Crisis in Spain affects foreign workers

[NewsWhore]

The Spanish ambassador to the Dominican Republic reported that the economic situation that his country is going through since last year is causing a loss in jobs. This, in turn, has led the government to take measures such as urging the voluntary return of foreign workers that have been laid off or fired. Diego Bermejo said that during the last quarter of 2008, and as happened in all of the European countries, Spain suffered a 1% negative growth but expectations for 2009 are slightly better. He said that Dominicans that reside in Spain and have lost their jobs as a consequence of the crisis have the opportunity to relocate themselves or opt for the voluntary return program that consists in returning to the country of origin with 10,000 or 15,000 Euros in their pockets and without losing their rights that were acquired during their stay in Spain. Bermejo gave his statements during the Weekly Lunch at Multimedios del Caribe. The ambassador says that there are 125.000 Dominican living in Spain legally and, of these, some 1,500 to 2,000 have lost their jobs. According to the ambassador, the Dominicans are considered to be "hard working, pleasant and well liked", and they are perfectly willing to change one job for another because of their flexibility and because of this he said that all is not lost. The diplomat explained that the person who voluntarily returns to his country of origin still receives the worker's compensation payments to which he is entitled for being let go. He emphasized that nobody is forced to leave Spain but those that accept the volunteer program will have capital to explore new possibilities and if they choose to return to Spain, after three years, they are received with the same permanent resident status that they held before.

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