The OFW job search in Manitoba is on. Manitoba, a Canadian province with 110,000 lakes bordered by the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, North Dakota and Minnesota is in need of Filipino workers to meet the labor demands of the province. Because of the aging population of Manitoba and its low birth rate, they are expected to hire an estimate of 20,000 new workers every year by 2016.

The name Manitoba, meaning “strait of the spirit” or “lake of the prairies” has a moderately strong economy based largely on natural resources and its economy relies heavily on agriculture, tourism, energy, oil, mining, and forestry. Manitoba is Canada’s largest producer of sunflower seed and dry beans and one of the leading sources of potatoes.

The provincial government of Manitoba recently signed an agreement with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), an agreement that provides the details of the partnership that would result to the recruitment of skilled OFWs to Manitoba as well as the guidelines to ensure the welfare and protection of skilled OFWs. The MOU was signed by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Manitoba Premier, Greg Selinger at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

Baldoz said, “In the next thee years, the number of retirements is expected to increase by 30 percent and the need for more workers, including the transfer of work-based knowledge, will be very critical to Manitoba’s labor force stability.”

Selinger agreed and added that this opens up opportunities all across the board—in the trades like carpentry, plumbing, electricians as well opportunities in the professions—engineers, accountants, medical professionals, nurses and doctors.

Selinger hailed Filipino overseas workers all over Canada for their “tremendous contribution” to the continuing growth and well-being of the Canadian economy. “There are 50,000 to 60,000 Filipinos in Manitoba, many of them workers who have made tremendous contributions to our economy,” Selinger said.

Selinger, in his remarks before the signing, praised the strong culture of the Filipino workers, citing their industry and strong ethical and community values as teachers, healthcare workers, lawyers, and other occupations.

On her part, Secretary Baldoz said, “The renewed RP-Manitoba MOU that we have forged provides a strengthened framework for the partnership and collaboration between the Philippines and Manitoba in the further development of human resources, the recruitment and deployment of skilled OFWs to Manitoba, and their welfare and protection.”

“The effective way to avail of the opportunities is for would-be OFWs to first develop, acquire, or upgrade themselves on the necessary skills which would facilitate matching with overseas vacancies. This offers the best protection and returns in the host economies that need or require such skills.” Baldoz is pointing out that while before, the need in Canada was on caregivers, the trend is now pointed towards more highly skilled workers in agriculture, construction, hotels and restaurants, managerial, administrative, and other sectors.

Baldoz emphasized that the RP-Manitoba accord will strengthen the protection and welfare of OFWs, even as it serves as “proof that we are committed to ensure ethical recruitment in compliance with the legislation of both countries. She also emphasized that any recruitment to Manitoba, or to any part of Canada, is governed by POEA rules requiring valid job orders from employers to licensed, accredited, and in good-standing recruitment agencies.

Selinger is an economist from the London School of Economics. He became Manitoba’s 21st Premier in 2009. Selinger noted that hired skilled OFWs in Manitoba Canada can apply for Canadian citizenship only after six months of working there.

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For all those wishing to work abroad particularly in the Middle East and particularly Filipinas, think several times before making your final decision to leave your family and home.

Contrary to what most Filipinos believe, leaving the country due to financial difficulties and working abroad is not always a bright opportunity at the end of a dark tunnel. While the result may have been positive for some, working abroad will not always ensure a happy ending.

It is always important to have a complete firm mindset before taking that final decision to work elsewhere abroad – a mindset of determination and patience. Another important thing to consider is to be careful not to involve yourself in anything illegal – illegal recruiters, illegal entries, illegal documents, illegal drugs (see article on drug couriers), etc.

This is very true with what is happening in UAE this year. The number of Filipino runaways is increasing and mostly are domestic helpers. Most of the Filipino runaways have been with their employers for less than three months.

The number of Filipino runaways have increased by 20% with an average of 118-125 cases per month as compared to less than 100 cases per month last year.

