DOLE: No Displacement for OFWs in Dubai

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWS) in United Arab Emirates, particularly in Dubai that there is no possibility of mass displacement of Filipino workers despite the city’s debt crisis.

“The debt crisis is expected to have no or minimal effect on the current employment of an estimated 250,000 Filipino workers in Dubai,” said Labor secretary Marianito Roque.

The worries of OFWs were noted after Dubai announced that they are seeking a six-month moratorium on debt payment worth $60 billion which lead the city into financial crisis.

Roque added that they have been closely monitoring the situation; however, as of now they have not received any reports of displacements of OFWs from the labor office in Dubai.

According to Roque, the financial crisis in Dubai is not expected to have massive impact compared to the effects of global financial crisis that has resulted to lay-oofs of OFWs in various countries.

“During the financial crisis, they projected a drop in deployment of Filipino workers and remittances abroad but I have proven them wrong,” said Roque.

Also, Roque pointed that despite the global financial crisis, demands for Filipino workers abroad continues to increase. The record growth in number of Filipino workers leaving the country is high as well as the dollar remittances of OFWs being sent in the country.

In case that the problem in Dubai caused unfortunate retrenchment to OFWs, Roque assured that the government has prepared a contingency plan to all who will get affected.

“We are already talking to some employers and our labor offices in the Middle East have been alerted to search possible employment of OFWs likely to be displaced,” he said.

Roque said that OFWs who get displaced might take chance to work in other emirates in UAE like Abu Dhabi or in nearby countries.