Global alliance of overseas Filipino workers Migrante International today said that the government’s nationwide job and livelihood fairs on May 1 is just a cheap shot copy of the Arroyo regime’s scheme to hoodwink jobseekers on Labor Day.
“Surely, local employment is always a welcome development as OFWs are fast losing their jobs because of economic, political and social tensions abroad,” said Garry Martinez, chair of Migrante.
“However, as many jobseekers have experienced during Arroyo’s time, job fairs are essentially ‘labor pooling’, meant merely to expand or enhance a labor recruiter’s or company’s registry of applicants.”
Neither Arroyo nor Aquino could guarantee employment to the majority who will flock to these job fairs, said Martinez. “There is only guarantee that an applicant shall be wasting hard-earned money and boosting government’s shallow attempts at addressing the ever-rising unemployment rate in the country.”
What’s more, Martinez added, such farcical gimmicks are meant to divert or dissuade Filipino workers from a militant celebration of Labor Day.
Migrante, along with other militant groups, is pushing the Aquino government for a P125 minimum wage increase, across the board, nationwide as well as a price control on prices, especially of oil. ###
