14,021 Filipino workers rehired

The problem on Financial Crisis is not totally solved, but at least there's a development. An Article from Manila Bulettin:

14,021 Filipino workers rehired
By RAYMUND F. ANTONIO
March 31, 2009, 10:55pm

After they were temporarily laid off, some 14,021 Filipino workers nationwide are now back to work after 53 companies that employed them resumed normal operations, Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito Roque announced.

"The positive development is an indication that more affected workers would be returning to their regular jobs," Roque said, adding that those called back to work were regular workers previously placed under flexible arrangements.

Data from the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) showed that the biggest number of affected workers who returned to their regular work are in Region IV-A (Calabarzon) with 7,975; followed by Region 3 (Central Luzon), 2,418; and Region 12 (Central Mindanao), 1,712.

The same BLES records indicated that six establishments from Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Region 13 (CARAGA) rehired 1,916 workers after they were temporarily displaced and suffered reduced workloads.

They pointed out that the rehiring of workers resulted from new investments coming in at the Cavite Economic Zone, the most affected by the crisis in terms of region, and in tourism, particularly in the establishment of new hotels and resorts in the country.

“The anticipated operation of seven mining firms this year and its infusion of about US$15 billion investments would create new jobs for engineers, mining laborers, and other related workers,” Roque said.

In overseas employment, host countries are reportedly rehiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) amid fears of losing an adequate supply of manpower resources in their respective operations.

Roque specifically cited Taiwan where 851 laid-off OFWs were called back to work by foreign employers while a total of 468 Filipino workers found new jobs in the host destination last March.

BLES said 6,405 OFWs so far lost their jobs abroad and the bulk of the laid off workers still came from Taiwan with 4,197; followed by the United Arab Emirates and Canada.

But Labor Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz said there is no reported additional dislocation of Filipino workers yet, an indication that the number of those losing their jobs appears to have stabilized abroad.

She said workers’ displacement due to the global financial crisis will continue in the coming months but it’s expected to taper off and be limited to the export and manufacturing sectors.

Of the number of workers hit by the crisis, 11,547 were permanently laid off, 38,806 temporarily laid-off, and 59,149 suffered pay cuts or reduced workloads.

http://mb.com.ph/articles/200966/14021-filipino-workers-rehired