Villar welcomes grant of OFWs' right to negotiate for better treatment

Senator Manny Villar today welcomed the scrapping of the 33-year-old prohibition on Filipino migrant workers to organize or join labor unions, saying this is a big step for the improvement of their condition while working abroad.

"Overseas Filipino workers should be allowed to form unions so that they will be able to protect their rights and welfare. Many OFWs end up in distress because they have been denied the right to organize themselves and negotiate for better terms of employment," Villar said.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) scrapped from the OFW's model employment contract the prohibition for Filipino migrants to join labor unions and will fully implement it next year.

Villar, also the Nacionalista Party president said he will be sharing this piece of good news-- the grant of OFW's right to negotiate for better treatment-- to 30 OFWs in distress who will be repatriated to the country from Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

The 30 OFWs, whose repatriation was made possible by Villar through his initiative Sagip OFW, will be arriving via Cathay Pacific flight CX 901 and will be personally welcomed by him at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal I.

The prohibition was adopted in 1975 when the Iranian government under the Shah declared joining or forming trade unions illegal in the Gulf country. Since then, the rule has been followed by other Gulf countries and was stipulated in the OFW's contract.

DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque however said that despite the erasure of the prohibition, OFWs are still required to follow the laws of their destination country.

"In this area, we are requesting our diplomatic and labor officials to work for the lifting of the same ban in countries where there is bigger concentration of OFWs like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates," Villar said.

"Kung papayagan natin ang ating mga OFW na isulong ang kanilang kapakanan habang nagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa, magkakaroon sila ng pagkakataon na humingi ng sapat na sweldo at benepisyo mula sa kanilang mga amo. Masisiguro din na mapoprotektahan ang kanilang mga sarili laban sa mga pang-aabuso," he added.