OFWs end OWWA camp-out in ‘victory’
JERRIE M. ABELLA, GMANews.TV
Repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFW) camping out in front of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Pasay City on Friday received financial assistance from the agency amounting to P10,000 each.
In a statement, migrants’ rights group Migrante International described it as an “unprecedented victory" for the 43 OFWs who were repatriated from Saudi Arabia after staging a hunger strike. The OFWs were former employees of the operations firm Annasban Group.
“This camp-out is an unprecedented victory for OFWs, because it shows what can be gained through collective and militant struggle. From their hunger strike in Riyadh to their camp-out in OWWA, these women workers of Annasban staunchly defended their rights, since the Arroyo government has consistently refused to do so," said Migrante chair Garry Martinez.
The OFWs clinched the deal in conciliation talks Thursday night, the third and last day of the group’s camp-out, after vowing not to leave until their demands are met.
Apart from the financial assistance, OWWA administrator Carmelita Dimzon said in an interview with GMANews.TV the agency will also shoulder travel expenses for workers who are going back to their provinces.
Workers may also undergo medical check-up from OWWA-accredited hospitals and clinics, and the National Kidney Institute.
According to Martinez, some of the workers complained of ailments such as high fever, jaundice and manas or edema upon repatriation.
The family of Elsie Pelayo, one of the OFWs who died several days after repatriation, will also receive a P20,000 burial benefit package.
“While we are proud of what we have achieved in this camp-out, the Arroyo government should be ashamed that we had to resort to starving ourselves and sleeping on the streets just to get what we rightfully deserve. What we asked for was not even a tenth of what OWWA earns from OFWs every day," OFW Joy Flancia said in the same statement.
According to Migrante, OWWA reportedly earns over P5 million every day from the $25 (about P1,150) membership fee from OFWs, about 4,500 of whom leave the country daily based on estimates.
Flancia added the camp-out opened their eyes to the plight of other OFWs, especially their five co-workers who are still in Saudi Arabia. The five OFWs, also from Annasban, are staging a hunger strike in Riyadh to pressure the Philippine government to speed up efforts to repatriate them.
As this developed, the OFWs said they will file a complaint against an OWWA security guard who allegedly hit Flancia on the head and stepped on her fingers as she was lying down before the agency’s doors.
Dimzon meanwhile maintained there is no legal basis for OWWA to compensate the workers for their unpaid salaries from Annasban.
“They cannot force OWWA to pay them the salaries they say their employer still owe them. But we referred them to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. The POEA is the regulatory agency that can order the recruitment agency or Annasban Co. to settle the issue," Dimzon explained.
Cases against the OFWs’ recruitment agencies have already been filed before the POEA. Martinez added similar complaints will also be filed before the National Labor Relations Commission.
OWWA likewise refused to refund the OFWs’ repatriation cost, amounting to P15,000 each, which was reportedly deducted by Annasban from the workers’ unpaid salaries.
“Cases similar to that of Annasban workers will continue to arise as long as the OWWA Omnibus Policies are in place. These policies, enacted two years into the Arroyo government, have made OWWA inutile in ensuring the rights and welfare of OFWs," said Martinez.—JV, GMANews.TV
Repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFW) camping out in front of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Pasay City on Friday received financial assistance from the agency amounting to P10,000 each.
In a statement, migrants’ rights group Migrante International described it as an “unprecedented victory" for the 43 OFWs who were repatriated from Saudi Arabia after staging a hunger strike. The OFWs were former employees of the operations firm Annasban Group.
“This camp-out is an unprecedented victory for OFWs, because it shows what can be gained through collective and militant struggle. From their hunger strike in Riyadh to their camp-out in OWWA, these women workers of Annasban staunchly defended their rights, since the Arroyo government has consistently refused to do so," said Migrante chair Garry Martinez.
The OFWs clinched the deal in conciliation talks Thursday night, the third and last day of the group’s camp-out, after vowing not to leave until their demands are met.
Apart from the financial assistance, OWWA administrator Carmelita Dimzon said in an interview with GMANews.TV the agency will also shoulder travel expenses for workers who are going back to their provinces.
Workers may also undergo medical check-up from OWWA-accredited hospitals and clinics, and the National Kidney Institute.
According to Martinez, some of the workers complained of ailments such as high fever, jaundice and manas or edema upon repatriation.
The family of Elsie Pelayo, one of the OFWs who died several days after repatriation, will also receive a P20,000 burial benefit package.
“While we are proud of what we have achieved in this camp-out, the Arroyo government should be ashamed that we had to resort to starving ourselves and sleeping on the streets just to get what we rightfully deserve. What we asked for was not even a tenth of what OWWA earns from OFWs every day," OFW Joy Flancia said in the same statement.
According to Migrante, OWWA reportedly earns over P5 million every day from the $25 (about P1,150) membership fee from OFWs, about 4,500 of whom leave the country daily based on estimates.
Flancia added the camp-out opened their eyes to the plight of other OFWs, especially their five co-workers who are still in Saudi Arabia. The five OFWs, also from Annasban, are staging a hunger strike in Riyadh to pressure the Philippine government to speed up efforts to repatriate them.
As this developed, the OFWs said they will file a complaint against an OWWA security guard who allegedly hit Flancia on the head and stepped on her fingers as she was lying down before the agency’s doors.
Dimzon meanwhile maintained there is no legal basis for OWWA to compensate the workers for their unpaid salaries from Annasban.
“They cannot force OWWA to pay them the salaries they say their employer still owe them. But we referred them to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. The POEA is the regulatory agency that can order the recruitment agency or Annasban Co. to settle the issue," Dimzon explained.
Cases against the OFWs’ recruitment agencies have already been filed before the POEA. Martinez added similar complaints will also be filed before the National Labor Relations Commission.
OWWA likewise refused to refund the OFWs’ repatriation cost, amounting to P15,000 each, which was reportedly deducted by Annasban from the workers’ unpaid salaries.
“Cases similar to that of Annasban workers will continue to arise as long as the OWWA Omnibus Policies are in place. These policies, enacted two years into the Arroyo government, have made OWWA inutile in ensuring the rights and welfare of OFWs," said Martinez.—JV, GMANews.TV
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