Philippines
Labor Export Policy and Situation of
Migrant
Filipino Workers in Canada
Migrante International Chairperson Addresses Toronto Meeting
Joanna Concepcion, Chairperson of Migrante International, was the guest speaker at an event hosted by Migrante Ontario on August 14. Migrante Ontario is the self-defence organization for Filipino and other migrant workers in the province, part of Migrante Canada which is affiliated with Migrante International that has more than 200 local and regional branches in Asia, Europe and North America.
Concepcion noted that 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the Labor Export Policy introduced in the Philippines by the notorious U.S.-supported Ferdinand Marcos Sr. regime. Fifty years later, the current Philippines government of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has further institutionalized this policy by creating a Department of Migrant Workers which, Concepcion explained, is just another mechanism to impose extraneous processing fees to fleece those who wish to leave the Philippines in search of a better future for themselves and their families.
Currently, more than 6,000 migrants leave the Philippines each day. Almost 58 per cent are women. Collectively the close to 2.5 million Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs) remit more than U.S.$37 billion annually to the Philippines, a critical factor in shoring up the Philippine economy. Concepcion explained that the Philippines is the world's largest provider of seafarers and other sea-based workers and one of the largest suppliers of nurses to many countries including the U.S. and Canada, creating a nursing crisis in the islands. The current ratio for nursing care in the Philippines is one nurse for 60 patients. By comparison, despite the health care crisis, the ratio in Canada is about one nurse to six patients.
The lack of protection for OFWs by successive Philippine governments has resulted in more than 5,000 Filipinos currently in detention, more than 70 on death row, in various countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other places.
In her presentation Concepcion also noted that the domination of the Philippines economy by foreign monopolies from the U.S., China, south Korea, Japan and other countries has created an economic crisis which has forced people to emigrate to find a better life for their families. She noted that the current focus of the Marcos Jr. regime is to subsidize large privately constructed infrastructure projects that turn a huge profit for the owners while investments in social programs are cut and funds diverted to the military or the corrupt elites that rule the country. She also underscored that the energy sectors, construction sectors and technology sectors are owned wholly or largely by foreign multinational corporations. Almost 70 per cent of the manufacturing sector is in foreign hands.
The most important point that Concepcion made is that Filipino migrants are joining with other migrants and workers where they are to fight for their rights in defiance of escalating attacks by governments aimed at splitting the unity of the working people. In many countries state-organized anti-immigrant propaganda is ramping up and racist laws are being passed which further criminalize migrant workers and other immigrants, making them even more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and physical attacks.
In conclusion, she applauded the courageous stands of Filipino migrants in Canada and elsewhere who are demanding that their rights be protected by the Philippine state and also by the governments of the countries in which they work and live. Their principled and militant actions contribute to increasing global awareness of the conditions of migrant workers, including Filipino workers, and are an essential contribution to the fight for justice and dignity for all workers, not just migrants, she added.
Following her presentation there was a lively discussion involving migrant workers and youth active in defending migrant rights in Canada.
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 9 - September 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M5400911.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca