Showing posts with label overseas worker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label overseas worker. Show all posts
Russian hydroelectric plant workers missing in an explosion
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Rescuers were racing against time to find about 70 workers trapped in a big hydroelectric plant where an explosion occurred. Russia’s largest hydroelectric facility located in Sayano-Shushenskaya, in a Siberia town of Cheryomushki suffered damage which caused electrical outages in several villages and factories.
Twelve people were confirmed dead and more than 70 were reported missing in the blast on August 18, 2009. There are others who were trapped in flooded rooms close to faulty turbines which could be the cause of the blast.
Though the dam of the electric plant was not destroyed, an oil slick developed after the explosion stretching about 50 miles in Yenisei River The plant serves about 10% of the total energy needs of Siberia. (Photo Credits: AFP; Reuters/ Naymushin llya) =0-=
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10 Filipino OFWs perish in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan
Breaking the prohibition by the Philippine government, 10 Filipino OFWs illegally worked in war-torn Afghanistan. They were killed when a Russian-owned civilian helicopter they were riding crashed in the Kandahar Airbase tarmac. Investigation to know the cause of the crash was on-going.
Among the recognized fatalities are Marvin Najera of San Fernando, Pampanga; Ely Cariño of Cabusao, Camarines Sur; Manolito Hornilla of Taysan, Batangas; Mark Joseph Mariano of Floridablanca, Pampanga; Celso Caralde of Butuan City; Rene D. Taboclaon (Cagayan de Oro City), Recardo E. Vallejos (Bislig, Surigao del Sur) and Noli M. Visda, of Lubao, Pampanga.
The OFW’s who previously worked in the Middle East in 2004 came to Afghanistan to work illegally. After returning to the Philippines, they left the country in July this year to find employment abroad. Approximately 1,500 Filipinos have presently taken jobs in Afghanistan.
Even if the country forbids Filipinos from taking jobs in dangerous and far places like Afghanistan. the workers came, acting as tourists from Dubai. This illustrates the desperation of Filipinos to find employment---anywhere, anytime and anyplace? (Photo Credit: Aryty) =0=
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US Visa Availability August 2009
Each month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issue the visa availability of those who wish to immigrate (family-based application) or work (employment based application) in America. For the month of August 2009 here are the abridged priority dates:
FAMILY CATEGORIES August
Categories----Worldwide----China (PRC)----India-------Mexico-----Philippines
1st------------01-08-03-----01-08-03-------01-08-03----01-01-91---09-15-93
2A------------01-15-05-----01-15-05-------01-15-05----09-22-02---01-15-05
2B------------05-01-01-----05-01-01-------05-01-01----05-08-92---05-01-98
3rd-----------11-01-00-----11-01-00-------11-01-00----07-01-01---08-08-91
4th-----------12-22-98------12-22-98-------12-22-98----08-01-95---09-08-86
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES August
Categories--- Worldwide----China (PRC)----India-----Mexico-----Philippines
1st--------------Current------Current---------Current---Current----Current
2nd------------Current------10-01-03--------10-01-03---Current----Current
3rd------------05-01-05-----10-22-02--------10-15-01---08-15-03---05-01-05
Other workers---Unavailable--Unavailable---Unavailable--Unavailable--Unavaiable
4th------------Current------Current----------Current---Current----Current
Religious-----Current------Current----------Current---Current----Current
5th-------------Current------Current--------Current---Current----Current
Targeted
Employment areas--Current----Current--------Current---Current----Current
For detailed information I suggest the websites: State Department Visa Bulletin---http://travel.state.gov/; http://shusterman.com/vb.html (Photo Credit: Yuhuru1701)
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US Visa Availability June 2009
Each month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issue the visa availability of those who wish to immigrate (family-based application) or work (employment based application) in America. For the month of June 2009 here are the abridged priority dates:
FAMILY CATEGORIES June 2009
-------Worldwide------China (PRC)--------India------------Mexico--------Philippines
1st-----11-08-02-------11-08-02---------11-08-02--------10-08-92-------09-01-93
2A------12-15-04-------12-15-04---------12-15-04--------05-15-02-------12-15-04
2B------02-01-01-------02-01-01---------02-01-01--------05-01-92-------04-01-98
3rd-----10-08-00-------10-08-00---------10-08-00--------10-22-92-------07-01-91
4th-----08-15-98-------08-15-98---------08-15-98--------05-22-95-------08-01-86
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES
-------------------Worldwide------China (PRC)------India-------Mexico----Philippines
1st-----------------Current--------Current--------Current------Current----Current
2nd-----------------Current--------02-15-05---------01-01-00---Current----Current
3rd-----------------Unavail.------Unavail.---------Unavail------Unavail.-----Unavail.
Other workers-----Unavail.-------Unavail.---------Unavail.------Unavail.---Unavail.
