Philippines loss could be Nepal’s gain.

Over 5,000 overseas Filipino workers in Afghanistan will be returning to the Philippines by December 31, 2011, the deadline imposed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of Afghanistan.

However, Nepal government is unaware of the development and possible increasing demand from Afghanistan. “There is no large demand of Nepali workers in Afghanistan yet,” said director at the Department of Foreign Employment Kashi Raj Dahal. The overseas Filipino workers in Afghanistan work mostly in the United States military bases and were hired by international companies, according to a statement from Manny S Geslani, a recruitment consultant in Afghanistan.

Because of the December 31 deadline, many of the international companies are giving only six-month contracts to overseas Filipino workers, and those who are currently employed will not have their contracts renewed. They will have to leave the country by December 31.

The companies are now recruiting hundreds of Nepalis and Indian nationals to replace the overseas Filipino workers. But many of the international contractors are reluctant to terminate the contracts of their Filipino employees, despite orders from the US military to disallow third country nationals from working in the military bases. About 553 Nepalis have joined Afghan job in last eleven months.

According to him, the department has not official information of Nepalis replacing Filipino non-combat in US military bases. “We are issuing work permit to work in Afghanistan only under safety assurance from British military and the policy is not changed,” he said.

About 15,000 to 20,000 Nepalis are believed to be working in Afghanistan as hired-gunmen and most of them reached there through unofficial channels. The government record shows only 4,839 have joined jobs in Afghanistan in the last one decade.

The 3,000 overseas Filipino workers from Iraq are also expected to come back to the Philippines soon, probably as early as September of this year.

The overseas Filipino workers in Iraq will only be allowed to stay in the country until the departure of US troops, scheduled by the end of 2011.

Many of the 3,000 overseas Filipino workers in Iraq work in US military bases, where they do maintenance and logistical work.

Published on: 20 June 2011 | The Himalayan Times