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Friday, June 30, 2006
Spain opens jobs for 100,000 Pinoy health workers
THE Philippines and Spain on Thursday signed an agreement that would pave the way for the entry of up to 100,000 Filipino health care workers and professionals to Spain.
Outgoing Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, who accompanied President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her trip to Europe, signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the Philippine Government while Minister for Labor and Immigration Jose Caldera signed for the Spanish Government.
Sto. Tomas said 40 of the first batch of 100 Filipino workers are already in Madrid while the 60 others will arrive in August. It is possible that a new batch of 60 Filipinos will be allowed entry by September.
She told the health workers, whom she welcomed at the Pacifico Retirement Homes, to set a good example in order to open more opportunities for Filipinos.
A formal bilateral agreement will be signed by President Arroyo when she returns to Spain next year for a state visit.
Sto. Tomas said Spain's health care sector would need one million foreign workers in the next five years. She said only household workers were allowed entry into Spain.
She said workers from foreign countries without bilateral agreements may enter Spain on an individual basis, but their number is strictly limited to a maximum of five per year.
Spain is a preferred country for labor deployment because it has one of the highest pay scales for workers in the European Union. Foreign workers in Spain also enjoy equal treatment and other benefits, including annual wage increase, 14th month bonus and paid vacation leaves.
President Arroyo, in her speech before the Congreso de los Diputados (House of Representatives) and in her visit to the Ayuntamiento de Madrid (City Hall), made a sales pitch for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), saying they are the most hardworking people and that Spain needs them to fill up its need for a million services workers in the next five years.
At the House of Deputies, Arroyo was told that the Spanish parliament is pleased with the abolition of the death penalty and that its members have "deep respect" for the President and her moral commitment. She was gifted with a powder compact containing a copy of the 1812 Constitution where democracy was declared in Spain.
After her official engagement at the Ajuntamiento, the President offered a wreath at the monument of Dr. Jose Rizal, a replica of the Luneta Monument, at the corner of the Santander Park on Calle Santander corner Avenida de last Filipinas in downtown Madrid.
Arroyo then addressed the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE), the top Spanish businessmen's organization with a membership of one million private and public companies.
Capping her first day in Madrid was her meetings with King Juan Carlos I at the Palacio de la Zarzuela and with President Jose Luis-Rodriguez Zapatero at the Palacio de la Moncloa.
This developed as Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said President Arroyo is happy with the ratings upgrade given by Japanese rating agency R&I, which upgraded the Philippines' credit outlook from negative to stable following government's success in fixing its finances.
Bunye, who is also the Presidential spokesman, said the upgrade affirms growing confidence of the economy from tough decisions made by the national leadership.
"The President is determined to advance our economic gains through diplomatic means and her trip to Europe is reaping more confidence, more investments to create more jobs in the Philippines and better working conditions for OFWs," he said.
Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor told House Minority Leader Francis Escudero (Sorsogon) to focus more on the benefits of Arroyo's visit to Europe, instead of her two-day holiday at the Santiago de Compostela. (JMR/Sunnex)
(June 30, 2006 issue)
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