THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) is not discounting the possibility that the ongoing global financial crisis will affect the overseas employment sector as well as the commodity and service export industry in the country.

Out of more than eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the Dole estimated that some 590,000 may be vulnerable to repercussions of the crisis.

They include those who are employed under temporary US working visas; seafarers in cruise ships; factory workers in South Korea, Taiwan, and Macau; and household service workers in Singapore, Macau, and Hong Kong.

However, the labor department is projecting that only about 50,000 to 100,000 will likely lose their jobs as there are other potential labor markets that pose high demand for more skilled workers.

During a forum at the University of San Carlos (USC) last Friday, Dole 7 Assistant Director Exequiel Sarcauga said these markets include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Guam, where more than 90,000 workers are needed to fill up vacancies in sectors like construction and health.

By the end of 2007, there were about 8.76 million OFWs who are spread over 194 countries. Most of them are land-based workers who are employed in “high-paying” and “safe” jobs like medical and service professions.

Increase

The OFWs collectively helped the Philippine economy by contributing an estimated $14.4 billion remittances coursed through banks in 2007.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects remittances to increase 10 percent to $15.7 billion this year. The BSP already reported $13.1 billion in remittances as of last month.

Sarcauga said the government, so far, has not yet received any reports of OFW displacements.

“However, our labor attachés continue to monitor the markets while Dole crafted a contingency plan two to three months ago to address possible employment effects of the global financial crisis,” he said during the forum organized by the Freedom from Debt Coalition-Cebu and USC Lex Circle.

After identifying and developing new market niches amid the prevailing crisis, the government is attempting to close deals with them to add to the list of foreign labor markets for possible redeployment.

Dole is also readying repatriation efforts for OFWs who will be affected by the crisis. Upon their return, they can avail themselves of government-organized livelihood programs, business counseling, and registration system for redeployment purposes. The government is also strengthening partnerships with the local business sector.

Programs

Meanwhile, the Dole is providing three programs—adjustment measure program (AMP), workers income augmentation program (WINAP), and non-wage benefits—to extend various services to displaced workers, especially those employed in commodity and service export sector.

Dole has allocated P8 million worth of grants under WINAP for Central Visayas.

“We also contact suppliers and manufacturers to sell food items to workers in identified areas at lower or discounted rates,” Sarcauga said.

He said that the crisis will also likely affect about 11,000 employees in the electronics sector, that has about 13.4 percent export share in the US, as well as more than 120,000 workers in the garment industry that has around 77.5 percent export share in the US.

Without stating any figures or names, he said that several exporting companies have already retrenched workers since last month.

The effects on the employees, he added, are manifested through job rotation, reduced working hours that translate to less income, retrenchment and freeze hiring.

While the result of the crisis on the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the country could either be a decrease or increase of demand for its services, Dole is not discounting the possibility that major BPO services—call centers,
database accounting and online distribution of electronic content, medical transcription, software and consultancy, and data processing—could be affected.

If the effect of the crisis on BPOs will mean a downturn, some 268,000 call center workers in the country will likely be affected and “a sizable amount will come from Cebu,” which is increasingly becoming a preference for locators.

Sarcauga noted, though, that there is continuous construction of building that aims to meet the demands of BPO locators and the growing success of existing locators are prompting others to move to Cebu. (NRC)

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(December 1, 2008 issue)
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