U.S. military to stop hiring Filipino workers in Afghanistan
Manila, Philippines (AHN) – The U.S. Military Command has ordered its civilian contractors in Afghanistan to stop hiring Filipino workers and send home those whose job contracts have ended to comply with the Philippine government’s ban on deploying citizens to work in the war-torn country.
Up to 7,000 Filipinos are affected by the order and their jobs will go to other nationalities, according to Filipino recruitment consultant and migration expert Emmanuel Geslani.
U.S. contractors Dyn International LLC and Fluor Intercontinental are to build camps for American troops in Afghanistan and provide the corresponding food, facilities maintenance and other life-support services. Their contracts amount to $5 billion.
Filipinos are scrambling for lucrative jobs in U.S. bases in Afghanistan, attracted by salaries that range from $2,000 to $15,000. To avoid the deployment ban, they first take jobs in Middle Eastern countries and then transfer to Afghanistan once their contracts have ended.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued the deployment ban to Afghanistan because the government in Kabul and labor recruiters cannot guarantee the security and protection of Filipino workers from attacks by insurgents. Groups of Filipino workers, however, oppose the ban and called for its lifting so they can be employed there.
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