Hungary, Romania, Portugal want to hire Pinoys

Hungary, Romania and Portugal want to hire overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) through government-to-government agreements, Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople said. She said the three European countries recently asked to negotiate bilateral labor agreements as early as the first quarter of next year. “They are emerging labor markets that are pretty safe for our workers and will be covered by bilateral agreements,” Ople said in an interview on Sunday. “We are excited. They said they understand the importance of families because they are [also] of Christian faith,” she added. Germany and South Korea also recently reached out to the Department of Migrant Workers to hire more OFWs. “The labor shortage around the world is real,” said Ople, quoting the German ambassador’s story that coffee shops in Germany are only open half of the week due to lack of workers. Germany also wants to hire skilled workers like plumbers and IT workers, aside from domestic workers, according to Ople.

—Dona Z. Pazzibugan