MANILA, 17 June — The Philippines is set to sign a labor agreement with Norway on the recruitment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), especially medical practitioners, by Norwegian employers.
Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will sign the agreement on behalf of the country together with Norwegian Directorate of Labor.
Acting Labor Secretary Jose M. Espa?ol announced that the signing of the “Agreement on Transnational Cooperation for Recruiting Professionals from the Health Sector to Positions” is scheduled to take place in Oslo, Norway in the last week of June.
Espa?ol said the Norwegian Directorate of Labor expressed interest on the recruitment of Filipino nurses on a government-to-government arrangement in November last year. Norway needs about 5,000 foreign medical doctors and 3,500 foreign nurses, Espa?ol was quoted by a press release of the Department of Labor and Employment on Thursday.
Baldoz will also meet with employers in the Netherlands where there is also a shortage of nurses, IT specialists, oil rig workers and seafarers, Espa?ol said.
The POEA head will attend the 86th session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London before going to Norway and the conference of Philippine Overseas Labor Officers (POLOs) stationed in Europe in Geneva where she will be joined by Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas.
These activities are expected to give the Philippines a better crack at the emerging labor markets in Europe, he said, adding that the government would rather deploy OFWs in Europe where working conditions and wages are favorable.
Espa?ol said that significant shortages of professionals and skilled workers are hampering health care services and other such industries in Ireland and in the United Kingdom.
Manpower shortages have been identified in information and computer technologies, construction, engineering, nursing, and other professions in Ireland while United Kingdom was said to be short of workers in several other vocations.
According to Espa?ol, electronic engineers, nurses, doctors, IT specialists, communication and electronics engineers, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and teachers are in short supply in the UK.
He added that the Kingdom could also use more veterinary surgeons, actuaries, aircraft engineers, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, audiologists, and audiological scientists.