4th-----------------Current-------Current----------Current------Current----Current
Religious-----------Current-------Current----------Current------Current-----Current
5th------------------Current------Current----------Current------Current-----Current
For detailed information I suggest the websites: State Department Visa Bulletin---http://travel.state.gov/; http://shusterman.com/vb.html (Photo Credit: Yuhuru1701)
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US Visa Availability May 2009
Each month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issue the visa availability of those who wish to immigrate (family-based application) or work (employment based application) in America. For the month of May 2009 here are the abridged priority dates:
FAMILY CATEGORIES May 2009
-------Worldwide------China (PRC)--------India------------Mexico--------Philippines
1st-----09-22-02-------09-22-02---------09-22-02--------10-08-92-------08-01-93
2A------10-08-04-------10-08-04---------10-08-04--------04-01-02-------10-08-04
2B------11-15-00-------11-15-00---------11-15-00--------05-01-92-------02-01-98
3rd-----09-08-00-------09-08-00---------09-08-00--------10-22-92-------06-22-91
4th-----06-08-98-------03-22-98---------06-08-98--------05-01-95-------07-08-86
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES
----------Worldwide------China (PRC)-------India-----------Mexico--------Philippines
1st--------Current---------Current----------Current---------Current-------Current
2nd--------Current--------02-15-05---------02-15-04--------Current-------Current
3rd--------Unavailable---Unavailable-----Unavailable----Unavailable---Unavailable
Unskilled--Unavailable---Unavailable-----Unavailable----Unavailable---Unavailable
4th--------Current---------Current-----------Current---------Current-------Current
Religious--Current---------Current-----------Current--------Current-------Current
5th---------Current---------Current-----------Current---------Current-------Current
For detailed information I suggest the websites: State Department Visa Bulletin---http://travel.state.gov/; http://shusterman.com/vb.html (Photo Credit: Yuhuru1701)
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A “nation of servants” insults Filipinos in Hongkong
The Philippines has been a recent target of a snide remark from a pea-brained Hongkong journalist who described the country as a “nation of servants.”
In a magazine write-up entitled on March 27, 2009, “The War at Home” Chip Tsao mockingly wrote that he told his Filipino maid she’d lose her job if she won't tell her countrymen that Spratly’s islands for which the Philippines has long-standing ownership claim, belongs to China.
Tsao allegedly asserted that the Philippines’ claim on Spratlys was “reproachable," adding that “as a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.’"----GMA TV News. (03/27/09)
This is again an insult that parallels the “Desperate Housewife” episode when Fil-Am doctors where maligned as incompetents in a US soap-opera. Some years ago, there is also that dictionary that equated "Filipino" as a synonymous to maids. The disparaging comment of Tsao is certainly foul---another insensitive verbal abuse that could only come from a loose cannon.
Susan Ople, a former labor undersecretary said the Chinese columnist must be declared “undersirable foreign employer” for his racist and arrogant remark. Such can be a weak retaliation to a blistering insult. She also needs to stress that the country must find ways to make jobs available at home and curb the sending of Filipinos abroad. In the long term, the deployment of maids to foreign countries is exploitative, unsustainable, and bad for national pride. (Photo Credit: MattViews x 2) =0=
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US Visa Availability April 2009
Each month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issue the visa availability of those who wish to immigrate (family-based application) or work (employment based application) in America. For the month of April 2009 here are the abridged priority dates:
FAMILY CATEGORIES
Categories------Worldwide---China (PRC)----India--------Mexico---------Philippines
1st-------------08-15-02----08-15-02-------08-15-02-----10-08-92-------08-01-93
2A--------------08-15-04----08-15-04-------08-15-04-----01-01-02-------08-15-04
2B--------------09-01-00----09-01-00-------09-01-00-----05-01-92-------01-15-98
3rd-------------08-22-00----08-22-00-------08-22-00-----10-22-92-------06-15-91
4th-------------04-15-98----01-08-98-------04-15-98-----04-22-95-------06-22-86
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES
Categories------Worldwide---China (PRC)----India--------Mexico----------Philippines
1st--------------Current-------Current--------Current------Current---------Current
2nd-------------Current-------02-15-05-------02-15-04---Current---------Current
3rd-------------03-01-03----03-01-03-------11-01-01-----03-01-03--------03-01-03
Unskilled-------03-01-01----03-01-01-------03-01-01-----03-01-01--------03-01-01
4th-------------Current--------Current--------Current--------Current---------Current
Religious-----Unavailable---Unavailable---Unavailable--Unavailable-----Unavailable
5th-------------Current--------Current--------Current------Current---------Current
For detailed information I suggest the websites: State Department Visa Bulletin---http://travel.state.gov/; http://shusterman.com/vb.html (Photo Credit: Yuhuru1701)
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Kazakhstan's Caspian Seascape
by Pitoy Moreno
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime? It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset?”
