Saturday, September 27, 2008 Lifting of deployment ban in Iraq mulled
THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) is eyeing to lift the deployment ban in Iraq.
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said he already asked the Department of Foreign Affairs in particular the Middle East Preparedness Team to re-assess the current situation in Iraq to determine if they should lift the deployment ban or not.
A Dole report showed that the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) entering Iraq continues to increase because the incidence of violence there already dropped.
About 15,000 OFWs are now working in the military camps in Iraq and all of them are undocumented workers.
According to Roque, many of these OFWs prefer to work in Iraq because of the high compensation being offered.
"How could you refuse if the pay offered is high? Imagine, a machine operator in Iraq earns US$800 per month plus the tip being given by the soldiers there," Roque said.
He said Filipinos entering Iraq mostly came from Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Dubai.
Recruitment companies are pushing for the lifting of the ban in Iraq, which was imposed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004 following the abduction of truck driver Angelo dela Cruz.
Prior to the deployment ban, a total of 4,500 OFWs were deployed to Iraq by the Anglo-European recruitment company in 2003 to work in the US military bases there.
All of the 4,500 OFWs deployed to Iraq five years ago have returned to the country after completing their contracts. (MSN/Sunnex)
