Libya has renewed its appeal for the Philippines government to lift the ban on hiring of Filipino workers, citing a much better security situation than that of 2014, when the ban was issued.
The Libyan Embassy’s chargé d’affaires, Ahmed Al-Deeb, said he understood the concern for the safety of Filipino workers, adding that he had requested that the Philippines officials reevaluate the situation in Libya.
“We care about the Filipino people. We greatly value their contribution to the Libyan economy either in the oil fields or in humanitarian assistance in hospitals and clinics,” Al-Deeb remarked.
He went on saying that if there’s a risk for the Filipino workers in Libya, he would not ask for lifting the ban, adding to the reports at the Libyan Embassy that Libyan employers prefer to hire Filipino workers in the oil field, medical and construction sectors due to their proven competence and dedication.
According to statistics, there were 26000 Filipino workers in Libya before February revolution in 2011, when the Philippines government repatriated about 10,000 workers, then later in 2014 it repatriated another 4,000 workers due to the military conflict.
Al-Deeb also said that the situation had improved since the last evaluation was made in August 2016, and asked the Philippines government to reconsider its ban on “humanitarian” grounds.
“We need more than 26,000 Filipino workers to help repair, rebuild and rehabilitate Libya,” he said, adding that Libyans did their best in convincing officials of the Philippines to lift the ban totally.
“The Philippines is still very worried about the safety of workers,” he further added, saying that the main request is just for the Philippines to try to reevaluate the security situation in Libya; “We see the situation is normal now,” Al-Deeb added.
Meanwhile, the director of Ali Omar Asker Hospital in Tripoli, Salam Ali Omar, said he traveled to the Philippines to ask the officials to lift the ban, adding that he told them they “badly need” medical personnel at the hospital.
Omar indicated that the hospital was forced to reduce their bed capacity, despite the urgent need for services, due to lack of medical personnel.
He added that they preferred to hire Filipino nurses and medical personnel because in his 25 years’ experience as hospital administrator he did not find the same level of competence and work ethic he had found in Filipinos.