I may rarely see the flight of fireflies at dusk, the feel of warm air coming from a buffalo’s nostrils in the cold of winter, or the shadows that moves when nightfall sets in, but I can show you some breath-taking views of a place known for its taigas, flatlands, snow-capped mountains and picturesque seas.
For a time I thought I was the only Filipino living here in Kazakhstan, but diaspora made sure it wasn’t true. The saying that “in every nook of the earth, there is a Filipino” came real. As one among the few expatriates working in an enchanting place somewhere in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, I could say so.
About the size of Texas in the USA, Kazakhstan is nestled south of Russia. On its eastern border is China while Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are located in the south. The Caspian Sea and part of Turkmenistan are in the west.
The territory is rich in mineral resources. From out of the 1,177 mi (1,894 km) of coastline of Caspian Sea, is a huge deposit of oil discovered in 2000, the largest ever found in the last 30 years. A fuel pipeline connects the Tengiz oil field of western Kazakhstan to the Novorossiysk, a Russian Black Sea port. Another pipeline brings oil to China.
From the beginnings of human history, it is in this country where the first horses have been first domesticated. From the tribes of the once nomadic Kazakhs and their neighbors has evolved the distillation of a cultures so diverse and interesting.
Sparsely populated through the ages, Kazakhstan has been part of the Soviet Union until its independence in December 16, 1991. In this beautiful locale are memorable awesome red sunsets, pristine blue skies, and numberless grains of sand on the seashore---among the most wonderful scenes I have seen. In addition, there is this buzz of industrial and cultural activity that spurs the country’s growth and hope for the 21st century. They make me remember our country, the Philippines. (Photo Credits: Pitoy Moreno,Xhancock; Anguskirk)=0=
Republic of Kazakhstan
National name: Qazaqstan Respublikasy
President: Nursultan A. Nazarbayev (1990)
Prime Minister: Karim Masimov (2007)
Land area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km); total area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km)
Population (2008 est.): 15,340,533 (growth rate: 0.3%); birth rate: 16.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 26.5/1000; life expectancy: 67.5; density per sq km: 5
Capital (2003 est.): Astana, 288,200 (formerly Aqmola; capital since 1997)
Largest cities: Almaty (former capital), 1,045,900; Karaganda, 404,600; Shymkent, 333,500; Taraz, 305,700; Pavlodar, 299,500; Ust-Kamenogorsk, 288,000; Aqtöbe, 234,400
Monetary unit: Tenge
Languages: Kazak (Qazaq, state language) 64%; Russian (official, used in everyday business) 95% (2001 est.)
Ethnicity/race: Kazak (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.4%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999)
Religions: Islam 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
National Holiday: Independence Day, December 16
Source: www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107674.html
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"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime? It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset?”
I may rarely see the flight of fireflies at dusk, the feel of warm air coming from a buffalo’s nostrils in the cold of winter, or the shadows that moves when nightfall sets in, but I can show you some breath-taking views of a place known for its taigas, flatlands, snow-capped mountains and picturesque seas.
For a time I thought I was the only Filipino living here in Kazakhstan, but diaspora made sure it wasn’t true. The saying that “in every nook of the earth, there is a Filipino” came real. As one among the few expatriates working in an enchanting place somewhere in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, I could say so.
About the size of Texas in the USA, Kazakhstan is nestled south of Russia. On its eastern border is China while Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are located in the south. The Caspian Sea and part of Turkmenistan are in the west.
The territory is rich in mineral resources. From out of the 1,177 mi (1,894 km) of coastline of Caspian Sea, is a huge deposit of oil discovered in 2000, the largest ever found in the last 30 years. A fuel pipeline connects the Tengiz oil field of western Kazakhstan to the Novorossiysk, a Russian Black Sea port. Another pipeline brings oil to China.
From the beginnings of human history, it is in this country where the first horses have been first domesticated. From the tribes of the once nomadic Kazakhs and their neighbors has evolved the distillation of a cultures so diverse and interesting.
Sparsely populated through the ages, Kazakhstan has been part of the Soviet Union until its independence in December 16, 1991. In this beautiful locale are memorable awesome red sunsets, pristine blue skies, and numberless grains of sand on the seashore---among the most wonderful scenes I have seen. In addition, there is this buzz of industrial and cultural activity that spurs the country’s growth and hope for the 21st century. They make me remember our country, the Philippines. (Photo Credits: Pitoy Moreno,Xhancock; Anguskirk)=0=
Republic of Kazakhstan
National name: Qazaqstan Respublikasy
President: Nursultan A. Nazarbayev (1990)
Prime Minister: Karim Masimov (2007)
Land area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km); total area: 1,049,150 sq mi (2,717,300 sq km)
Population (2008 est.): 15,340,533 (growth rate: 0.3%); birth rate: 16.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 26.5/1000; life expectancy: 67.5; density per sq km: 5
Capital (2003 est.): Astana, 288,200 (formerly Aqmola; capital since 1997)
Largest cities: Almaty (former capital), 1,045,900; Karaganda, 404,600; Shymkent, 333,500; Taraz, 305,700; Pavlodar, 299,500; Ust-Kamenogorsk, 288,000; Aqtöbe, 234,400
Monetary unit: Tenge
Languages: Kazak (Qazaq, state language) 64%; Russian (official, used in everyday business) 95% (2001 est.)
