CAIRO, Egypt (via PLDT)—The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is considering the establishment of a welfare center for Filipino workers in Egypt while exploring opportunities for the deployment of workers into Lebanon’s expanding tourism sector.

In an interview with reporters before the arrival of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for an official visit here, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the DoLE is considering more positive steps to help protect migrant workers in Egypt as well as in Syria, the President’s next stop.

The number of Filipino workers in the land of the Pharaohs is around 4,600 which do not qualify for an Overseas Workers Welfare Administration office since there should be at least 10,000 workers in a country to merit an OWWA labor center.

Roque said the DoLE is studying the possibility of making an exception considering the sometimes dire conditions faced by Filipinos in Egypt, particularly those who do not have proper working permits or travel documents.

He explained that majority of Filipinos in Egypt are household service workers who were originally contracted to work in other countries but ended up working illegally here to escape poor working conditions under their former employers.

Roque said most of the OFWs here cannot get working permits since they compete with Egyptians for work. Egypt has almost the same population as the Philippines and also exports labor to other countries in Africa and the Middle East.

He said an OWWA labor center in Egypt would at least be able to look after the welfare of Filipino workers since it will be difficult to change the country’s immigration laws into allowing Filipino household workers to get working permits.

President Arroyo will also visit nearby Syria where there are 17,000 Filipino workers, mostly household service workers. Roque said Filipinos in Syria are better off than those in Egypt in the sense that they can obtain work permits.

However, Roque said working conditions are still far from ideal and he intends to discuss with the Syrian labor ministry the possibility of coming out with a household service worker policy to ensure the welfare of domestic helpers.

There is rampant illegal deployment of Filipino workers to Syria to skirt the government-mandated monthly salary of $400 for the so-called Household Service Workers (HSW).

Filipino household domestic workers endure sub-standard salaries and working conditions in Syria, Roque said. The average salary is only $150, and the contract duration is usually three years.

The usual complaints against Syrian employers are physical abuse, sexual harassment, lack of food, overwork, and delayed or unpaid salary.

Meanwhile, Roque said he is also going to Beirut to meet his Lebanese counterpart to discuss a possible agreement on labor cooperation and look for employment opportunities for Filipinos in Lebanon’s growing hotel industry.

He said the Philippine Embassy in Lebanon had noted an “increasing potential” for employment in the hotel industry.