Father's Day a sad affair for 17 OFWs in Saudi

For the 17 female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded in Saudi Arabia inside a company-owned facility, Father’s Day brought more grief.

“Wish naming (We wish) we could personally greet our respective fathers and husbands a happy Father’s Day, if we are only in the Philippines," the workers said in a text message to migrants’ rights group Migrante-Middle East.

Virtually detained in their accommodation for as long as six months for some of them, the 17 have refused to return to work due to several labor malpractice allegedly committed by their employer, the Annasban Group.

Among their complaints were unpaid salaries, illegal deductions, extended work hours without overtime payment, and absence of benefits such as health insurance.

Annasban’s management has yet to respond to several e-mails sent by GMANews.TV seeking their side, while representatives from the recruitment agencies have earlier said they are assisting their workers in their plight.

Help us

Migrante-ME regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said the 17 OFWs have been sending him text messages asking for help to pressure the Philippine post in Riyadh to speed up their repatriation.

In their message to Monterona, the OFWs disclosed at least 11 striking workers were transferred from Abha, south of Saudi Arabia, to their shelter in Al Badia in Riyadh, bringing their total number to 17.

At least six of the workers stopped working since January this year, while the newly transferred workers ceased working on April.

“The 17 OFWs in distress have been held hostage by their employer and used them for bargaining so that its partner recruitment agencies in the Philippines could pay back the deployment costs; this must not be the case," Monterona said.

The female workers are caregivers employed by the outsourcing company Annasban Group and deployed by such recruitment agencies such as United Placeman, Global Jobsearch, Placewell International and Saveway International.

Early this year, several other Filipino workers of Annasban were repatriated following similar complaints, prompting the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to temporarily suspend the company from hiring Filipino workers.

"Inept" officials

Migrante scored Philippine labor and welfare officials in Saudi Arabia for allegedly failing to arrange the 27 workers’ repatriation, which should involve requiring the employer to issue their exit clearances.

Recruitment agencies in the Philippines, and not the workers themselves, should likewise be ordered to pay deployment costs incurred by Annasban, Monterona said.

“Inept labor and welfare officials, and even embassy and consular officials who not do their task of protecting the well-being of and providing assistance to troubled OFWs must be sent back home; they are just wasting the fees and other charges imposed on us by the government," he said.

He challenged President-elect Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III to work on improving on-site services and programs for OFWs.

No dates yet

In an earlier interview, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Carmelita Dimzon said they are already booking the tickets for the Annasban workers’ return to the Philippines, but the dates have yet to be finalized.

She also said OWWA would pay for the tickets in the meantime since neither Annasban nor the workers’ recruitment agencies have agreed to shoulder their airfare.

The POEA will then be asked to compel the company and the agencies to reimburse the cost, she added. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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