Ethnicity/race: Kazak (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Tatar 1.4%, Uygur 1.4%, other 4.9% (1999)
Religions: Islam 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
National Holiday: Independence Day, December 16
Source: www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107674.html
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US Visa Availability March 2009
Each month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issue the visa availability of those who wish to immigrate (family-based application) or work (employment based application) in America. For the month of March 2009 here are the abridged priority dates:
FAMILY CATEGORIES March
Categories----Worldwide----China (PRC)----India-------Mexico-----Philippines
1st------------07-22-02-----07-22-02-------07-22-02----10-08-92---07-15-93
2A------------07-01-04-----07-01-04-------07-01-04----10-15-01---07-01-04
2B------------06-22-00-----06-22-00-------06-22-00----05-01-92---12-01-97
3rd-----------08-08-00-----08-08-00-------08-08-00----10-15-02---06-08-91
4th-----------03-01-98------11-15-97--------03-01-98----04-08-95---05-15-86
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES
Categories--- Worldwide----China (PRC)----India-----Mexico-----Philippines
1st--------------Current------Current---------Current---Current----Current
2nd------------Current------02-15-05--------02-15-04---Current----Current
3rd------------05-01-05-----10-22-02--------10-15-01---08-15-03---05-01-05
Unskilled-----03-15-03-----10-22-02---------10-15-01--03-15-03---03-15-03
4th------------Current------Current----------Current---Current----Current
Religious-----Current------Current----------Current---Current----Current
5th-------------Current------Current----------Current---Current----Current
For detailed information I suggest the websites: State Department Visa Bulletin---http://travel.state.gov/; http://shusterman.com/vb.html (Photo Credit: Yuhuru1701)
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Who says we are spared from the effects of recession?
Presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said the Philippines wasn’t among the Asian countries affected by the worldwide recession. It might be a lie that Malacanang Palace wanted us to believe. He based his conclusion to the non-inclusion of the country in the International Labor Organization (ILO) list which projects 113 million jobs loss in Asia as the world economy continues to falter (Malaya , 02/20/09 Bengco, R.) According to ILO, the expected unemployment number this year will be more than the 22.3 million jobs Asian countries lost in 2008.
It will do us good if we look closely at the data Golez is referring to before we celebrate. We aren't that trusting anymore. The effects of the financial meltdown are just beginning to show. It is foolhardy for him and the government he represents to assume that we aren’t affected.
The unemployment we see in the street is a better gauge than the assurances of government officials. We see what food we eat and what clothes we wear. Most of us are familiar of the signs of chronic job loss and their aftermath. The employment stagnation in the country is long-standing and antedates the global economic meltdown.
5,500 OFWs lose jobs—--Arroyo
"Some 5,500 Filipino overseas workers have lost their jobs abroad and returned home over the past four months, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Thursday. The Department of Labor announced earlier this week that 39,000 Filipinos had lost their jobs since October, a number which included overseas workers."---Agence France-Presse/ Inquirer (02/26/09)
Foreign companies are pulling out their business operations in Manila. Unemployment among fresh graduates continues to rise. There is pervasive underemployment and lay-offs. The rush for jobs abroad doesn’t abate even if applicants downgrade their qualifications just to grab work even if it is risky and suffers from inadequate pay. With a bearish investment climate, people are afraid to shell out money that stir spending and growth. The number of impoverished Filipinos continues to rise.
Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo’s job creation is too little to assuage the fear and anger of the public. The government projects that are quick-disbursing, high-impact, and labor intensive (according to Management Dir. Hermogenes Esperon) don’t come close to reality when one sees the widespread unemployment, poverty, and corruption in the country. That’s why we rely early on ourselves more than depend on announced legislated measures by the administration. (Photo Credits: Slavishtubesocks; JRIOrion)=0=
3,000 IT & 10,000 semiconductor jobs at risk
"At least 3,000 information technology (IT) jobs are at risk in first quarter alone while 10,000 positions in semiconductor industry could be shed during the first half of the year due to the global economic slump."---GMANewsTV (02/28/09)
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Job Outlook 2009: Nurses in USA still in demand, but not in the Philippines
Unemployment is rampant as the economic meltdown continues in America. The joblessness in the world's largest economy is in all time high and still rising. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) January 20, 2009 issue reports the discouraging job loss of 2.6 million last year. Yet, in spite of the alarming unemployment sweeping America today, healthcare sticks out as among the few bright spots in work opportunities. The US healthcare sector posted gains of 419,000 jobs, mostly for nurses in 2008.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the trend is expected to continue till 2016 as Americans grow older and need more medical services. Last year, registered nurses posted 168,000 job placements to cope with the nationwide shortage. The availability of health care jobs including those in home care and nursing homes proves that employment in this sector is relatively recession-proof. Expansion of work opportunities is expected in less intensive training courses like pharmacy and medical assistantships.
