“FILIPINO MIGRANT WORK ISSUES IN IRELAND 2019” – A FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION WITH THE PHILIPPINE OVERSEAS LABOR OFFICE-OVERSEAS WORKERS WELFARE AGENCY (Polo Owwa-London)
Philippine Labor Attaché ASec Amuerfina R. Reyes and OWWA Welfare Officer Connie Marquez visited Ireland on 26th of April 2019 to discuss work issues in the healthcare, hospitality, IT, accounting, engineering, construction and recruitment sectors in Ireland. The main issues raised by 15 professionals from the Filipino and Irish community were 1) the need to have a Philippine government entity in Ireland that can address Filipino work-related concerns 2) a reliable knowledge resource centre for Filipino migrant workers to help them settle and integrate in Ireland, and 3) the institutionalisation of Filipino and Irish labour policies or bilateral agreements in order to address the skills shortages in Ireland which Filipino workers can fill in.
The group that met, which was composed of barristers at law, senior level nurses and health care professionals, immigration and technology consultants, recruiters and business owners, is now the Committee that will help address labour issues and relations between Ireland and the Philippines. It will meet every three months to accomplish clearly defined tasks following a prescribed timeline.