NEWSFLASH

TAIWAN RETAINS BAN ON PINOY WORKERS

Manila, July 18, 2000 - Some $1.8 billion potential income and over 100,000 overseas jobs are expected to be lost as the Philippine government failed anew to convince the Taiwanese government to lift the ban on deployment of Filipino workers.

The Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan Inc. (PILMAT) came up with the projections while expressing fear that the three-month hiring freeze in Taiwan would affect Philippine deployment to the country for the next three years.

Industry sources said the three-month ban on hiring of Filipino workers to Taiwan is expected to affect the recruitment industry for the next three years considering that workers usually sign a three-year contract.

"Since Taiwanese employers cannot stop the production they would have to hire other foreign workers during the three-month ban and as a result, we could no longer expect to send our workers for the next three years," said the industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

PILMAT reported that an estimated $150 million in three months or a total of $1.8 billion potential income for Filipinos are projected to be lost as a result of the ban.

Aside from the financial losses, PILMAT also estimated the loss of over 200,000 overseas jobs for Filipino workers for the next three years based on the country's annual deployment to Taiwan of 60,000 to 80,000 annually.

Recruitment agencies also expressed fear that the Philippines would not be able to recapture the Taiwanese market if the existing ban is not lifted at the soonest possible time.

"Many of the Taiwanese employees like to hire Filipino workers but the problem is if they experience working with other nationalities, they may no longer hire Filipino workers even after the ban," recruiters said.