The greater challenge of reemployment for displaced OFWs

The task of rescuing and repatriating the thousands of our migrant workers from Libya, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen has proven to be indeed a formidable challenge to our government. More so, if the unrest should escalate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as if the “little problem with Taiwan’’ would not be solved in due time, we should be witnessing an exodus of at least a million OFWs back into our country.

We will have unemployed migrant workers who used to remit billions of foreign exchange into the Philippine economy. This is a big headache to our leaders, a headache that, if allowed to exacerbate our economic difficulties in a time of a looming oil crisis, is big enough to bring down a government, or at the very least, put our nation in a grave and imminent danger of a serious socio-economic dislocation. Thus, it is our considered view that more serious than repatriation is the greater challenge of finding jobs for the hundreds of thousands of displaced migrant workers.

Displaced migrant workers are those returning workers from beleaguered labor markets, whose ability to secure a comparable job within an acceptable period of time is seriously impaired by many factors, among which, include the recurrent issue of absence of suitable vacancies, the question of job fit, and the matter of competitive wage levels.

The intervention by government is highly expected but government itself is limited by the realities in the domestic labor markets, as well as the very competitive foreign labor markets abroad. OFWs are competing very strongly against Indonesians, Indians, Vietnamese, Thais, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and other nationals. The uncontested supremacy of the Filipino migrant workers in foreign labor markets is now a thing of the past. We can very well win the battle for competence, but we have priced ourselves so high that we have been losing a considerable chunk of many labor markets.

The task of finding employment for displaced OFWs is so important a task that it should not be left to the hands of government alone. The business sectors, the NGOs and civil society should help find markets for the returning Filipinos. To allow them to stay unemployed for a considerable span of time may pose a serious problem to our economy and may put too much added pressures to our country and people. It is high time for the DOLE and allied government agencies to tap its strong linkages with the big corporations as well as with local government units to find immediate, albeit temporary employment for these displaced workers.

The giant oil firms in the country, the so-called big three, should be able to exercise corporate citizenship, in the spirit of social responsibility, by considering some short-term engagement of engineers from the oil fields and oil refineries in Libya and Bahrain.

The other conglomerates, like San Miguel Corporation, PLDT, Meralco, Smart and Globe, Coca cola, Pepsi Cola, Nestle the banks, the drugs and electronic companies, the auto industry and even the media and other firms should contribute their share by absorbing some of our displaced workers. To reward these companies, for helping, they may be awarded some tax credits if they are unable to help without any “quid pro quo’’.

The nation should not be looking at government alone for this overall responsibility of saving our country from the onslaught of a very serious economic and social problem. It is time perhaps to summon to Malacañang such taipans, tycoons, and moguls as Lucio Tan, John Gokongwei, Henry Sy, Manny Pangilinan, Danding Cojuangco, and Jaime Zobel de Ayala and ask them to pledge and accept a number of displaced workers to their firms. All the governors and mayors should also be tapped to make their pork barrels create jobs and provide livelihoods to displaced migrant workers.

These are the worst of times, but it can prove to be the best of times to show to ourselves and to the whole world, that we are bigger than the issues that divide us, and that we can solve this problem of massive displacement of our human capital, with all hands on deck. Kaya natin ito. This too shall pass. We have been through many more difficult crises before, and we always made it by working together as a nation, united in faith and determination to win. To borrow, President Obama’s call: Yes, we can.

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