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- Covid-19 deaths hit 25,000
- Philippines on ITUC list of worst countries for 5th year
- Skilled workers still not allowed to enter Kuwait
| Posted: 03 Jul 2021 02:47 AM PDT THE Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday, July 3, 2021, reported 90 additional deaths, pushing the death toll from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country past 25,000. The DOH also reported 5,908 new infections and 7,698 new recoveries. These brought the total case count to 1,430,419, of which 1,351,691 were recoveries and 25,063 were deaths. The case fatality rate remained at 1.75 percent. There remained 53,665 active cases as of July 1. Of these, 91.2 percent were mild, 3.8 percent were asymptomatic, 2.0 percent were severe, 1.5 percent were moderate and 1.4 percent were critical. Five laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System on July 1. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Philippines on ITUC list of worst countries for 5th year Posted: 02 Jul 2021 09:07 PM PDT FOR the fifth straight year, the Philippines remains among the top 10 worst countries for working people based on the 2021 International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index. The Philippines was included due to killings, arrests, violations of right to establish and join a trade union, among others. The 10 worst countries for working people in 2021 are Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Honduras, Myanmar, the Philippines, Turkey, and Zimbabwe, according to the ITUC report. Of these, only Belarus and Myanmar are new compared to the 2020 list. The Philippines has been on the list since 2017, which is also the first full year of President Rodrigo Duterte. Aside from being on the top 10 list, the report also said the Philippines is one of the six nations where trade unionists were murdered. The six countries are Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Myanmar, Nigeria, and the Philippines. In a statement, ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow said the report showed how the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) worsened the abuses already being experienced by workers from governments and employers. "The Global Rights Index exposes a shameful roll call of governments and companies that have pursued an anti-union agenda in the face of workers, who have stood on the frontline providing essential work to keep economies and communities functioning," said Burrow. "Governments and employers exploited the pandemic to exploit the people the world depends on by increasing surveillance, breaking agreements, laying off workers, blocking and intimidating unions, and resorting to violence and murder," she added. Burrow said 87 percent of countries violated the right to strike while 79 percent violated the right to collectively bargain. The study also showed that 74 percent of countries excluded workers from the right to establish and join a trade union. Workers were reportedly exposed to violence in 45 countries and experienced arbitrary arrests and detention in 68 countries. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Skilled workers still not allowed to enter Kuwait Posted: 02 Jul 2021 08:59 PM PDT SKILLED Filipino workers are still among the foreign nationals not allowed to enter Kuwait as part of measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Only diplomats and household service workers will be allowed to enter the country, Philippine Labor Attaché to Kuwait Nasser Mustafa said. Mustafa called on the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Friday, July 2, 2021, to temporarily stop the issuance of overseas employment certificate (OEC) to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who are not household service workers, bound for Kuwait. "Only domestic workers are allowed to enter Kuwait. Skilled workers remain banned here," said Mustafa. "This is why we are asking the POEA to temporarily suspend issuance of OECs to our skilled workers because they cannot enter Kuwait," he added. He said they have received reports of OFWs being left stranded, either in the airports of the Philippines or in neighboring countries of Kuwait. "For example, when their connecting flight arrives in Dubai, they will still be prevented from entering Kuwait. They shall get stranded in the airports. That will become a problem," said the official. "By our estimates, thousands are stranded in the Philippines and a few others in third countries," said Mustafa. Asked why household service workers are exempted from the ban, Mustafa said one reason could be their limited exposure to the public. "Skilled workers in hotels, restaurants, oil and gas, salon encounter different people. On the other hand, HSWs will go directly to their employer's houses. That's one reason we are seeing: they are not exposed to many people," he said. The labor official said another possible reason is the high demand for HSWs in Kuwait. "Due to the deployment ban, many of their nationals really need domestic helpers so that they can work," said Mustafa. As of 2020, records show that there are an estimated 240,000 OFWs in Kuwait, with 65 percent employed as domestic workers. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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