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At least eight companies in New Zealand are eyeing to hire the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were displaced over the holiday season, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
In a statement, the department said several firms have expressed “strong interest” to take in the workers displaced in December 2023 by the closure of ELE Holdings Limited, an Auckland-based labor-hire and construction firm.
“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,” said DMW officer in charge Hans Leo Cacdac.
ELE Holdings Ltd was put under receivership in December last year.
When it closed operations reportedly four days before Christmas, more than 700 OFWs in Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand lost their jobs.
From the displaced 700, there were 452 OFWs who immediately sought assistance from the DMW and Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Wellington.
Assistance
The MWO in partnership with the Good Heart Foundation Charitable Trust, a Filipino nongovernmental organization, and with the help of other Filipino community associations had successfully organized a special jobs fair.
The DMW said close to a hundred workers who showed up at the event held in Auckland on Jan.13 have also been accommodated by the MWO.
Besides new employment, the DMW also assured immediate financial aid for the displaced OFWs.
Cacdac said he has instructed the MWO in Wellington to extend full assistance.
He added an initial 130 work-visa employees of the failed company have received financial support, while the Philippine Embassy assisted another 50 who had become New Zealand residents or dual citizens.
The DMW has also provided aid to 14 OFWs employed by the closed firm, but who were on vacation in the Philippines, in settling their obligations back in New Zealand. INQ