MANILA, Philippines – Kahit may pandemya pa, ilang bansa sa Europa ang nagpahayag ng pagnanais na mag-hire ng mas maraming Pilipino para tugunan ang pangangailangan nila sa mga manggagawa.

Ayon kay Labor Attaché Atty. Maria Corina Buñag, karamihan sa mga kailangan nila ay mga manggagawa sa health care sector.

“Aside from Milan, and Northern Italy, we have an emerging labor market in Austria, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia. Italy is now fast becoming an active destination for our OFWs because the employment landscape remains strong and attractive and there is a huge demand for Filipinos,” ani Buñag.

Kaugnay nito, target ng Labor Department na makabuo ng bilateral agreement sa Austria kasunod ng interes nilang mag-hire ng 1,000 nurses, nursing assistants, at iba pang manggagawa sa healthcare industry.

“Since there is a dearth of health care workers in the European region, for its initial project, the government of Austria is looking into hiring 1,000 nurses, from healthcare assistants to registered nurses or even higher ranks,” dagdag nito.

“Immediately after the election, we will have an ocular assessment of prospective employers. This is a long-term work opportunity for our health care workers, that is why we are working on how we can secure a recognized certification for our nursing graduates,” aniya pa.

Dagdag pa ni Buñag, mayroon ngayong upward movement ng OFW deployment sa Romania.

“Currently, there are about 1,500 OFWs in Romania, but every week, around 20 OFWs are being deployed as household service workers, factory workers, as well as automotive workers,” sabi ng opisyal.

Ayon sa DOLE, nakita rin ng Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) sa Milan, Italy ang pagtaas ng hiring ng mga OFW sa Croatia sa mga sector ng turismo at service industries gaya ng hotel, resorts at restaurants.

Sa ngayon, nasa 3,035 na ang OFWs sa Croatia na noon ay wala pa sa isandaan. RNT/ JCM