17 May 2006 – Philippine Ambassador to London, United Kingdom Edgardo B. Espiritu reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Embassy officials and sectoral representatives of the Filipino community in the UK recently held a dialogue with officials of the British Home Office (department responsible for immigration, the justice system and national security) to discuss the implications for Filipino migrant workers of the United Kingdom’s proposed new immigration policy.

Ambassador Espiritu said, “This policy involves a new points-based approach to managing the flow of migrants coming to the UK to work or to study. The new system aims at better identifying and attracting migrants who have most to contribute to the UK; setting up a more efficient, transparent and objective application process; and improving compliance, reducing scope for abuse.”

The Ambassador explained that the points-based system involves a five-tier or category framework. These are: tier 1, highly skilled individuals who can contribute to the UK’s growth and productivity; tier 2, skilled workers with a job offer who can fill gaps in the UK labor force; tier 3, limited numbers of low-skilled workers needed to fill specific temporary labor shortages; tier 4, students; and tier 5, youth mobility and temporary workers, or people allowed to work in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives.

Ambassador Espiritu informed the Department that speakers for the Philippine panel put forward the case for highly skilled and skilled Filipino workers, including domestic helpers who play a critical role in the socio-economic life of British society, as well as Filipino nurses who have recently been hired in great numbers by the National Health Service (NHS) as a response to a critical gap in the NHS.

“The panel laid stress on the positive attributes of Filipino migrant workers in the UK, such as educational qualifications, professional skills, the responsible and caring attitudes of domestic workers and health professionals, and the Filipino worker’s proficiency in the English language,” the Ambassador remarked.

He stated that the Home Office representatives took note of all the points presented by the Philippine panel which included himself, Consul General Mario de Leon, Jr., Minister Leo Herrera Lim, Consul Evangeline Ong-Jimenez, and Labor Attaché Jainal Rasul, Jr. from the Embassy; representatives of Filipino nurses, doctors, domestic workers, postal employees and community support groups; immigration consultants; and Filipino community leaders.

Among those who spoke for the Philippine panel were Angel Arando of The Filipino Observer, Gene Alcantara of ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel, Charles Kelley and Cynthia Barker of Bison Management UK, immigration lawyer Lira Cabatbat, and Adelina Dueñas, president of the United Workers Association.
 
Attending the dialogue for the Home Office’s Managed Migration Department were Alan Bucknall, Director for Customer Services; James Quinault, Director of Strategy; and Huw Arthur, Head of Communications.

The meeting was organized by Consul General de Leon with the support of other officers of the Embassy who networked with members of the Filipino community.  (Please refer to the accompanying photo release on this subject matter.) END