DFA exec says Taiwan's freeze hiring 'unfair'

An official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) described yesterday as unfair Taiwan's ban on the hiring of new workers from the Philippines.

Benjamin Domingo, undersecretary for migrant workers, told The STAR that Director Rodolfo Reyes of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), the country's unofficial ambassador in Taipeh, has started negotiations for Taiwan to reconsider the ban.

"Why is it (jobs) open to other countries?" he asked. "We need the jobs there and Taiwan also needs us. Do not think that they don't need us."

In Malacañang, Press Undersecretary Antonio Seva quoted Reyes' report to President Estrada saying that the ban is limited to jobs in the construction industry.

"All existing contracts will be honored by their Taiwanese employers," he said.

Acting Labor Secretary Felicisimo Joson, on the other hand, said the three-month ban is "meaningless" since "there (are) no new employment opportunities" for Filipinos in Taiwan.

"Taiwan would be hurting people, not only OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) but its own because both countries reaped considerable benefits from the presence of Filipino workers," he said.

In a report to Joson, Eleuterio Cojuangco, head of the Philippine Labor Center in Taiwan, said the Asian crisis had forced some 5,300 companies to close down in 1998 and that no major investment projects were being undertaken in Taiwan.

Cojuangco said the 1,630 Filipinos in Taiwan are skilled workers like project managers, engineers, surveyors, foremen, electricians, and heavy equipment operators.

Domingo said the government has the right to reject any memorandum or circular issued by Taiwan as long as it can be proven wrong.

"Taiwan is very important to us because of its state of industrialization," he said. "It does not only provide jobs for our people but also a place to learn about industries."

Taiwan had reportedly suspended the hiring of Filipinos because of the "unreasonable intervention" of Philippine labor officials on disputes between Taiwanese employers and Filipino workers.

Joson said the freeze in the hiring of Filipinos, even if temporary, gives the impression that the ban was triggered by reasons "totally unconnected with the issue of migration."

However, Seva brushed aside reports that the ban was in retaliation for the government's unilateral cancellation of the air agreement with Taiwan in October last year.

Taiwan and the Philippines have still to agree to resume negotiations for a new agreement.

Liu Hsin-tai, deputy section chief at the Council for Labor Affairs, cited long-standing labor issues such as the Philippine government's blacklisting of certain Taiwanese employers and recruitment agenciesas reasons for the ban.

Liu also complained of the high runaway rate among Filipinos and the Philippine government's intervention in labor disputes between Taiwanese employers and Filipino workers. --