EIGHT companies in New Zealand are looking to hire overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were displaced during the holiday season, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
In a statement, the DMW said at least eight companies have expressed “strong interest” in taking in the workers displaced by the closure of ELE Holdings Limited, an Auckland-based labor-hire firm engaged in construction projects, last December.
“Several employers have communicated with our labor attache in Wellington expressing interest to employ the displaced workers,” DMW Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said in a press briefing last Friday.
“We assured them that best efforts will be exerted to refer workers looking for work under a new employer,” he added.
Proof of the interest, according to DMW, was the highly successful job fair for the displaced OFWs last January 13 organized by the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) – Wellington, Filipino NGO Good Heart Foundation Charitable Trust, and other Filipino community associations.
“The MWO assisted close to a hundred workers, who showed up at the event held in Auckland,” said the DMW.
Over the holidays, over 700 OFWs in Auckland and Christchurch lost their jobs after the ELE Group closed shop.
Of the displaced OFWs, 452 immediately sought assistance from the DMW and MWO.
Aside from potential employment facilitation assistance, Cacdac said the Philippine government is also prepared to provide other forms of assistance to the displaced OFWs.
He said such assistance includes the provision of financial assistance amounting to P36,000 for each displaced OFW.
“From the minute we got word of the closure, our MWO in Wellington and the Welfare Office of OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) immediately went into action to respond to the needs of the workers,” said the DMW chief.
“Rest assured that we will continue to help OFWs affected by the closure and we will exert our best efforts in helping them find other employment opportunities, as well as provide all the necessary reintegration support they need,” Cacdac added.
ROBUST MARKET
The DMW also sought to address concerns that New Zealand is no longer a viable OFW market.
Cacdac said the closure of the ELE should not be viewed as an overall situation of the New Zealand labor market.
“As in other countries, there are certain particular situations that affect our OFWs. It would be difficult to take this snapshot as an overall picture in New Zealand,” said Cacdac.
“We have not received any reports that there is a problem with the New Zealand economy, which means there are no risks for OFWs going there,” he added.
He said this means they will continue to deploy OFWs to New Zealand.
“From the point of view of DMW, we will continue to process workers that have obtained the necessary permits and clearances and immigration documents for New Zealand,” said Cacdac.
