By Reihana Mohideen
MANILA — March 19 was the first anniversary of the death of Flor Contemplacion, the Filipina migrant worker who was hanged on fraudulent murder charges by the Singapore government. Just a few days before the anniversary, the ombudsman dismissed the charge of negligence filed against the 14 Labour and Foreign Affairs officials involved in her case. This went against the findings of the independent Gancayco Commission that the 14 failed to give Contemplacion the necessary assistance.
The appalling negligence of the Philippines government in protecting the welfare and rights of overseas contract workers (OCW) has been amply displayed in this and other cases. The reason — labour is a profitable "export industry" consciously promoted since the days of the Marcos dictatorship. Overseas employment was encouraged as a solution to the country's high unemployment and balance of payments problems.
Today the Ramos government rakes in billions of dollars every year in OCW remittances. These remittances have been an important factor contributing to the increase in the country's growth rate in recent years.
Total remittances in the first 10 months of 1995 amounted to some US$3.98 billion, an almost $1 billion increase from 1994. If the money coming through the informal channels is also included, such as migrant workers not registered as OCWs with the government, it is estimated that Filipinos remit US$6-7 billion annually.
Today the Philippines is one of the main exporters of labour worldwide. It is also the top supplier of crews to the world's shipping industry. Government figures estimate that there are some 3.5 million Filipino OCWs, but community organisations place the figure at around 7 million migrant workers. This includes tourists working illegally abroad, mail-order brides and overseas workers whose contracts have expired but who continue to work overseas.
From 1987 to 1994, OCW remittances increased at an average rate of 19.25% annually. Nearly 2000 contract workers leave the Philippines daily, more than a third of them working in unskilled service jobs. Government projections are that their numbers will rise 10% annually. The main destination for these workers is Saudi Arabia. However, workers in the US are the biggest source of remittances. The government collects processing fees, passport fees and income tax from the OCWs. These taxes could amount to billions of dollars every year.
According to former labour secretary Nienes Confesor, the country will develop its work force numbers and technical skills in the next 10 years based, not on the demands of the domestic market, but on the needs of the labour export market. The government is planning to set up special hiring and training programs for domestic helpers, providing them with home management skills and foreign language courses.
Apparently the National Manpower and Youth Center, a government training institute, is planning to train "world class" Filipino workers for the international market. The neo-liberal zealots in the government bureaucracy are applying their theory of export-oriented economic development to all aspects of society, including converting human beings into internationally competitive export products.
Finding these workers placements overseas is done by private agencies which charge exorbitant fees ranging from 18,000 to 75,000 pesos depending on the country of destination and the salaries paid. In a context where the minimum wage is 145 pesos per day (and a majority of Filipino incomes fall short of this sum) this is a very large amount of money. It invariably leads to high levels of personal debt and a substantial proportion of the wages earned overseas going towards debt repayments.
Market forces also lead to the phenomenon of non-registered, illegal recruiters, who obtain money in exchange for non-existent jobs abroad. In some rural communities people have been duped into parting with their land and even livestock to these ruthless con merchants.
The abuse of these workers by employers overseas is now a well-known fact. The hardships they undergo are openly acknowledged by the government, which now rhetorically refers to them as "modern day heroes" of the Philippines.
It is estimated that some 35,000 OCWs are abused annually. The abuses include non-payment of wages, physical beatings, sexual harassment and rape. Workers at sea are said to be in the most dangerous position. Last year alone, 111 sea workers were reported to have died, 56 were declared missing and 143 were injured.
The government lists Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Libya and Saudi Arabia as having the greatest number of reported cases of abuse. Saudi Arabia is said to be the most dangerous.
A majority of land-based workers are women. In Japan 95% of OCWs and in Europe 85% of OCWs are women. The predominance of women can be traced to the growth of the service sector through the '80s.
Today many Filipino professionals are employed all over the world, many of them doing menial jobs, wasting their training and skills. Concerns have been expressed that this is leading to a deskilling of the work force in the Philippines.
The phenomenon of migrant workers is not specific to the Philippines. For millions of people in the Third World it is a way of escaping poverty, disease and even death. It is yet another reflection of the growing inequality between rich and poor nations.