For many Filipino engineers, desert heat and palm trees have been traded for fading forests and unpredictable Danish weather, but that doesn’t matter much. Denmark offers a lot to engineers from the Southeast Asian archipelago, says Leo Herrera-Lim, the Philippines’ Ambassador to Denmark.
On Tuesday, he visited the construction of the Fehmarn tunnel, where he had the opportunity to meet around half of the 70 Filipino workers currently employed in Rødbyhavn. The vast majority of them are engineers, but not all.
Work-life balance is crucial
Almost all of the workers have previously worked in the Middle East, and many come from jobs in Qatar. It’s not just a significant change in the weather they experience coming to Denmark, but also in the culture. That’s why the ambassador believes even more Filipinos will look to countries like Denmark in the future.
– This is due to the work-life balance in this country, which is much more appealing, explains Leo Herrera-Lim.
The long workdays of the Middle East have been replaced by a 37-hour workweek, and Filipinos have the option of bringing their wives and children to Denmark, something that also means a lot to them.
Treated well
But that’s not the only reason they prefer to come to Denmark.
– In Denmark, they are treated as equals, and there’s no rigid hierarchy in the workplace. The flatter management structure is something they really appreciate, the ambassador points out.
At the same time, there’s great pride in being part of a project like the tunnel construction. The project is enormous, and new steps are constantly being taken in terms of development, which also helps make the foreign engineers even more skilled. In the long run, they may take the knowledge they gain in Denmark back to their home country and apply it to large infrastructure projects there.
Danish ferries from the Philippines
Leo Herrera-Lim sees the large Filipino workforce in Rødbyhavn as a win-win for both countries. And there are indeed close connections between Denmark and the Philippines today. Not least, companies like Maersk employ many Filipinos, and while Denmark used to build its own ships, Bornholmslinjen has had its two large high-speed ferries built in the Philippines.
Leo Herrera-Lim was both impressed and proud after his visit to Rødbyhavn, not only by the scale of the project but also by the many Filipinos making a difference.
