At least 530 ‘stranded’ OFWs await repatriation from Saudi

Some 530 Filipino workers are "stranded" in Saudi Arabia, awaiting repatriation after completing their respective contracts, a Saudi news site reported Thursday.

Philippine Labor Attaché Alejandro Padaen in Al-Khobar said the workers of the Al-Mojil Group of Companies (MMG) could not be repatriated with full benefits at this time.

“If you are referring to the MMG workers in the Jubail Camp, please be informed that they did not stop working. They are not really working as they already completed their respective contracts and are just waiting for their repatriation, which is the main issue in this case,” he told Arab News in an email.

He said the problem was MMG’s financial condition, which prevented it from repatriating the OFWs with their full benefits.

For now, Padaen said the company offered to pay the benefits of those willing to go home, with the payment to be sent to banks in the Philippines on a staggered basis for three to six months.

“The company has been repatriating workers who agreed to this proposal in batches,” he said.

But a militant group, Migrante Middle East, said the number of affected workers could be as many as 950. It also accused the company of breaching the workers' contracts.

Migrante Middle East coordinator John Monterona the contract violations included:

- delayed payment of salaries and non-renewal of iqamas (residence IDs)
- denial of end-of-service benefits to those who worked up 10 to 15 years
- no vacation leaves for some workers even if they completed their one-year contract

Monterona also claimed the OFWs from five job sites stopped working since July 2014.

He said the OFWs' complaint was brought to the Philippine Labor Overseas Office in Al-Khobar in June 2014, “but there was no prompt or timely intervention until the distressed OFWs were forced to stop working the following month to press their employer to honor the terms and conditions of their contract.”

Padaen denied this allegation.

“We have been meeting with the company almost every week to follow up on their repatriation and explore possible solutions since the problem came to our attention last February," he said. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

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