As South Korea braces itself for the loss of as much as 200,000 jobs this year amid predictions of a 2% contraction in the economy, the Philippine Embassy further strengthened its campaign to assist a growing number of Filipino workers in Korea laid off from their jobs by downsizing companies.

“We have been receiving a number of reports from the Filipino Community about workers losing their jobs because of the current economic crisis,” said Philippine Ambassador Luis T. Cruz. “In response to their needs, we launched several programs aimed at ensuring their welfare and minimizing the impact of retrenchment,” he added.

One of the immediate responses taken by the Embassy, through its Philippine Overseas Labor Office, was to invite a team from Manila specializing in “Reintegration Service”—providing skills training, livelihood orientation to displaced workers, and referrals for employment in other viable companies both in the Philippines and abroad.

The team, which is composed of POEA Director Felixberta Romero, NCRO Labatt Alice Santos, OWWA Director Eduardo Bellido, and TESDA Director Merlita Dalire, is making the rounds in areas with a large concentration of Filipinos to assist those directly affected by the economic crisis. The team is scheduled to conduct one-on-one and group sessions in Seoul, Incheon, Ansan and Busan from 14 to 18 February.

The team provided counseling services, certificates for free training, and information materials about job opportunities in Canada to 315 OFWs during its first three days in Seoul.

The Human Resources Development Services of Korea’s Ministry of Labor joined the Philippine Team during the Filipino Community Leaders’ Forum on Saturday, 14 February to present the Korean Government’s Returnees Support Program. HRD Director Kim Hui-sun disclosed that the program will offer skills upgrading classes to OFWs in Seoul and Incheon starting April 2009. It will also provide referral services to Korean companies based in Manila.

To complement the mission of the Reintegration Team, the Embassy will also launch a special course on financial management beginning February 2009. The course will run for four consecutive weekends and delve on topics such as bookkeeping, entrepreneurship and feasibility studies. Open to all Filipinos in South Korea, the course is an offshoot of the Embassy’s Financial Education Campaign, which has so far benefited more than 500 participants in 13 seminars since the campaign was launched in March 2008.

The Embassy is also in talks with the Central Bank of the Philippines for a possible program on migrant worker-centered financial services this year.

As of February 2009, the Embassy has handled 12 cases of Filipino workers losing their jobs, although several more may have gone unreported. Approximately 46,000 Filipinos live in South Korea, many of whom are employed in small- and medium-scale enterprises.

“Although the number of displaced Filipino workers from Korea is not as big as that from hard-hit Taiwan, it is better to be prepared and pro-active considering the forecast by economists on the Korean economy in 2009,” explained Labor Attaché Delmer Cruz.