wage informals would mean diminished purchasing power for Filipinos, thus higher hunger statistics and poverty figures. This would in turn result in lower consumption and productivity, he said.