This could have been welcoming news for Filipino nurses who seek work opportunities abroad. But with current US visa restrictions and slowing of recruitment of foreign applicants, the need for local healthcare workers in USA doesn’t translate into more foreign nurses getting jobs at this time. There is an emerging nativist US sentiments sparked by the economic downturn which further dampens the interest in hiring nurses from abroad.
There are about 88,750 nurses who took the Philippine board exam in November last year. The 50% (more or less) who will pass and get licensed will add to the nurse unemployment problem which is currently estimated to number about 400,000. The high joblessness rate in the country opens more opportunities for exploitation among these professionals and the government seems inutile in solving it. (Photo Credit: AllwaysNY; Uberdoog)=0=
RELATED BLOGS: "As nursing jobs become scarce, 88,750 brace for the next board examination" Posted by mesiamd at 11/12/2008; "Job prospects for nurses decline" Posted by mesiamd at 6/02/2008
US Visa Availability February 2009
Each month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issue the visa availability of those who wish to immigrate (family-based application) or work (employment based application) in America. For the month of January 2009 here are the abridged priority dates:
FAMILY CATEGORIES
Categories--Worldwide---China (PRC)----India----------Mexico---------Philippines
1st---------07-08-02----07-08-02------07-08-02--------10-08-92--------07-15-93
2A----------06-01-04----06-01-04------06-01-04--------09-22-01--------06-01-04
2B----------05-08-00----05-08-00------05-08-00--------05-01-92--------10-15-97
3rd---------08-01-00----08-01-00------08-01-00--------10-08-92--------06-01-91
4th---------02-15-98----09-22-97------01-15-98--------03-22-95--------05-01-86
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES
Categories----Worldwide--------China (PRC)------India-----Mexico-----Philippines
1st-------------Current----------Current------------Current---Current-----Current
2nd-------------Current---------01-01-05---------01-01-04---Current-----Current
3rd-------------05-01-05--------10-01-02--------10-15-01--04-01-03----05-01-05
Unskilled-------03-15-03--------10-01-02--------10-15-01--10-15-01----03-15-03
4th-------------Current-----------Current---------Current---Current------Current
Religious-------Current----------Current---------Current----Current-----Current
5th-------------Current-----------Current---------Current---Current------Current
For detailed information I suggest the websites: State Department Visa Bulletin---http://travel.state.gov/; http://shusterman.com/vb.html (Photo Credit: Yuhuru1701 PD)
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Labels: employment, family, immigration, OFW, overseas worker, petition, State Department, Totie Mesia, USA, USCIS, Visa
In war-battered Gaza, Filipinos mull on the price of working abroad
With no end in sight, the red-hot Israel-Palestinian conflict completes its second week on January 11, 2009 with nearly 900 reported dead and many more wounded, about half of them are innocent non-combatants of war. Regardless of which side we may be in the decades-long hostilities, the clear message is that racial intolerance, religious bigotry, and territorial disputes don’t bring any good.
The duplicity in the exercise of diplomacy, the use of terrorism, and the rejection of a two-state solution by hardliners remain as huge stumbling blocks in bringing peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. The interference of countries that benefit from an unstable Middle East is partly to blame.
Civilians living in the Gaza Strip are in a crossfire that disrupts their lives and threatens their survival. In the bloody exchanges of a protracted cycle of violence, the innocents bear undeserved suffering. Among them are workers and migrants from the Philippines who come to this troubled part of the world mainly for economic reasons.
We can only sympathize with our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who put their lives on line to seek ways to survive and help their families back home. We can only ask for the cessation of the killings---an immediate ceasefire which is unheaded at this time.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA,) 16 Filipinos have left the war-torn area and arrived in Manila. Of the 121 still left in Gaza, 69 expressed their desire to evacuate, but the fierce fighting prevents them to do so. It is uncertain if this number includes the illegal Filipinos workers who take risky jobs in the shadows.
This brings us to the problem of our government which sorely lags behind in helping the people to be self-sufficient back home. If jobs and economic opportunities exist in the country, then there are few reasons for our kababayans to insist working in dangerous places like the Middle East. The cost to pay for family separations, isolation, and loneliness is incalculable. It’s sad that our cash-strapped government is in a losing policy of sending Filipinos abroad for the money they’ll earn for the nation's economy. With no sign of stopping, our workers continue to suffer on their own, at times trapped in harm’s way.