Some of the reasons are said to be:

• Abusive employers

• Culture shock

• Homesickness

• Medical reasons

• Delayed payment of salaries

• Sexual harassment

Even the repatriation of Filipino workers are not easy and takes some time. Employers are sometimes reluctant to cooperate. They will not make domestic helpers go home without getting a refund of their expenses.

We do hope that these runaway cases will encourage Filipinos to think carefully before working abroad. Working abroad provides a very good financial opportunity but it also presents enormous challenges which could prove to be tough to handle for some.

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Of all the Filipinos, OFWs are said to be the ones extremely vulnerable to HIV. Based on statistics, OFWs account for 32% of all our HIV and full-blown AIDS cases.

This is the reason why TUCP or Trade Union Congress of the Philippines is pushing for much more heightened awareness especially for foreign-bound Filipino workers. OFWs are said to be extremely vulnerable to HIV because once exposed to foreign cultures, thy have the tendency to put their guard down through unsafe sex practices especially sailors.

Based on DOH’s National AIDS Registry, we have a total of 3,951 HIV cases (1,254 for OFWs) as of June 2009. 815 (264 for OFWs) cases have already developed into full-blown AIDS cases and 314 have already died.

And the increase in HIV cases in Philippines is at an alarming and troublesome rate. 362 people were newly-infected in the first semester of this year, with 85 cases in May and 40 cases in June.

What is HIV?

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus (a member of the retrovirus family) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections.

The four major routes of transmission are unsafe sex, contaminated needles, breast milk, and transmission from an infected mother to her baby at birth (Vertical transmission).

HIV infection has basically four stages: incubation period, acute infection, latency stage and AIDS. The initial incubation period upon infection is asymptomatic and usually lasts between two and four weeks. The second stage, acute infection, which lasts an average of 28 days and can include symptoms such as fever, lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes), pharyngitis (sore throat), rash, myalgia (muscle pain), malaise, and mouth and esophageal sores. The latency stage, which occurs third, shows few or no symptoms and can last anywhere from two weeks to twenty years and beyond. AIDS, the fourth and final stage of HIV infection shows as symptoms of various opportunistic infections.

What is AIDS?

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors.

The symptoms of AIDS are primarily the result of conditions that do not normally develop in individuals with healthy immune systems. Most of these conditions are infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that are normally controlled by the elements of the immune system that HIV damages.

Opportunistic infections are common in people with AIDS. HIV affects nearly every organ system.

The sad reality is there is currently no vaccine or cure for HIV or AIDS.

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When Blas Ople was then the Labor Secretary in the 1970s, the idea of deploying Filipino workers to the Middle East was just a temporary solution to the unemployment problem in the country. But what was once a temporary solution has become a permanent policy for the government. What does this strategy imply? How does this policy affect all of us Filipinos? Is the government relying too much on the deployment of Filipino workers abroad to make the economy stable? Is this all they can do as leaders of the country?

The Philippines has become one of the countries with the biggest number of migrant workers. The others are India, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Jordan and Sri Lanka. The Russians recently even recognized Philippines and its migration strategy by sending a delegation for a 3-day visit.

Although the International Labor Organization and the International Organization of Migration has lauded the Philippines for its handling of workers’ migration, As a Filipino, I don’t see this as a commendable effort from the government. Instead of developing economic strategies not at the expense of its citizens, the government has become overly dependent on migration of its people and its remittances.

Over the years, we had lost millions of highly skilled and professional Filipinos to abroad and we will lose even more – teachers, doctors, engineers and nurses to name a few. Although this strategy has managed to keep our economy afloat, the price we paid and are still paying for this strategy was so enormous not to be seen and felt. Instead of trying to keep Filipinos at home, the government continues to develop ways to encourage and drive away our people to stay overseas – stay away from their families.

Despite the huge remittances brought in by the Filipino migrants, the struggling economy continues to hurt the Filipino people. Despite being called the modern-day heroes, struggles have continued to define the lives of this so-called heroes away from home. The worst part is, the government itself and its people has greatly contributed to the struggles of the Filipinos abroad.

Now, can we still say that the Philippines is the perfect migration model? Is being called the perfect migration model a reason for us to be proud of?

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