ON THE heels of the displacement of 700 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in New Zealand, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday, January 12, 2024, assured that the country remains a robust labor market.
In a virtual press briefing, DMW Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said they continue to see New Zealand as a viable OFW destination.
"As in other countries, there are certain particular situations that affect our OFWs. It would be difficult to take this snapshot as an overall picture in New Zealand," said Cacdac.
"We have not receive any reports that there is a problem with the New Zealand economy, which means there are no risks for OFWs going there," he added.
Cacdac said this means that nothing is stopping the DMW from deploying OFWs to New Zealand.
"From the point of view of DMW, we will continue to process workers that have obtained the necessary permits and clearances and immigration documents for New Zealand," said Cacdac.
Over the holiday season, over 700 OFWs in Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand lost their jobs after the ELE Group closed operations.
Of those who lost their jobs, DMW said around 40 OFWs are in the Philippines for their Christmas vacation at the time of the company closure.
Cacdac said they are prepared to assist the displaced OFWs by asking the host country to uphold their working visas despite losing their employment.
"Our next move is to request to uphold the work visas of workers to enable them to return to New Zealand and/or settle obligations and/or transfer employers, if possible," said the official.
Cacdac said they will be helping the displaced workers find new employment opportunities there.
"Several employers have communicated with our labor attaché in Wellington expressing interest to employ the displaced workers," said Cacdac. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)