Just to land a job, no matter how menial, has been a source of hope and pride among poor Filipinos who ignore the risks of travel outside the country. Yet, this is the reality of our society faces. Adding to the 10 million Filipinos already deployed abroad, a restless stream still wants to leave for the money.
The government must do better than what our officials think is good enough. There will be a season that host countries won't justly pay for the services of Filipinos. To keep the country economically alive there'll be a time when going abroad will be one of our most dreaded options. (Photo Credits: Aryty; Rusty Stewart x 7 photos) =0=
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US Visa Availability January 2009
Each month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issue the visa availability of those who wish to immigrate (family-based application) or work (employment based application) in America. For the month of January 2009 here are the abridged priority dates:
FAMILY CATEGORIES
Categories----Worldwide----China (PRC)----India-------Mexico-----Philippines
1st------------06-15-02-----06-15-02-------06-15-02----10-01-92---07-15-93
2A------------05-15-04-----05-15-04-------05-15-04----08-15-01---05-15-04
2B------------03-22-00-----03-22-00-------03-22-00----05-01-92---09-01-97
3rd-----------08-01-00-----08-01-00-------08-01-00----10-01-92---05-22-91
4th-----------02-08-98-----08-22-97-------11-01-97----03-08-95---05-01-86
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES
Categories--- Worldwide----China (PRC)----India-----Mexico-----Philippines
1st--------------Current------Current---------Current---Current----Current
2nd------------Current------07-08-04--------07-01-03--Current----Current
3rd-----------05-01-05-----06-01-02--------10-15-01--11-15-02---05-01-05
Unskilled-----03-15-03-----03-15-03---------03-15-03--03-15-03---03-15-03
4th------------Current------Current----------Current---Current----Current
Religious-----Current------Current----------Current---Current----Current
5th------------Current------Current----------Current---Current----Current
For detailed information I suggesgt the websites: State Department Visa Bulletin---http://travel.state.gov/; http://shusterman.com/vb.html (Photo Credit: Yuhuru1701)
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Will RP’s milking cows bring dairy on “Zero Remittance Day”?
October 29, 2008 has been chosen by an alliance of 112 organizations worldwide to protest the “forced migration and systemic exploitation of cheap labor.” Dubbed as the “Zero Remittance Day,” the sobering event is timely when a sovereign country like the Philippines has resorted to send its most precious human asset abroad----the young men and women who are forced to seek menial jobs abroad and bring the needed dollars to shore up the economy. For being a major source of government funds, overseas foreign workers (OFW’s) are regarded as RP’s milking cows.According to the International Migrants Alliance (IMA,) the protest action coincides with holding of the Global Forum on Migrant Development (GFMD,) which will be in Manila, Philippines. The IMA lambasts GFMD for being an elitist organization which fails to tackle the fundamental problems and issues concerning the growing number of migrants who suffer exploitation, abuses on the job, cheap labor compensation and family displacement. (Photo Credit: blinkdesigns.org) =0=
Despite ban, 15,000 OFW’s work in Iraq
The ban against taking jobs in Iraq has not been heeded by those who seek work even in places that are dangerous. To date the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported 15,000 Filipinos had been employed in Iraq in defiance to the 2004 prohibition by DOLE after the abduction and release of truck drive Angelo de la Cruz. Malaya (09/27/08, Naval, G.)With high paying job offers that they can’t resist for they almost don’t have them in the Philippines, overseas foreign workers (OFW’s) sneak into Iraq from nearby Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Dubai to work, braving the perilous conditions of war.
Embarrassing the government, OFW’s defy orders and brush aside the dangers they put themselves into. In their desperation, they ignore the authorities, making the country’s laws meant to protect them, useless. The labor department has little choice, but to reconsider lifting the ban that lacks teeth and relevance. On top of it, the country must widen its job pool not only for returning OFW’s, but for those who are forced to look for employment abroad at the expense of being separated from their families. Many jobs offered to Filipinos are menial and those that have few takers. Dependence on other countries for these jobs is dangerous for the future of the nation. =0=
Belying nurse surplus with unfilled 20,000 foreign jobs---a slanted view of RP’s unemployment problem
After Ruth Padilla, a commissioner of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) announced there are 400,000 currently unemployed nurses in the Philippines, Jackson Gan, the vice-president of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters and his organization belie the excess of nurses because there are unfilled “20,000 job orders for nurses in the Middle East, Singapore, and Europe.” Inquirer (09/01/08, Uy, V.)By numbers alone, 20,000 jobs Gan speaks of don’t come close to 400,000 jobless licensed nurses that Padilla is referring to. Even if these foreign jobs are filled, there remain 380,000 licensed nurses who aren’t employed. Many more nurses are scheduled to finish their courses and take the boards, adding more numbers in the jobless pool. So how can Gan prove his point?
