Aquino urges fair and efficient treatment of overseas workers

MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino called on participants in the Abu Dhabi Dialogue—a conference among officials of Asian labor-exporting and receiving countries— to ensure fair and efficient recruitment as well as dignity in the workplace for Filipino migrant workers.

“What all of us want is clear: We want recruitment for our people to be both fair and efficient; we want workers to be treated with dignity; and we want them to be able to go back home in a convenient manner, and to be successfully reintegrated in their respective societies,” the President said in his speech before the conference.

“In other words, the idea behind our meeting today is to make sure of one thing: that the people come first,” he added.

The second ministerial meeting of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue in Manila brings together labor ministers of labor providing countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam and employer nations Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“There are almost ten million Filipinos living and working outside this country. Sixty percent of those working are in countries of destination represented in this dialogue,” Mr. Aquino said.

“And I am told that at least 12 percent of all migrant workers are working in these countries represented today as well. Suffice it to say we all have a significant stake in this, and our discussions today will affect the lives of tens of millions of our people, at the very least, perhaps even more,” he added.

The United Arab Emirates hosted the first ministerial consultation of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue that adopted four action-oriented key partnership areas to address issues on, and optimize mutual benefits from overseas employment and contractual labor.

These include information sharing on labor market and remittance patterns; building capacity to match labor demand and supply; preventing illegal recruitment practices and promoting transparency in recruitment policies; and developing a framework for multilateral cooperation.