UAE labor exec warns OFWs on risk of being stranded
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) advised Filipino workers there against exiting to either islands of Kish or Qeshm to renew their visas and run the risk of being stranded if employers do not honor their employment deal.
Online news site Khaleej Times reported that Labor attaché Nasser Munder aired this caution in the wake of mounting employment woes plaguing Filipino skilled workers.
The skilled workers had used visit visas in gaining employment in the service industry in Abu Dhabi.
Munder said the Philippine embassy processes 10 to 15 workers a month.
The workers lodge complaints against their employers about overwork and lack of rest days.
Some of these overworked workers are allegedly being paid as low as Dh700-900.
He said these distressed Filipino workers are employed in small establishments such as restaurants or hotels and beauty salons whose employers are hiring them with certain conditions.
Conditions include that if they leave without finishing one year, they are required to pay back their money.
Employment expenses at the Labor and Immigration Departments range between Dh4,000 and Dh5,000, said the report.
In a rush to find work before the expiry of their two-month visit visa, they agree to these conditions, but later find the work situation difficult to bear.
"Problems occur when the employers demand repayment of these expenses before releasing them. Due to the low salary, these distressed workers cannot pay them back," Munder said.
The labor attaché stressed that most of them have found new employers, who promise to do something about the six-month labor ban by allowing them to exit to Kish during the period.
Some of them are in Kish, Iran, and their employers have failed to fulfill their promise of getting them a visit visa, causing them to be stranded.
'Keep working'
For those whose passports are with their employers, the Office of he advised them to continue working until the one-month notice period is over and till their employers ask them to stop working.
"This is to avoid complication in the workplace," Munder said. "If they stop working within the one-month period of notice, their sponsors may misconstrue it as a labor strike, which is against the UAE labor laws."
He also said that some sponsors have asked them to stop working although the one-month notice period is not finished just to get even at the Filipino workers.
"A serious problem of where to put them up, especially if they are one group, becomes a real concern for the embassy," he said.
Recently, the Philippine embassy repatriated 13 distressed workers in the service industry who were not satisfied with the outcome of the conciliation talks.
This happened because the employers were not giving an inch to the request of the workers to observe the UAE labor laws of work timings and off days.
The embassy resolved the cases by asking their recruitment agencies in the Philippines to shoulder their airfare to repatriate them.
The workers, who were security guards, complained of poor accommodation, no off days and overwork. They were required to serve nine hours plus a two-hour built-in overtime.
A second group of distressed workers, whose problems were solved by the embassy recently, involved 38 salesmen, who were exposed to the same long hours of work without overtime payment.
Later, their employers consented to pay the overtime charges for those who decided to continue working. Some opted to go back home with the unhappy memories. - GMANews.TV
Online news site Khaleej Times reported that Labor attaché Nasser Munder aired this caution in the wake of mounting employment woes plaguing Filipino skilled workers.
The skilled workers had used visit visas in gaining employment in the service industry in Abu Dhabi.
Munder said the Philippine embassy processes 10 to 15 workers a month.
The workers lodge complaints against their employers about overwork and lack of rest days.
Some of these overworked workers are allegedly being paid as low as Dh700-900.
He said these distressed Filipino workers are employed in small establishments such as restaurants or hotels and beauty salons whose employers are hiring them with certain conditions.
Conditions include that if they leave without finishing one year, they are required to pay back their money.
Employment expenses at the Labor and Immigration Departments range between Dh4,000 and Dh5,000, said the report.
In a rush to find work before the expiry of their two-month visit visa, they agree to these conditions, but later find the work situation difficult to bear.
"Problems occur when the employers demand repayment of these expenses before releasing them. Due to the low salary, these distressed workers cannot pay them back," Munder said.
The labor attaché stressed that most of them have found new employers, who promise to do something about the six-month labor ban by allowing them to exit to Kish during the period.
Some of them are in Kish, Iran, and their employers have failed to fulfill their promise of getting them a visit visa, causing them to be stranded.
'Keep working'
For those whose passports are with their employers, the Office of he advised them to continue working until the one-month notice period is over and till their employers ask them to stop working.
"This is to avoid complication in the workplace," Munder said. "If they stop working within the one-month period of notice, their sponsors may misconstrue it as a labor strike, which is against the UAE labor laws."
He also said that some sponsors have asked them to stop working although the one-month notice period is not finished just to get even at the Filipino workers.
"A serious problem of where to put them up, especially if they are one group, becomes a real concern for the embassy," he said.
Recently, the Philippine embassy repatriated 13 distressed workers in the service industry who were not satisfied with the outcome of the conciliation talks.
This happened because the employers were not giving an inch to the request of the workers to observe the UAE labor laws of work timings and off days.
The embassy resolved the cases by asking their recruitment agencies in the Philippines to shoulder their airfare to repatriate them.
The workers, who were security guards, complained of poor accommodation, no off days and overwork. They were required to serve nine hours plus a two-hour built-in overtime.
A second group of distressed workers, whose problems were solved by the embassy recently, involved 38 salesmen, who were exposed to the same long hours of work without overtime payment.
Later, their employers consented to pay the overtime charges for those who decided to continue working. Some opted to go back home with the unhappy memories. - GMANews.TV
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