On Gan's admission many nurses are shifting to other jobs in computers, call centers, medical transcriptions, or other employment unrelated to their education out of desperation. Is this not a sign of an oversupply? The existence of foreign job offers abroad doesn’t negate the reality of joblessness at home, the place where Filipinos must be in the first place.Speaking for the manpower establishment (also maybe for the POEA as well,) whose main role is to fill in workers, Gan sounds condescending in saying that our nurses aren’t qualified for the job. This isn’t entirely true--- knowing that they went through standard accredited study and were licensed as professionals by the Philippine Regulations Commission (PRC.)
Almost everyone knows there is slowing in hiring coincident to the way-ward increase in the number of nurses in the supply pool. Contrary to Gan’s assertion, Filipino nurses want to go abroad even in countries other than the United States, but there are reasons other than the prejorative label of “not being qualified” that are keeping them at home
The lack of two-year experience in a 250-bed hospital is the reason Gan cites for the unfilled foreign jobs. But this is simplistic and misleading for the turn-over of nurses in big hospitals is brisk. Because of the US back-log (not enough visas are available,) many nurses who already passed the NCLEX are forced to wait for at least 2 years, just the right time for them to comply with the experience requirement. It is more likely therefore, the 20,000 foreign positions aren’t filled (if truly they exist) is because the jobs offered aren’t attractive enough--- the workplace can be “unsafe,” the terms of the contract may be unacceptable, there can be family issues that remain unresolved on immigration, or the offer of going abroad poses difficult cultural and language barriers that is hard to meet. Above all, many applicants may not have the cash to finance their foreign applications forcing them to work and save first before pursuing their plans abroad.
Reported in the news before, Spain wants Filipino nurses, but job-seekers need to learn Spanish---a task that has nothing to do with the nurse’s ability to care for patients in the hospital. Why will they learn Spanish when they are even struggling with the English language which takes them too long to master? Similarly, Belgium also needs nurses, but they have to speak in Belgian. Saudi Arabia may have jobs, but horror stories abound from nurses and overseas foreign workers (OFW’s) who worked in countries where the treatment of women and foreigners are different. There are scary reports of maids in Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East who commit suicide because of maltreatment, rape, isolation, and intolerable working conditions.
Gan and people with his mindset need to simply look around to say what they are saying is lopsided, a cheap letdown against the nurses, themselves helpless victims of inept education and labor planning. He speaks from the vantage point of an astute labor-peddler whose interest is mainly to deploy workers in jobs without much regard of the welfare of Filipinos braving the uncertainties and hardships in the world outside. =0=
Nurse glut made worse by apathy & self-interest
Almost everyone knows it is coming. The nation produces about 100,000 licensed nurses per year. The joblessness of 400,000 board-certified nurses is expected as students enrolled in the course has surged to more than 450,000 since 2006 in the Philippines which can only employ 60,000.
But few people want to talk about the nurse problem---either they are apathetic or they just wanted to move ahead on their own. There has been inadequate public national debate on the issue, in the government and even among interest groups. Perhaps, they are intimidated.
The apparent lopsided popularity of nursing didn’t dissuade students against choosing the course, among them, second-courser doctors who wanted a shot at higher paying jobs abroad, even if they had to downgrade their positions in the healthcare ladder. Acceptable to many, they had their career plans on hold, wasting away time before they could be productive. They believe the situation was only temporary; once they escape their jobs for high paying jobs abroad, it would be OK.
But we’re seeing the full-blown effects of failure in planning and labor-allocation. The exceedingly high number of unemployed nurses translates into millions of lost productivity. Since overseas labor is a major leg that shores up the Philippine economy, the impact of joblessness is staggering.
The Education Department was slow in averting the mass unemployment when it recognized the folly of loosely permitting new schools to open until its ban 2004. Legislators sat on the side (even allowing their relatives to join the nursing tide) without coming up with solution(s) to the profession’s freak overrepresentation in the workplace.
In a matter of few years, positions filled up, leaving thousands without jobs. Like beached whales in the sand, nurses with plans to work as overseas foreign workers (OFWs) quietly looked at their situation with worry and trepidation, hoping the bottle neck of employment would ease up. For survival, others had taken local jobs in alternative professions. On their own, they wonder what the government could do to alleviate their plight.=0=
Dark Knight's Blockbuster Bonanza, Zimbabwe's $100 Billion Dollar Note, & GMA's Dismal Popularity Rating
$155.34 million-Hollywood’s popular record-breaking block-buster entertainment “The Dark Knight” is Christopher Nolan’s dark sequel to “Batman Begins” which drew excited fans and profits in tinseltown on the first week of showing. Recently deceased actor Heath Ledger acts as the Joker. There are those who think the movie is too violent and may not be appropriate for kids below 12.
