Gov’t to help bring back jobs for OFWs

FILE: Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III during a press conference on Thursday (Sept. 27, 2018), which is held at the DOLE main office in Intramuros, Manila.(PNA photo by Gil Calinga)

MANILA – The government will exhaust all means to help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) regain jobs they lost abroad due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III assured Sunday.

Bello made the assurance as the possibility of OFWs being rehired by their former employers gained ground with the reopening of many economies around the world.

“Many governments went ahead of us in easing restrictions. Their industries are almost fully operational again by now. They could recall our OFWs anytime,” Bello said in a media release.

If that happens, he said, the labor department is committed to provide assistance required by OFWs.

The labor chief said the government is able and ready to engage with foreign governments with new policies on migrant workers with regards to safety and health measures against the deadly virus.

“They might ask more requirements from our OFWs like government certifications to prove they are not a threat to the health and safety of their people. We can do that,” Bello said.

He also raised the possibilities that OFWs could be rehired en masse by economies that are fast recovering.

“That would require transportation and if our OFWs need chartered flights we will do our best to come up with enough logistics for that,” he added.

Earlier, experts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) noted the pandemic could trigger stricter health and safety rules among recovering economies against workers from countries with weak anti-Covid 19 system.

Bello said the Philippine has nothing to worry about the government’s way of dealing with the pandemic as it has sustained a strong and effective response against the outbreak.

“The last time we checked our health system and responses to control the virus, we’re just doing fine,” he said. (DOLE PR)