By Michaela Del Callar
MANILA, July 23 (PNA) -– The Philippine embassy in Washington and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have signed an agreement that will ensure the protection and rights of Filipino migrants in two southern American states.
In a statement from Washington, the embassy said the agreement will establish cooperation between the two entities to provide Philippine nationals with information, guidance, and access to resources about workers’ rights under the laws enforced by EEOC.
“We are pleased to enter into this important partnership with the embassy’s consular section to enhance efforts to reach, educate, and protect Philippine nationals in Georgia and parts of South Carolina covered by the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office,” District Director Bernice Williams-Kimbrough said after the signing held on July 19 at the EEOC’s district office in Atlanta.
“We are committed to assisting and protecting immigrant, migrant and other vulnerable workers from employment discrimination, and this agreement helps to further those efforts with the Filipino community.”
Philippine Third Secretary and Vice Consul Darell Artates, on behalf of Minister and Consul General Emilio T. Fernandez, and EEOC Atlanta District Office Outreach Manager Terrie Dandy, on behalf of Williams-Kimbrough, signed the agreement.
Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. welcomed the formal partnership with the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office, saying alliances with local and district offices “are essential to the embassy’s thrust towards more nimble, constructive and responsive labor-related engagements across the United States.”
“The cooperation and assistance of the EEOC Atlanta District Office will provide invaluable support to the embassy’s efforts to ensure that Filipinos working in Georgia and parts of South Carolina are given increased protection and appropriate welfare interventions,” Cuisia said.
Under the terms of the agreement, EEOC will provide outreach and information aimed at making Philippine nationals aware of the laws that prohibit employment discrimination and their rights under the laws. (PNA)