International Roundup

The Quebec government this week announced several measures to help immigrants better integrate into Quebec society, The Montreal Gazette reports.  Immigrants will now be able to take free French courses before they leave their home country - either online or at an Alliance Française.

Starting next January, all immigrants coming to Quebec will have to sign a declaration saying they will respect Quebec's common values.  They must promise to learn French and respect the fact that Quebec is a secular society where men and women have equal rights. The declaration will be included in the application to immigrate to Quebec and anyone who refuses to sign it will not be permitted to move here. “Coming to Quebec is a privilege, not a right,” Immigration Minister Yolande James said yesterday at a press conference.

The province also plans to favor immigrants who have the job skills that the Quebec labor market needs. Once they arrive in Quebec, the government will ask immigrants to attend seminars on adapting to life here and will increase the amount of support it gives to immigrants who are having trouble finding work.

James said the government also wants to persuade businesses to hire more minorities and said the public service must also hire more minorities.  At present, minorities make up 19 per cent of the public service. The government's goal is to reach 25 per cent.  Many of the measures announced today were suggested by the Bouchard-Taylor commission on reasonable accommodation. 

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The number of new work permits which may be issued to aliens in 2008 was increased from 5,000 to 15,000, after the demands of employment recorded at the Romanian Immigration Office (ORI) increased to nearly 14,000 in September, according to Government release.

Romania’s Curierul National reports that 13,699 applications from employers for issuing new work permits were registered during the period 1 January - 19 September 2008. 10,000 of them were resolved positively, 1,880 applications were rejected and 1819 applications are pending, according to the Romanian Immigration Office.

The government this week decided to supplement the number of work permits issued to foreigners, after the National Employment Agency (ANOFM) had announced there was a shortage of approximately 50,000 employees in the Romanian labour market, in particular in the fields of construction, textiles and services.

Most extra-Community workers working legally in Romania come from Turkey - almost 4,200 people - and are followed by Chinese and citizens of the Republic of Moldova, according to ORI inspectors.  

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According to BBC News, immigration is the issue most Londoners are worried about for the next five years, a survey has shown.


The London Matters poll asked more than 2,200 people from both London and across Britain for their views on a range of issues facing the capital.   Londoners cited immigration (34%) as the biggest issue, followed by crime (21%) and housing (13%). Terrorism polled just 6% of votes.  The study also found 23% Scots do not like anything about London. Those outside London chose crime as the biggest issue facing the capital (24%). 

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The Philippines has some of the best laws and programs in promoting the rights and welfare of its migrant workers, according to an economist, The GMA News of the Phillippines reports.  In a speech at the ongoing 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development in Manila on Monday, Prof. Lawrence Dacuycuy, chairman of Department of Economics at the De La Salle University, said that government's active role in promoting the rights and welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) all over the world can be attested to by the creation of the Overseas Welfare Workers Administration (OWWA) and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Both agencies assist overseas workers in case of contractual and other difficulties with their employers. In places abroad with big concentration of Filipino workers, labor offices (Philippine Overseas Labor Office) are attached to Philippine diplomatic missions to help distressed workers.

Dacuycuy also stated that the institutions established by the Philippines to promote and protect its migrant workers' rights continue to set the standards other countries emulate.

Dacuycuy also gave the national government high marks for its efforts to improve the quality of skills and English language proficiency of Filipino caregivers and seafarers, two of the top skills categories of OFWs, with training being provided by the Technical and Skills Development Agency (Tesda).  The Philippines cemented its lead as the top provider of high-caliber seafarers to the world for its sailors' English proficiency and seamanship skills.

He also lauded the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) 'Supermaid' program which aims to provide more skills and trainings to OFWs engaged in household services abroad.

Likewise, Dacuycuy cited the government for creating a mechanism for giving re-employment and reintegration opportunities to OFWs displaced by the recent conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon.

 

 

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