Loss of Israel labor market to cost $500-M

About $500 million in remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) could be lost once Israel closes its labor market to foreign workers.

The closure would result in huge financial and employment losses to OFWs and local recruitment agencies, the United Philippine Manpower Agencies for Israel Association Inc. (UPMAIAI) said yesterday.

Ramon Estrella, UPMAIAI president, said the Philippines deploys an average of 4,000 Filipino workers to Israel every year, with their monthly income ranging from $500 to $1,000.

"The Philippines stands to lose some $500 million from the annual OFW remittance if Israel would cease from employing Filipino workers," he said.

"If Israel would stop hiring OFWs then the local recruitment agencies as well as the government would not be able to achieve its target of one million deployment this year."

UPMAIAI has yet to receive an official notice from the Philippine or Israeli governments regarding the plan to stop the hiring of foreign workers, Estrella added.

However, Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said Israel’s action of banning new foreign workers could legalize the status of Filipino illegals in that country.

"The (report) said that Israeli employees who have permits to employ additional foreign laborers (can) find them among illegal workers instead of bringing in additional ones, and we are hoping they would hire OFWs considering that Filipinos are preferred nationalities there," he said.

The proposed ban on new foreign workers would not affect Filipinos who are already employed in Israel, Sto. Tomas added.

Government figures show 20,000 documented Filipinos are in Israel and an almost equal number of illegals. –Mayen Jaymalin