The positive role of immigrants.
For more than a decade, for example, Spain had been the fastest growing economy in Europe, thanks to the entry of close to 5 million immigrants, about 12 percent of the entire population. These foreign workers have made it possible for construction, tourism, real estate and other labor-intensive industries...

Improved Russian Labor Code entered into force.
On December 30, 2001, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir V. Putin, signed into law the new Labor Code. It entered into force on February 1, 2002, and significantly changes employment relations. These alterations affect not only employers operating in the Russian Federation, but also those employing foreign...

Free to move.
LIKE MANY--maybe most--Americans I come from a family of migrant workers. My grandparents left Ireland and Italy in the 1910s for the United States, chiefly for the opportunity to work long hours and be treated as second-class citizens--a definite step up from the fate that likely awaited them in...

NEWS IN BRIEF; P/$ rate closed at P54.20 to $1.
The peso rate closed at P54.20 to the US dollar last Friday at the Philippine Dealing System of the Bankers Association of the Philippines. The weighted average rate stands at P54.263. Korean language training up The Korean Language and Culture Training Center recently opened its...

DHs in HK get pay raise.
Byline: RAUL V. GONZALES Labor and Employment Acting Secretary Manuel G. Imson today said Hong Kong has granted a HK$50 or around P350 wage increase for foreign domestic helpers (DH), raising to HK$3,320 or P23,246.05 per month the minimum allowable wage for the previous $3,270. ...

BI probing 91 aliens.
Byline: JUN RAMIREZ The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is conducting a probe to determine the people responsible for the entry and employment of 91 foreigners arrested last week for illegally working inside the Clark economic zone. Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said those who recruited the...

Tribute to nation's domestic workers.
Byline: HON. JOSE S. BRILLANTES Undersecretary, Department of Foreign Affairs (Keynote Speech delivered at the National Domestic Workers Summit, Skyline Riverbend Hotel, Marikina City, Sept. 21-23, 2005.) MARIKINA City Mayor, Hon. Ma. Lourdes C. Fernando, DoLE Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa Soriano, ILO Director Sub-regional Office...

Labor group praises BI for protecting workers.
Labor groups yesterday hailed steps taken by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to check on the status of foreign nationals working in special economic zones as a major move in the protection of local workers. Dave Diwa, president of National Labor Union, said the BI gives back...

Gov't eyes 65,000 jobs in new program.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) expects to offset the 55,000 jobs lost from Japan's new hiring policy with 65,000 new hires of high value and professional jobs from emerging sources and traditional markets as the agency mounts the first international labor mart in the country. POEA...

Reflections on the great immigration battle of 2006 and the future of the Americas.
ON MARCH 10, 2006, SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS and their supporters in Chicago marched for their rights, surprising even the march organizers by the massive turnout. The Chicago march opened the path for millions of demonstrators, primarily but not exclusively Latinos, in dozens of cities and communities throughout...