JPEPA makes working in Japan tougher for health workers
Inquirer | October 05 2007
SAYS GROUP
JPEPA makes working in Japan tougher for health workers
By Beverly T. Natividad
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino health workers hoping to work in Japan or migrate to that country may find it more difficult if the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) is approved, said a national organization of health professionals.
The Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) has joined calls for the Senate to reject the JPEPA, saying that the economic agreement will set a dangerous precedent for Filipino migrant workers, including thousands of doctors and nurses.
In a statement, HEAD said that despite the government’s propaganda that the JPEPA will create more employment for Filipino migrant workers, the deal, in fact, provides more difficult requirements for Filipino nurses and caregivers.
Under the JPEPA, said HEAD secretary general Dr. Gene Alzona Nisperos, a Filipino nurse or caregiver must pass a set of requirements which will include a national examination that will require fluency in both written and oral Japanese.
Nisperos pointed out that while it is well within the Japanese government’s right to set high standards for foreign laborers, Filipino nurses and caregivers do not stand to gain much from their employment in Japan despite the very strict requirements.
“But even after Filipino nurses and caregivers pass the gauntlet of these stringent requirements, what will they get? Only a temporary, three-year working permit. Such a temporary status severely undermines their rights and welfare,” said Nisperos.
Even if there are provisions allowing for the renewal of the three-year permit, Nisperos said, Filipino health workers will remain temporary workers in Japan and will be denied immigrant rights.
Their temporary status, he said, would deny them promotion and benefits enjoyed by regular workers, as well as important labor rights such as the right to security of tenure and the right to organize unions.
"With JPEPA, the Philippine government is institutionalizing the practice of selling off Filipinos as cheap labor. It has made Filipino migrant workers even more vulnerable to discrimination and abuse," said Nisperos.
Nisperos said the bigger danger is in the possibility of setting a precedent with the JPEPA once it is approved. Other countries, he said, who stand as host to thousands of Filipino health workers and professionals, can exact similar agreements with the Philippines.
