OWWA vows to punish recruitment agencies deploying underage OFWs


By RONALDO CONCHA
OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cadac and Labor Attache Nasser Munder tals to distressed underage OFWs at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Saudi Arabia.
OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cadac and Labor Attache Nasser Munder talk with distressed underage OFWs at a Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Saudi Arabia.
JEDDAH—The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will run after recruitment agencies responsible for the deployment of underage OFWs to Saudi Arabia, an OWWA official said Friday.
OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, in an interview with GMA News, said those found guilty of violating overseas employment policies should be held liable for their misdeeds.
In his trip to Al Khobar to assist the over a thousand OFWs affected by the lock-out of the firm employing them, Cacdac learned about the plight of abused Filipina domestic workers who were deployed to the Kingdom under the allowed age of 23.
Also, Cacdac told GMA News that OWWA has laid down the steps to be taken against the agencies involved in irregular deployment of OFWs, including:
  • informing the Saudi Labor Office about the deployment;
  • raising the issue at the Philippine-Saudi joint committee meeting on the two countries' bilateral labor  cooperation agreement; and
  • taking decisive steps at stopping some agencies' illegal practice of faking the age of their recruits.
The OWWA will also make sure that erring recruitment agencies pay victims of their unpaid salaries.
"Ayon sa batas kapag nag-deploy ang Philippine recruitment agency ng underage, e automatic cancellation ng license, pwedeng habulin sa pagparusa dun sa ahensya at pangalawa ay ang paghabol nung dapat bayaran dun sa worker ng ahensya," said Cacdac.
Cacdac, along with Philippine Labor and Welfare officials, flew to Al Khobar last week to assist the 1,470 distressed OFWs hit by the Azmeel Contracting Company lock-out. —LBG, GMA News

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