Ople on unpaid salaries of Pinoys in Saudi Arabia: Arrangements still being made

By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, GMA Integrated News Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople said Tuesday that arrangements are still being made with regards to the unpaid salaries of some 10,000 overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia. advertisement At a Palace press briefing, Ople said she was supposed to go there in December of last year. However, officials in Saudi Arabia requested for more time to arrange the visit. "'Yung sa unpaid salaries, dapat sana December kami tutuloy, but upon the request of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development o MHRSD, 'yun ang aming counterpart sa Saudi Arabia, they requested for more time to arrange our visit dahil 'yung sa unpaid claims, hindi pala sa kanila 'yun nakaatang. So they wanted time for... certain arrangements to be made so when I go there I will be able to meet with the right person in the Office of the Crown Prince," Ople said. (Regarding the unpaid salaries, we were supposed to go there last December. But upon the request of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development or MHRSD — that is our counterpart in Saudi Arabia — they requested for more time to arrange our visit. It turns out the unpaid claims is not their responsibility.) She is hoping that she will get the itinerary for the Saudi Arabia trip this week. "Definitely, ang agreement, that is number one (unpaid claims) in the agenda," Ople said. Ople refused to provide details when asked how much will the Filipinos get and if the DMW is looking for a timeline as regards the release of the unpaid salaries. She said she would release information after she has talked to concerned officials. Saudi Arabia has committed to allocate some 2 billion riyals for the unpaid salaries of some overseas Filipinos employed by construction companies which declared bankruptcy. The amount will cover the unpaid salaries of workers employed by firms such as Saudi OGer, MMG, the Bin Laden group, and other construction firms that have yet to pay back the Filipino workers. According to the DMW, the commitment will cover the unpaid salaries of workers of firms which declared bankruptcy in the years 2015 and 2016. —KG, GMA Integrated News

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