Migrant Filipino is South Korea Labor Union President

Michel Catuira, chairman of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants' Trade Union (MTU)

In 2009, Michel Catuira, a migrant Filipino worker in South Korea for many years, became a chairman of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU), and the following year became the first foreign delegate in the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). After becoming chairman, he spent his days working in factories and his nights organizing workers.

The Korean government has not regarded the MTU’s activities with pleasure. Three of its past chairpeople have been the objects of “target crackdowns” by immigration authorities and forcibly deported. Catuira was almost deported until the Seoul Administrative Court took Catuira’s side, saying, “I suspect that Seoul Immigration Office’s handling of the case may have been because of the plaintiff’s labor union activity.”

South Korea is not a signatory to the United Nations’ International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which stipulates the right of migrant workers and their families to be free from discrimination compared to citizens of the country where they work, and includes the right to form labor unions.

However, Catuira is returning back to the Philippines to care for his grandmother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. His cousin, who looked after the ailing grandmother, is leaving to work in the United States. Catuira is expected to be back in the Philippines at the end of this month.

Source: The Hankyoreh

Photo taken from No Base Stories Korea

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Introducing Globe Muzta! for Overseas and Migrant Filipinos

Globe recently launched Globe Muzta!, a new service that’s designed to allow the overseas and migrant Filipino to call and send text messages to family and friends in the Philippines using nominal rates. Much like the common features of Skype, YM and Chikka, PC-to-PC audio and video calls are free as well as PC-to-PC instant messaging or chat. However, calls made to any Philippine mobile or landline number costs P6.50/minute while SMS or text messages sent to any Philippine mobile or landline number is P1.00 each.

This new service also allows Globe and Touch Mobile subscribers to contact your PC through a virtual 817 number assigned to you, at local Philippine rates. There are no registration or monthly fees. You only need to pay for the calls and text-messages you make which is by loading credits to your prepaid account. To load, you can use your credit card, international autoload Max (IAMAX), prepaid call cards and e-PINs. Load expiry ranges from 45 to 120 days, depending on the amount of load, i.e. P100 at 45 days, P500 at 120 days.

You will get to keep your 817 virtual number as long as your account is active. For prepaid accounts, your account will expire if you do not top-up within the required period.

You will need the following minimum requirements:

• A PC running with at least a Pentium 3 processor at 650 MHz
• At least 256 MB RAM
• 200 MB free Hard Disk Space
• Audio support (microphone and speakers or headset)
• A webcam if you plan to use the video calling feature
• Windows XP Service Pack 2

Globe Muzta! works with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. The application to download is about 22 Mb in size.

Source: Globe Muzta!

Pag-IBIG Overseas Program for Overseas, Migrant or Naturalized Filipino

The Pag-IBIG Overseas Program (POP) is a voluntary savings program which aims to provide Filipino overseas contract workers, immigrants and naturalized citizens the opportunity to save for their future and the chance to avail of a housing loan of as much as two million Pesos. Membership under the Pag-IBIG Overseas Program (POP) shall be open to all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) with valid visas or employment contracts. Likewise, it shall be open to Filipino immigrants and to Filipinos naturalized in other countries.

Click here to read more at the “Pinoy Around the World” blog.

Filipino Migrants Crucial for New Zealand’s Dairy Industry

A Mid Canterbury dairy farming leader says it would be frightening to think about where New Zealand’s dairy industry would be today if it was not for a migrant workforce. Former Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers dairy section chairman Dean McConnell said the Filipino workforce was performing a vital role in the dairy industry and filled a serious gap in staffing on dairy farms. “If we didn’t have them, we would have really struggled. In fact, it would be frightening to think of what would have happened if we didn’t have the migrant workers irrespective of the standard of them.”

Filipina Belinda Dewe, of Timaru, has formed a “shelter and cultural” group called the South Canterbury Filipino Association. It links with a similar Mid Canterbury organisation to look after the interests of Filipino farm workers.

For more on the article, read the Otago Daily Times.