$100 billion note-To cope with a hyperinflation of 2.2 million percent, Zimbabwe’s Central Bank issued this latest huge bank note in a series of high money denominations, to deal with cash and food shortages leaving 80% of its people below the poverty line.
(-) 38%-Social Weather Station (SWS) revealed the dismal approval rating of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo on July 18, 2008, making her the most unpopular Philippine president since 1986. It’s lower than her (-) 33% approval rating in May 2005, prompting Bishop Deogracias Iniguez, head of CBCP to advise the president to take her unpopularity “seriously.”
4,124-The number of US military troops who died in the Iraq War since it started 5 years ago, according to a recent count by the Associated Press on July 20, 2008.
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-No one has lost money in FDIC-insured savings of up to $100,000 in the last 75 years, said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson who cautions anxious Americans of harder times ahead, but assures the soundness of the US banking system.
30 days-The expected time to retrieve the estimated 200,000 liters of industrial fuel and 10 metric-ton toxic endosulfan trapped in the sunken Princess of the Stars (threatening to pollute the Sibuyan Sea.) The projected cost of retrieval is $7.5 million (P318 million.)
87 drums
-Number of missing drums of toxic toluene diisocyanate (apart from the hazardous 10 metric tons of endosulfan and ship fuel in the Princess of the Sea) that need retrieval from another ship, M/V Ocean Papa, also grounded by Typhoon Frank.
2,167-Central Luzon’s number of dengue fever cases, a rise of 273% from last year’s number with two reported deaths as of July 21, 2008.
$1.42 billion
-Total remittance of OFW’s in May 2008, a 15.5% increase from last year’s. This is accompanied by the exodus of 533,945 Filipinos, a 39.5% rise in the first five months of 2008 who seek jobs abroad.
$145.59 million
-The amount of foreign investments withdrawn from the Philippines in June, 2008---a reversal to last year’s inflow investments totaling $871.41 million which entered the country. A total of $417 million from foreign investors left the country since Jan. 2008. =0=
Job Prospects for Filipino Nurses Decline
The law of supply and demand has caught up with the nurses again. As the 65,000 board exam takers fend off anxiety brought by the test given in June 1 & 2, 2008, a gloomy cloud hovers over their job outlook. Employment is reportedly down. And there’s a bottleneck which impedes hiring of nurses at home. Against the rosy job predictions of the past, there’s slowing in work recruitment. The chart shows fewer jobs are available abroad, hopefully just a transient trend that will go away. In 1999, there were 27,000 student nurses in various schools nationwide. The number ballooned to 453,896 in the next 7 years---an incredible increase, in response to the bright prospects of a nursing career, in spite of the ban against opening of more schools, for fear of diploma mills.
The expense of pursuing the four-year course isn’t cheap. It’s about 300,000 pesos. The amount doesn’t include the bells and whistles of nursing: pocket-moneys, reviews, licensure tests, language proficiency exams, NCLEX, CGFNS certifications, and visa screens which could easily double the price of the country’s most popular course. Would-be nurses spend generously for the requirements, mostly to prepare for jobs abroad. Yet, in spite of the prohibitive cost, the Commission of Higher Education (mindful of the deteriorating quality of education) wants to extend the nursing curriculum for another year.It’s the promise of green bucks and the lure to live overseas which drive many Filipinos into the profession. They're motivated to work and immigrate in alien places, dreaming of situations different from what they have at home. Encouraged by the government, a huge number of them join the country’s army of willing workers who are relied upon, by their dollars, to shore up the nation’s economy.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) the government agency which oversees the assignment of workers abroad isn’t happy with the southward retreat of jobs. Though probably the numbers are inaccurate since a good number of nurses sneak outside the country outside POEA's purview, the agency’s data have nonetheless revealed a compelling picture:“The POEA data show a decline in deployment of new hires. From a high of 13, 822, deployed new hires in 2001, deployment decreased to 8,528 in 2006. Significant drops in deployment of new hires happened in the following receiving countries--- Saudi Arabia: from 5,626 in 2004 to 2,886 in 2006; United Kingdom: from 800 in 2004 to 139 in 2006; US from 373 in 2004 to 133 in 2006; Kuwait: from 408 in 2004 to 191 in 2006; Qatar from 318 in 2004 to 38 in 2006.” Abs-cbnNews.com (06/01/08, Romero, P.)
Passing the boards is a requisite for local employment. If about half of the number of test examinees (32,500) passes the licensure test, many of them would find it hard to land a job. There are those who're way ahead in the pile waiting for vacancies even in non-nursing jobs such as in call centers, medical transcription and computer technology. They're likely to default on the time-table to be productive and miss the opportunity to assist their loved ones who are heavily invested in their future. ==0==
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