OSLO, Norway – Filipino workers in the Nordic countries are spared from the effects of the global economic crisis, the Philippine Embassy in Norway said on Thursday.

“We have not received reports of Filipino workers from Norway, Denmark and Iceland being retrenched and sent back to the Philippines due to the global economic crisis,” Consul General Evelyn Austria-Garcia said.

“This is not very much a problem in Norway as the country is one of those with a strong financial base,” she explained, adding that “under the Norway’s labor laws, workers who are retrenched have the right to apply for unemployment pay equivalent to the salary they are receiving as long as they do not find another job.”

“The same is true in Denmark. So far, I haven’t heard of any displaced Pinoy who returned to the Philippines due to unemployment as residents there get unemployment benefits and can actually find some other jobs to support themselves.”

The economic meltdown in Iceland did not also affect the employment of some 1,500 Filipinos there, Philippine Honorary Consul to Iceland Pricilla Zanoria said.

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